Electrically tunable intelligent antenna

Abstract

The invention provides an electrically tunable intelligent antenna, and relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and the antenna comprises a reflecting plate which is provided with a radiating surface and a bottom surface which are oppositely arranged; the phase shifter comprises a driving mechanism and at least one phase shifter, the phase shifter comprises a metal plate, a dielectric plate and a PCB, the metal plate is fixedly connected to the bottom face and provided with a metal cavity, the PCB and the dielectric plate are arranged in the metal cavity in a penetrating mode, the PCB is fixedly connected with the metal plate, the dielectric plate is in sliding fit with the PCB, and the metal plate is fixedly connected with the metal plate. The driving mechanism is connected with the middle of the dielectric plate and drives the dielectric plate to slide back and forth; and the at least one vibrator is installed on the radiating surface, the vibrator is a slot coupling dielectric resonator, the vibrator is connected with the phase shifter through a coaxial line, and the coaxial line penetrates through the reflecting plate. The electrically tunable intelligent antenna provided by the invention can effectively improve the energy conversion efficiency of a base station antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and particularly to an electrically tunable intelligent antenna. Background Art

[0002] In a mobile communication system, a base station antenna plays a crucial role. The base station antenna is not only responsible for transmitting and receiving wireless signals, but also a key component for achieving wireless signal coverage and ensuring communication quality.

[0003] The energy conversion efficiency of a base station antenna is an important indicator for measuring the ability of the antenna to convert input power into effective radiated power. In the prior art, the main means to improve the energy conversion efficiency of a base station antenna is to optimize the antenna's feed network, reduce the use of coaxial cables, microstrip lines, etc., and replace them with strip lines, thereby reducing the energy loss of the feed network. However, the increase in strip lines brings an increase in the length of the phase shifter. At the same time, the phase shifter needs to extend a pull rod from the tail to achieve phase change, thus occupying more space to achieve transmission, which is not conducive to the miniaturization of the antenna.

[0004] Moreover, since the prior art only optimizes the loss of the feed network, its improvement in the energy conversion efficiency of the base station antenna is limited and cannot meet the requirements of mobile communication.

[0005] In view of this, based on years of production design experience in this field and related fields, the inventor of the present invention has designed an electrically tunable intelligent antenna through repeated experiments in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrically tunable intelligent antenna that can effectively improve the energy conversion efficiency of a base station antenna.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides an electrically tunable intelligent antenna, wherein the electrically tunable intelligent antenna includes:

[0008] A reflector having a radiation surface and a bottom surface disposed opposite to each other;

[0009] A phase shifter including a driving mechanism and at least one phase shifting unit. The phase shifting unit includes a metal plate, a dielectric plate, and a PCB board. The metal plate is fixedly connected to the bottom surface. The metal plate has a metal cavity. The PCB board and the dielectric plate are disposed through the metal cavity. The PCB board is fixedly connected to the metal plate. The dielectric plate is slidably engaged with the PCB board. The driving mechanism is connected to the middle of the dielectric plate and drives the dielectric plate to slide reciprocally;

[0010] At least one oscillator is installed on the radiation surface. The oscillator is a slot-coupled dielectric resonator. The oscillator is connected to the phase shifter through a coaxial cable, and the coaxial cable penetrates through the reflector.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following features and advantages:

[0012] For the electronically tunable smart antenna proposed by the present invention, the driving mechanism of the phase shifter is connected to the middle part of the dielectric plate, no longer occupying the space at the tail of the phase shift unit, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the phase shifter, and thus beneficial to the miniaturization of the entire electronically tunable smart antenna. For the electronically tunable smart antenna proposed by the present invention, the oscillators and phase shift units provided on the opposite two sides of the reflector are connected by coaxial cables. The coaxial cables vertically penetrate the reflector, and only a very short length of coaxial cable is required to connect the oscillators and phase shift units, reducing the energy loss.

[0013] For the electronically tunable smart antenna proposed by the present invention, the oscillator is a slot-coupled dielectric resonator. There are no metal components in the slot-coupled dielectric resonator, and it has lower loss and higher efficiency than a metal antenna at high frequencies. At the same time, the slot-coupled dielectric resonator also has good port isolation and cross-polarization performance, further improving the radiation efficiency and stability of the signal of the oscillator. Description of the Drawings

[0014] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure of the present invention in any way. Additionally, the shapes and proportional dimensions of the components in the drawings are only schematic and are used to assist in understanding the present invention, rather than specifically defining the shapes and proportional dimensions of the components of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can, under the teaching of the present invention, select various possible shapes and proportional dimensions according to specific circumstances to implement the present invention.

[0015] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the electronically tunable smart antenna proposed by the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the oscillator installed on the reflector in the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the phase shifter installed on the reflector in the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the connection between the coaxial cable and the oscillator in the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of the driving mechanism in the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the oscillator in the present invention.

