Waveguide antenna device, radar system, and electronic apparatus

Abstract

A waveguide antenna device, a radar system and an electronic device, the waveguide antenna device comprising a waveguide structure, the waveguide structure comprising a first opening and a plurality of radiation ports arranged along a straight line, the plurality of radiation ports comprising a plurality of first radiation ports and a plurality of second radiation ports, the second radiation ports are symmetrically arranged relative to the first opening, all the first radiation ports are located between the symmetrically arranged second radiation ports, and each first radiation port is located in the first opening and is communicated with the outside through the first opening. Through the arrangement, the antenna pitching directional diagram has symmetry, beam characteristics of high main lobe gain and low side lobe level are formed, and the front radar direction detection requirement is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a waveguide antenna device, radar system, and electronic equipment, belonging to the field of antenna technology. Background Technology

[0002] Vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, due to its excellent ranging and speed measurement performance, has become a key sensor for modern advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. However, due to size limitations, the aperture of the front radar antenna is restricted, making it difficult for conventional antenna designs to overcome performance bottlenecks. Specifically, its elevation pattern often exhibits problems such as excessively high sidelobes, beam asymmetry, or a "bell-shaped" distribution, leading to defects such as significant ground interference and insufficient angular resolution. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a waveguide antenna device, radar system, and electronic device that can generate a symmetrical elevation pattern and has the characteristics of high main lobe gain and low sidelobe level.

[0004] In this disclosure:

[0005] A waveguide antenna device includes a waveguide structure, the waveguide structure including a first opening and a plurality of radiating ports arranged along a straight line, the plurality of radiating ports including a plurality of first radiating ports and a plurality of second radiating ports, the second radiating ports being symmetrically arranged with respect to the first opening, all the first radiating ports being located between the symmetrically arranged second radiating ports, and each first radiating port being located within the first opening and communicating with the outside through the first opening.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the plurality of radiation ports are arranged into a radiation port array, the radiation port array having a central position, and the plurality of radiation ports being symmetrically distributed relative to the central position.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the first opening extends to both sides along the width direction of the radiation port array, and / or the first opening extends to both sides along the length direction of the radiation port array.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the first opening includes two first inclined surfaces, which are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the first opening extending along the width direction of the radiation port array. The two first inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first radiation port and are disposed facing the first radiation port.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the waveguide structure includes a second opening that corresponds one-to-one with the second radiation port, and each of the second radiation ports is connected to the outside through the corresponding second opening.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the second opening extends to both sides along the width direction of the radiation port array, and / or the second opening extends to both sides along the length direction of the radiation port array.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the second radiation port is provided as two, and the second opening includes a second inclined surface. The second inclined surface is disposed at the point where the second opening extends away from the first radiation port along the length direction of the radiation port array. The second inclined surface is located on the side of the second radiation port away from the first radiation port. The two second inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening and are disposed facing the first opening.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the second radiation port is provided as at least four, and the two outermost second openings include a second inclined surface. The second inclined surface is provided at the location where the corresponding second opening extends away from the first radiation port along the length direction of the radiation port array. The second inclined surface is located on the side of the corresponding second radiation port away from the first radiation port. The two second inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening and are provided facing the first opening.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the first opening includes two first inclined surfaces, which are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the first opening extending along the width direction of the radiation port array. The two first inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first radiation port and are disposed facing the first radiation port.

[0014] Each of the second openings includes two third inclined surfaces, which are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the second opening extending along the width direction of the radiation port array. The two third inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the corresponding second radiation port and are disposed facing the second radiation port.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the waveguide structure includes a waveguide cavity and a power divider disposed inside the waveguide cavity. The radiation port is connected to the waveguide cavity, and the power divider is used to divide the signal inside the waveguide cavity into multiple paths and feed them to the corresponding radiation ports.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present disclosure, the waveguide cavity is provided with multiple stepped portions, each of which is located within one of the radiation ports, and each stepped portion includes at least two steps.

[0017] In this disclosure:

[0018] A radar system including a waveguide antenna assembly.

[0019] In this disclosure:

[0020] An electronic device comprising a waveguide antenna device; or, the electronic device comprising a radar system.

