Flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna

Abstract

A flexible gradually-changing omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna comprises a parallel feed plate, spiral gradually-changing array arms, an antenna housing and a flexible circuit board. The number of the spiral gradual change oscillator arms is multiple, the lower ends of the multiple spiral gradual change oscillator arms and the upper ends of the other multiple spiral gradual change oscillator arms are installed together, and the upper ends of the multiple spiral gradual change oscillator arms and the lower ends of the other multiple spiral gradual change oscillator arms are located in the multiple open holes of the parallel feed panel and installed together. The outer sides of the plurality of spiral gradient oscillator arms are respectively arranged at the inner side end of the circuit board; the circuit board, the spiral gradient oscillator arms and the feed panel are arranged between the two radomes; wherein the lower ends of the plurality of spiral gradient oscillator arms are connected with a feed cable. According to the utility model, miniaturization and broadband are realized, the characteristics of high gain and high axial ratio are maintained, the antenna can be conveniently installed on an application terminal for use, the design cost is reduced, and the production efficiency and the product consistency are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of antenna equipment, in particular to a flexible gradient omnidirectional circular polarization antenna. Background Art

[0002] Omnidirectional circularly polarized antennas can provide a larger signal coverage range than traditional directional antennas due to their dual characteristics of circularly polarized radiation and omnidirectional radiation. At the same time, circularly polarized antennas have the characteristics of suppressing cloud and rain interference and resisting multipath reflection. They are widely used in remote sensing and telemetry, space vehicles (aircraft, missiles, rockets, etc.), radio and television systems, satellite positioning, data transmission and other aspects. For example, the global satellite navigation and positioning system (GNSS) has the characteristics of fast response, high efficiency, and accurate positioning in practical applications. Its application has penetrated into people's daily lives. In order to increase the coverage area of ​​satellite navigation antennas, there is a huge demand for omnidirectional circularly polarized antennas. With the vigorous development of 5G communications, smart homes, smart industrial equipment, smart driving, and long-distance unmanned image transmission equipment have also made great progress. In order to effectively send and receive signals, related equipment also relies on omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna systems. Practical omnidirectional circularly polarized antennas with good data transmission and reception effects can not only ensure the data transmission and reception of application terminals, but also improve the market competitiveness of their own products.

[0003] like Figure 1 As shown, the mainstream omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna currently used in this industry is a conventional four-leaf clover antenna design with dimensions of 30*25cm (antenna body, excluding connectors). This type of antenna has the disadvantages of large diameter, high profile, and heavy weight, which are not conducive to the miniaturization and compactness of the equipment, and cannot meet the requirements of lightweight and miniaturization. In addition, the radiation pattern performance of the antenna has certain defects, which will have a certain adverse effect on the transmission and reception of application terminal signals. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the drawbacks of the existing omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna due to structural limitations as described in the background, the utility model provides a method of changing the traditional four-leaf clover omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna into a three-dimensional spiral antenna. The spiral antenna gradient structure is used to achieve miniaturization and broadband of the omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, reduce the height of the antenna, achieve a low profile, use flexible circuit board technology to process the circuit, reduce the design cost, and relatively achieve low cost and lightweight. Relying on mature flexible circuit board technology, it greatly improves production efficiency and product consistency, and is a flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna that can achieve better signal data receiving and sending effects when used in terminal equipment.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the utility model to solve its technical problems is:

[0006] A flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, characterized in that it comprises a parallel feed plate, a spiral gradient array arm, an antenna cover, and a flexible circuit board; the parallel feed plate has a plurality of openings, and a fixing hole is provided in the middle of the plurality of openings; there are a plurality of spiral gradient array arms, and the spiral gradient array arms are of an arc structure; there are at least two antenna covers, and each antenna cover comprises a limit plate and a connecting column, and one end of the limit plate and the connecting column are installed together; the lower ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms and the upper ends of the other plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively installed together, and the upper ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms and the lower ends of the other plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively located in the plurality of openings of the parallel feed plate and installed together; the flexible circuit board is of a hollow structure, and the outer sides of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively installed on the inner ends of the circuit board, and the circuit board, the spiral gradient array arm, and the feed plate are installed between the two antenna covers; the lower ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms are connected to a feeding cable.

[0007] Furthermore, the shape formed by one and the other spiral gradient array arms connected at the upper and lower ends in one opening of the parallel feeding plate is a semicircular arc.

[0008] Furthermore, the antenna cover and the flexible circuit board are made of insulating materials.

[0009] Furthermore, the spiral gradient array arm is made of copper material and has a sheet structure.

[0010] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the limiting plate is greater than the outer diameter of the flexible circuit board.