[0021] Description of the Reference Numerals

[0022] 100, electronically tunable smart antenna; 10, reflector;

[0023] 11. Radiation surface; 12. Bottom surface;

[0024] 13. Side plate; 20. Phase shifter;

[0025] 21. Driving mechanism; 211. Driving motor;

[0026] 212. Third gear; 213. First bevel gear;

[0027] 214. Second bevel gear; 215. Transmission shaft;

[0028] 216. Driving shaft; 22. Phase shifting unit;

[0029] 221. Metal plate; 222. Dielectric plate;

[0030] 223. PCB board; 224. Rack;

[0031] 30. Oscillator; 31. Dielectric block;

[0032] 32. Dielectric substrate; 33. Grounding metal plate;

[0033] 34. Gap; 35. Microstrip line;

[0034] 36. Feeding piece; 37. Micro wire;

[0035] 40. Coaxial cable; 41. Inner conductor;

[0036] 42. Outer conductor. Detailed implementation manners

[0037] Combined with the description of the drawings and the specific implementation manners of the present invention, the details of the present invention can be more clearly understood. However, the specific implementation manners of the present invention described herein are only for the purpose of explaining the present invention and cannot be understood in any way as a limitation of the present invention. Under the teaching of the present invention, those skilled in the art can conceive any possible variations based on the present invention, and these should all be regarded as falling within the scope of the present invention.

[0038] Such as Figures 1 to 6As shown in the figure, the present invention provides an electronically tunable smart antenna 100, which includes a reflector 10, a phase shifter 20 and at least one oscillator 30. The reflector 10 has a radiation surface 11 and a bottom surface 12 arranged oppositely. The radiation surface 11 is used for mounting the oscillator 30, and the bottom surface 12 is used for mounting the phase shifter 20. The phase shifter 20 includes a driving mechanism 21 and at least one phase shifting unit 22. The phase shifting unit 22 includes a metal plate 221, a dielectric plate 222 and a PCB board 223. The metal plate 221 is fixedly connected to the bottom surface 12. The metal plate 221 has a metal cavity inside. The PCB board 223 and the dielectric plate 222 are inserted into the metal cavity and arranged along the length direction of the metal cavity. The PCB board 223 is fixed inside the metal cavity. The driving mechanism 21 is connected to the middle part of the dielectric plate 222 and drives the dielectric plate to slide reciprocally along the length direction of the PCB board 223. The oscillator 30 is mounted on the radiation surface 11. The oscillator 30 is a slot-coupled dielectric resonator. The oscillator 30 and the phase shifting unit 22 are connected by a coaxial cable 40 passing through the reflector 10.

[0039] For the electronically tunable smart antenna 100 provided by the present invention, the driving mechanism 21 of the phase shifter 20 is connected to the middle part of the dielectric plate 222, no longer occupying the space at the tail of the phase shifting unit 22, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the phase shifter 20, and thus beneficial to the miniaturization of the entire electronically tunable smart antenna 100. For the electronically tunable smart antenna 100 provided by the present invention, the oscillator 30 and the phase shifting unit 22 arranged on the opposite two surfaces of the reflector 10 are connected by a coaxial cable 40. The coaxial cable 40 vertically penetrates the reflector 10. The coaxial cable 40 only needs a very short length to realize the connection between the oscillator 30 and the phase shifting unit 22, reducing the energy loss.

[0040] For the electronically tunable smart antenna 100 provided by the present invention, the oscillator 30 is a slot-coupled dielectric resonator. There are no metal components inside the slot-coupled dielectric resonator, which has lower loss and higher efficiency than a metal antenna at high frequencies. At the same time, the slot-coupled dielectric resonator also has good port isolation and cross-polarization performance, further improving the radiation efficiency and stability of the signal of the oscillator 30.

[0041] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the driving mechanism 21 includes a driving motor 211, a transmission assembly, and a third gear 212. A rack 224 is provided on the dielectric plate 222. The rack 224 is arranged along the length direction of the dielectric plate 222 and meshes with the third gear 212. The driving motor 211 is fixedly connected to the bottom surface 12 and drives the third gear 212 to rotate through the transmission assembly. With the above structure, the driving motor 211 drives the third gear 212 to rotate through the transmission assembly, the third gear 212 drives the rack 224 to move, and the rack 224 drives the dielectric plate 222 to move, thereby realizing the phase shift function. Since the third gear 212, the rack 224, and the transmission assembly are all located in the middle of the dielectric plate 222, both ends of the dielectric plate 222 can extend to both ends of the reflector 10. Correspondingly, the metal plate 221 and the PCB board can also extend to both ends of the reflector 10. The driving mechanism 21 no longer occupies the space at the tail of the phase shift unit 22, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the phase shifter 20, and further beneficial to the miniaturization of the entire electronically tunable smart antenna 100.