[0021] The waveguide antenna device disclosed herein includes a waveguide structure comprising a first opening, a plurality of first radiating ports and a plurality of second radiating ports. Each first radiating port is located within the first opening and communicates with the outside through the first opening. The second radiating ports are symmetrically arranged relative to the first opening, thereby making the antenna elevation pattern symmetrical and forming a beam characteristic with high main lobe gain and low sidelobe level, which meets the requirements of forward radar directional detection. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a waveguide antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Enlarged view of region A in the middle;

[0024] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Top view of the waveguide antenna device shown;

[0025] Figure 4 It is along Figure 1 Cross-sectional view of the middle BB line;

[0026] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the waveguide antenna device shown.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a top view of the first opening in another embodiment;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a top view of the second opening in another embodiment;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a top view of the second radiating port in another embodiment;

[0030] Figure 9 This is an elevation pattern of an embodiment of the present invention compared to that of a conventional antenna.

[0031] Those skilled in the art should understand that the accompanying drawings provided herein are for the purpose of illustrating specific embodiments of the invention, and the scale shown in the drawings is only for illustrative embodiments; other embodiments are not necessarily implemented to scale. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. If several embodiments exist, features in these embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. When the description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise stated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The descriptions in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention; rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses, products, and / or methods consistent with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

[0033] The terminology used in this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this invention. The singular forms “a,” “the,” or “the” as used in the specification and claims of this invention are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0034] It should be understood that the terms "first," "second," and similar words used in the specification and claims of this invention do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish features. Similarly, the terms "an" or "a" do not indicate a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one. Unless otherwise stated, the terms "before," "after," "upper," "lower," and similar words appearing in this invention are for ease of explanation only and are not limited to a specific location or spatial orientation. The terms "comprising" or "including" are an open-ended expression, meaning that the element preceding "comprising" or "including" encompasses the element following "comprising" or "including" and its equivalents, but this does not preclude the element preceding "comprising" or "including" from also including other elements. In this invention, the term "several" means two or more.

[0035] Please refer to Figures 1 to 8 As shown in the figure, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a waveguide antenna device, including a waveguide structure 10. The waveguide structure 10 includes a first opening 1 and a plurality of radiating ports 2 arranged along a straight line. The plurality of radiating ports 2 includes a plurality of first radiating ports 21 and a plurality of second radiating ports 22, the second radiating ports 22 being symmetrically arranged with respect to the first opening 1, thereby making the antenna elevation pattern symmetrical. All the first radiating ports 21 are located between the symmetrically arranged second radiating ports 22, making all the first radiating ports 21 centrally located. Each first radiating port 21 is located within the first opening 1 and communicates with the outside through the first opening 1. The first opening 1, as an integrated radiating aperture, couples and collects the energy of all the first radiating ports 21 inside, and radiates it outward in a coordinated manner. This arrangement has the following advantages: it is conducive to generating a symmetrical beam with high main lobe gain and low sidelobe level, so that the radiated energy is concentrated as much as possible in the forward direction.

[0036] Multiple radiating ports 2 are arranged into a radiating port array 2a. The radiating port array 2a has a central position, and the multiple radiating ports 2 are symmetrically distributed relative to the central position, which is beneficial for generating symmetrical beams.

[0037] In some implementation methods, please refer to Figure 1 As shown, the first opening 1 extends to both sides along the width direction W of the radiating port array 2a, and also extends to both sides along the length direction L of the radiating port array 2a, thereby expanding its space outward. This expansion structure optimizes the impedance matching characteristics of the antenna, reduces return loss, and is beneficial to energy transmission and radiation efficiency. In other embodiments, the first opening 1 extends to both sides along the width direction W of the radiating port array 2a. Alternatively, the first opening 1 extends to both sides along the length direction L of the radiating port array 2a.

[0038] Because the first opening 1 extends outward relative to the first radial opening 21, a first stepped surface 201 is formed between them. In one embodiment, please refer to... Figure 4 As shown, the first step surface 201 is perpendicular to the thickness direction H of the waveguide structure 10. Correspondingly, the first step surface 201 is parallel to the top surface of the waveguide structure 10, so that the first opening 1 forms a stepped opening, that is, the circumferential sidewall of the first opening 1 is not coplanar with the circumferential sidewall of the first radiation port 21.