[0042] In an alternative example of this embodiment, the transmission assembly includes a first bevel gear 213, a second bevel gear 214, and a transmission shaft 215. The third gear 212 and the second bevel gear 214 are respectively fixedly sleeved on the transmission shaft 215 with a gap therebetween. The first bevel gear 213 and the second bevel gear 214 mesh with each other. The first bevel gear 213 is fixedly sleeved on the driving shaft 216 of the driving motor 211, and the driving motor 211 is fixedly connected to the bottom surface 12.

[0043] In an alternative example, the phase shifter 20 includes a plurality of phase shift units 22. The phase shift units 22 are arranged in parallel at intervals. A plurality of third gears 212 are sequentially sleeved on the transmission shaft 215 at intervals. The transmission shaft 215 vertically penetrates through a plurality of dielectric plates 222. Racks 225 are respectively provided on the dielectric plates 222 of each phase shift unit 22. A plurality of third gears 212 mesh with a plurality of racks 225 in one-to-one correspondence. With the above structure, the driving motor 211 can synchronously drive a plurality of dielectric plates 222 to move only through one transmission assembly, optimizing the stroke synchronization of the plurality of phase shift units 22.

[0044] In an alternative example, each phase shift unit 22 is correspondingly connected to a plurality of oscillators 30. The plurality of oscillators 30 connected to the same phase shift unit 22 form an oscillator unit. The plurality of oscillators 30 in each oscillator unit are sequentially arranged at intervals along the length direction of the reflector 10, and each oscillator 30 is respectively connected to the phase shift unit 22 through a coaxial cable 40. With the above structure, a plurality of oscillators 30 are connected to one phase shift unit 22, reducing the number of phase shift units 22, and further reducing the power consumption and cost of the electronically tunable smart antenna 100.

[0045] Further, a side plate 13 is provided between two adjacent oscillator units. The side plate 13 is fixedly connected to the radiation surface 11 and arranged along the length direction of the reflector 10. The side plate 13 can serve as a physical barrier to reduce the electromagnetic coupling between adjacent oscillator units, thereby reducing mutual interference.

[0046] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the oscillator 30 includes a dielectric block 31 and a dielectric substrate 32. One side of the dielectric substrate 32 is a grounded metal surface 33 with slits 34 etched thereon, and a microstrip line 35 is provided on the other side of the dielectric substrate 32. The dielectric block 31 is fixedly connected to the grounded metal surface 33, and the other side of the dielectric substrate 32 is fixedly connected to the radiation surface 11. There are no metal components inside the oscillator 30. At microwave and millimeter-wave high frequencies, compared with metal antennas, the oscillator 30 has lower energy loss and higher efficiency.

[0047] In an alternative example of this embodiment, each oscillator 30 is connected to the phase shifter unit 22 through two coaxial cables 40. The coaxial cable 40 includes an inner conductor 41 and an outer conductor 42. The inner conductor 41 penetrates through the outer conductor in an insulated manner. The grounded metal surface 33 is connected to the metal plate 221 through the outer conductor 42, and the microstrip line 35 is connected to the PCB board 223 through the inner conductor 41.

[0048] In an alternative example of this embodiment, one end of the coaxial cable 40 penetrates through the dielectric substrate 32. The end of the outer conductor 42 is welded to the grounded metal surface 33. The end of the inner conductor 41 protrudes from the outer conductor 42 and is connected to the microstrip line 35 through a feeding piece 36. An insulating through hole is provided on the dielectric substrate 32. One end of the feeding piece 36 is welded to the inner conductor 41, and the other end of the feeding piece 36 penetrates through the insulating through hole and is connected to the microstrip line 35. With the above structure, both the inner conductor 41 and the outer conductor 42 of the coaxial cable 40 penetrate to the upper surface (grounded metal surface 33) of the dielectric substrate 32. The end of the outer conductor 42 can be directly welded to the grounded metal surface 33, and the feeding piece 36 can be pre-installed on the dielectric substrate 32. The end of the inner conductor 41 can also be directly welded to the feeding piece 36, greatly reducing the welding difficulty and operation difficulty of the outer conductor 42 and the inner conductor 41. At the same time, with the above structure, it is ensured that the coaxial cable 40 can vertically penetrate the reflector 10. Compared with the coaxial cable welded horizontally, the coaxial cable 40 vertically penetrating the reflector 10 not only has a shorter length but also avoids the interference of the wiring on the radiation pattern.

[0049] In another alternative example, the feeding piece 36 is connected to the microstrip line 35 through a micro wire 37, and the micro wire 37 penetrates through the insulating through hole.

[0050] In an alternative example of this embodiment, the dielectric substrate 32 is welded to the radiation surface of the reflector 10.

[0051] In an alternative example of this embodiment, the slot 34 is in the shape of an H.

[0052] In an alternative example of this embodiment, during assembly, first connect the other end of the coaxial cable 40 to the phase shifter unit 22. Specifically, the other end of the inner conductor 41 is soldered to the PCB board 223, and the other end of the outer conductor 42 is soldered to the metal plate. During phase shifting, both the PCB board 223 and the metal plate 221 remain stationary, and only the dielectric plate 222 moves, without pulling on the coaxial cable 40. Therefore, the coaxial cable 40 does not need to have a reserved telescopic length, which not only improves the electrically tunable smart antenna 100 but also reduces the length of the coaxial cable 40. The reduction in the length of the coaxial cable 40 further reduces the loss of the feeding network and effectively improves the efficiency of the electrically tunable smart antenna 100.

[0053] The detailed explanations for the above embodiments are only for the purpose of explaining the present invention so that it can be better understood. However, these descriptions cannot be construed as limitations on the present invention for any reason. In particular, the various features described in different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined with each other to form other embodiments. Unless there are explicit contrary descriptions, these features should be understood to be applicable to any one of the embodiments and not limited to the described embodiments.

Claims

1. An electrically adjustable smart antenna, characterized in that: The electrically adjustable smart antenna comprises: A reflector having a radiation surface and a bottom surface that are arranged opposite to each other; A phase shifter, comprising a driving mechanism and at least one phase shifting unit, wherein the phase shifting unit comprises a metal plate, a dielectric plate and a PCB board, wherein the metal plate is fixedly connected to the bottom surface, the metal plate has a metal cavity, the PCB board and the dielectric plate are inserted into the metal cavity, the PCB board is fixedly connected to the metal plate, the dielectric plate is slidably matched with the PCB board, and the driving mechanism is connected to the middle part of the dielectric plate and drives the dielectric plate to slide back and forth; At least one vibrator is installed on the radiation surface, the vibrator is a slot-coupled dielectric resonator, the vibrator is connected to the phase shifter through a coaxial line, and the coaxial line runs through the reflector.

2. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism includes a driving motor, a transmission assembly and a third gear. A rack is provided on the medium plate, the rack is arranged along the length direction of the medium plate and meshes with the third gear. The driving motor is fixed to the bottom surface and drives the third gear to rotate through the transmission assembly.

3. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmission assembly includes a first bevel gear, a second bevel gear and a transmission shaft. The third gear and the second bevel gear are respectively fixedly sleeved on the transmission shaft and have a gap. The first bevel gear and the second bevel gear are meshed. The first bevel gear is fixedly sleeved on the driving shaft of the driving motor, and the driving motor is fixedly connected to the bottom surface.

4. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 3, characterized in that: The phase shifter includes a plurality of phase shifting units, which are arranged in parallel and spaced apart, and a plurality of third gears are sequentially and spaced apart on the transmission shaft, and the transmission shaft vertically passes through a plurality of dielectric plates, and each dielectric plate is provided with a rack, and the plurality of third gears are meshed with the plurality of racks one by one.

5. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each phase shifting unit is correspondingly connected to a plurality of the vibrators, and the plurality of the vibrators connected to the same phase shifting unit constitute a vibrator unit. The plurality of the vibrators in each vibrator unit are sequentially spaced along the length direction of the reflector, and each of the vibrators is respectively connected to the phase shifting unit via the coaxial line.

6. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 5, characterized in that: A side plate is arranged between two adjacent vibrator units, and the side plate is fixedly connected to the radiation surface and arranged along the length direction of the reflection plate.

7. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vibrator includes a dielectric block and a dielectric substrate, one side of the dielectric substrate is a grounded metal surface and is etched with gaps, and the other side of the dielectric substrate is provided with a microstrip line. The dielectric block is fixedly connected to the grounded metal surface, and the dielectric substrate is fixedly connected to the radiation surface of the reflector.

8. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 7, characterized in that: Each of the vibrators is connected to the phase shifting unit through two coaxial lines respectively. The coaxial lines include an inner conductor and an outer conductor. The inner conductor is insulated and passes through the outer conductor. The grounded metal surface is connected to the metal plate through the outer conductor. The microstrip line is connected to the PCB board through the inner conductor.

9. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 8, characterized in that: One end of the coaxial line passes through the dielectric substrate, one end of the outer conductor is welded to the grounded metal surface, one end of the inner conductor protrudes from the outer conductor and is connected to the microstrip line through a feed plate, an insulating through hole is provided on the dielectric substrate, one end of the feed plate is welded to the inner conductor, and the other end of the feed plate passes through the insulating through hole and is connected to the microstrip line.

10. The electrically adjustable smart antenna according to claim 9, characterized in that: The other end of the inner conductor is welded to the PCB board, and the other end of the outer conductor is welded to the metal plate.

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