[0039] In another embodiment, please refer to Figure 6 or Figure 7 As shown, the first opening 1 includes two first inclined surfaces 11, which are part of the first stepped surface 201 and are set at an acute angle to the thickness direction H of the waveguide structure 10. The two first inclined surfaces 11 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first opening 1 extending along the width direction W of the radiating port array 2a. The two first inclined surfaces 11 are symmetrically distributed with respect to the first radiating port 21 and face the first radiating port 21. That is, the lower end of the first inclined surface 11 is closer to the first radiating port 21. By setting the first inclined surfaces 11, it is beneficial to reduce the antenna sidelobes and suppress their own electromagnetic scattering, thereby effectively reducing the radar cross-section.

[0040] Please refer to Figure 1 As shown, the waveguide structure 10 includes second openings 3 corresponding to the second radiation ports 22, and each second radiation port 22 is connected to the outside through its corresponding second opening 3. In some embodiments, please refer to... Figure 3As shown, the second opening 3 extends to both sides along the width direction W of the radiating port array 2a, and also extends to both sides along the length direction L of the radiating port array 2a, thereby expanding its space outward. This expansion structure effectively optimizes the impedance matching characteristics of the antenna, reduces return loss, and is beneficial to energy transmission and radiation efficiency. In other embodiments, the second opening 3 extends to both sides along the width direction W of the radiating port array 2a. Alternatively, the second opening 3 extends to both sides along the length direction L of the radiating port array 2a.

[0041] In one embodiment, two second radiation ports 22 are provided. Please refer to... Figure 2 or Figure 6 As shown, the second opening 3 includes a second inclined surface 31, which is disposed at the point where the second opening 3 extends along the length L of the radiating port array 2a away from the first radiating port 21. The second inclined surface 31 is located on the side of the second radiating port 22 away from the first radiating port 21, and the two second inclined surfaces 31 are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening 1 and face the first opening 1. By setting the second inclined surface 31, it is beneficial to reduce the antenna sidelobes and suppress their own electromagnetic scattering, thereby effectively reducing the radar cross-section.

[0042] The second radiation port 22 can also be configured as at least four. In another embodiment, please refer to... Figure 8 As shown, taking four second radiation ports 22 as an example, the two outermost second openings 3 include second inclined surfaces 31. The second inclined surfaces 31 are located at the points where the corresponding second opening 3 extends along the length L of the radiation port array 2a away from the first radiation port 21. The second inclined surfaces 31 are located on the side of the corresponding second radiation port 22 away from the first radiation port 21, and the two second inclined surfaces 31 are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening 1 and face the first opening 1. That is, the lower end of the second inclined surface 31 is closer to the second radiation port 22.

[0043] In another embodiment, please refer to Figure 7 As shown, each second opening 3 includes two third inclined surfaces 32, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second opening 3 extending along the width direction W of the radiation port array 2a. The two third inclined surfaces 32 are symmetrically distributed with respect to the corresponding second radiation port 22 and are oriented towards the second radiation port 22.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 5 As shown, the waveguide structure 10 includes a waveguide cavity 4 and a power divider 5 disposed inside the waveguide cavity 4. The radiation port 2 is connected to the waveguide cavity 4, and the power divider 5 is used to divide the signal in the waveguide cavity 4 into multiple paths and feed them to the corresponding radiation ports 2.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 2As shown, the waveguide cavity 4 has multiple stepped sections 41, each stepped section 41 is located within a radiation port 2, and each stepped section 41 includes at least two steps. This arrangement achieves a smooth impedance transition, which helps to reduce energy reflection and lower losses.

[0046] In one embodiment of the present invention, the tilt angles of the first tilting surface 11, the second tilting surface 31, and the third tilting surface 32 are controlled between 2 and 6°.

[0047] The radiated waves from all radiating ports 2 are vector-superimposed in the far field to obtain, as shown below. Figure 9 The elevation pattern is shown. The horizontal axis represents the observation angle in degrees, and the vertical axis represents the gain value in dB. The dotted line represents the elevation pattern obtained by the waveguide structure 10 in this embodiment of the invention, while the solid line represents the elevation pattern obtained by the waveguide structure without the first opening, second opening, and inclined surface. The solid line shows that the main lobe is narrow, and the side lobes appear around ±20°, with a large number of side lobes. The dotted line shows that the shaped beamwidth has a pyramidal shape, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with side lobes below -25dB, significantly improving anti-interference capability. Furthermore, the main lobe covers a direction within ±50°, while the side lobes appear outside ±50°. Comparatively, the main lobe is significantly wider, and the energy is more concentrated in front.

[0048] This invention discloses a radar system including the waveguide antenna device described in the above embodiments.

[0049] The present invention discloses an electronic device, which includes the waveguide antenna device in the above embodiments; or, the electronic device includes the radar system in the above embodiments.

[0050] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical solutions described in the present invention. The understanding of the present invention should be based on those skilled in the art. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still make modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present invention. All technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A waveguide antenna device, characterized by The waveguide structure comprises a first opening and a plurality of radiation ports arranged in a straight line, the plurality of radiation ports comprises a plurality of first radiation ports and a plurality of second radiation ports, the second radiation ports are symmetrically arranged relative to the first opening, all the first radiation ports are located between the symmetrically arranged second radiation ports, and each first radiation port is located in the first opening and communicates with the outside through the first opening.

2. The waveguide antenna device of claim 1, wherein, The plurality of radiation ports are arranged in a radiation port array, the radiation port array has a center position, and the plurality of radiation ports are symmetrically distributed relative to the center position.

3. The waveguide antenna device of claim 2, wherein, The first opening extends to both sides along the width direction of the radiation port array, and / or the first opening extends to both sides along the length direction of the radiation port array.

4. The waveguide antenna device of claim 3, wherein, The first opening comprises two first inclined surfaces, the two first inclined surfaces are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first opening extending along the width direction of the radiation port array, and the two first inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first radiation port and face the first radiation port.

5. The waveguide antenna device of claim 2, wherein, The waveguide structure comprises a second opening corresponding to each second radiation port, and each second radiation port communicates with the outside through the corresponding second opening.

6. The waveguide antenna device of claim 5, wherein, The second opening extends to both sides along the width direction of the radiation port array, and / or the second opening extends to both sides along the length direction of the radiation port array.

7. The waveguide antenna device of claim 6, wherein, The second radiation port is provided as two, the second opening comprises a second inclined surface, the second inclined surface is arranged at the position where the second opening extends to the side away from the first radiation port along the length direction of the radiation port array, the second inclined surface is located on the side of the second radiation port away from the first radiation port, and the two second inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening and face the first opening.

8. The waveguide antenna device of claim 6, wherein, The second radiation port is provided as at least four, the outermost two second openings comprise a second inclined surface, the second inclined surface is arranged at the position where the corresponding second opening extends to the side away from the first radiation port along the length direction of the radiation port array, the second inclined surface is located on the side of the corresponding second radiation port away from the first radiation port, and the two second inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the first opening and face the first opening.

9. The waveguide antenna device of claim 6, wherein, Each second opening comprises two third inclined surfaces, the two third inclined surfaces are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second opening extending along the width direction of the radiation port array, and the two third inclined surfaces are symmetrically distributed relative to the corresponding second radiation port and face the second radiation port.

10. The waveguide antenna device of claim 1, wherein, The waveguide structure comprises a waveguide cavity and a power divider arranged inside the waveguide cavity, the radiation ports communicate with the waveguide cavity, and the power divider is used to divide the signal in the waveguide cavity into multiple paths and feed to the corresponding radiation ports.

11. The waveguide antenna device of claim 10, wherein, The waveguide cavity is provided with a plurality of step portions, each step portion is arranged in a radiation port, and the step portion comprises at least two steps.

12. A radar system, characterized by The waveguide antenna device comprises the waveguide antenna device according to any one of claims 1-11.

13. An electronic device, comprising: The electronic device comprises the waveguide antenna device according to any one of claims 1-11; or the electronic device comprises the radar system according to claim 12.

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