[0011] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the two antenna covers is between 10-12*7-8mm.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following beneficial effects: the utility model changes the traditional four-leaf clover omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna into a three-dimensional spiral antenna, and realizes the miniaturization and broadbandization of the omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna through the spiral antenna gradient structure. On the basis of maintaining the characteristics of high gain and high axial ratio, the height of the antenna is reduced and the low profile is realized; because the appearance is smaller and the weight is lighter, it can be easily installed on the application terminal for use, which solves the problem that the current conventional antenna is large in size and heavy in weight and cannot be effectively integrated with the existing miniaturized equipment, and has a wider range of applications; the flexible circuit board process is used to process the circuit, which replaces the laser engraving or sheet metal process of the traditional omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, which relatively reduces the design cost, realizes low cost and lightweight, and relies on the mature flexible circuit board process to greatly improve the production efficiency and product consistency. The application of this new type of terminal equipment can achieve better data receiving and sending effects. Based on the above, the utility model has good application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an existing omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna.

[0015] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the utility model.

[0016] Figure 3 , 4 5 is a schematic diagram of the local structure of the utility model.

[0017] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of increasing current distribution by using a gradient line structure of the utility model.

[0018] Figure 7 It is a broadband comparison schematic diagram of the utility model.

[0019] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of wide axis ratio regulation of the utility model.

[0020] Fig. 9 This is the 3D radiation direction of the utility model Figure 6 Schematic diagram showing excellent omnidirectionality.

[0021] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram showing the performance of the utility model - standing wave ratio.

[0022] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the shaft ratio showing the performance of the utility model.

[0023] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the horizontal petal width showing the performance of the utility model.

[0024] Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram of the vertical petal width showing the performance of the utility model.

[0025] Fig.14 It is a performance display of the utility model - a schematic diagram of radiation efficiency. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Figure 2 , 3As shown in , 4, and 5, a flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna includes a parallel feed plate 1, a spiral gradient array arm 2, an antenna cover 3, and a flexible circuit board 4; the parallel feed plate 1 has four openings 101 in the middle, and a fixing hole 102 is provided in the middle of the four openings 101, the spiral gradient array arm 2 has eight spiral gradient array arms 2, and the spiral gradient array arm 2 is a spiral arc structure, and there are two antenna covers 3, each of which includes a limit plate 31 and a connecting column 32, and one end of the limit plate 31 and the connecting column 32 are integrally formed and installed together, wherein an antenna The limiting plate 31 and the connecting column 32 of the cover each have a through opening in the middle, and the limiting plate 31 and the connecting column 32 of the other antenna cover each have a through screw hole in the middle; the lower ends of the four spiral gradient array arms 2 and the upper ends of the other four spiral gradient array arms 2 are welded together, and the upper ends of the four spiral gradient array arms 2 and the lower ends of the other four spiral gradient array arms 2 are welded together and located in the four openings 101 of the parallel feeding plate (the four spiral gradient array arms 2 are located at the lower end of the feeding plate, and the other four spiral gradient array arms 2 are welded together). The spiral gradient array sub-arm 2 is located at the upper end of the feed board); the flexible circuit board 4 (the flexible circuit board can be made of conventional engineering FPC materials, or 5-10mil FR4 and PTFE and other high-frequency circuit board materials. Due to its thin thickness, the substrate is only used as a support for the radiation arm and has a very limited impact on the radiation performance) is a ring-shaped hollow structure, and the outer sides of the eight spiral gradient array sub-arms 2 (the arc formed on the outer sides is consistent with the arc of the inner side of the circuit board) are distributed at equal distances in a ring and are respectively welded on the welding points on the inner end of the circuit board 4 (feed board The circuit board 1 is located in the middle of the inner side of the circuit board), the circuit board 4 is sleeved between the outer sides of the connecting columns of the two antenna covers 3, a screw is screwed into the screw hole of the other antenna cover 3 through the opening of one of the antenna covers 3 and the middle fixing hole 102 of the parallel feed board 1 (located between the limit plates of the two antenna covers), and the circuit board 4, the spiral gradient array arm 2, and the feed board 1 are installed between the two antenna covers 3; the lower ends of the four spiral gradient array arms 2 and a feed cable 6 are connected via a wire (the other end of the feed cable 6 is connected to the signal end of the terminal device).

[0027] Figure 2 , 3As shown in Figures 4 and 5, one of the spiral gradient array arms 2 connected at the upper and lower ends of each opening 101 of the parallel feed plate forms a semicircular arc shape, and the eight spiral gradient array arms 2 form four groups of spiral shapes connected end to end. The antenna cover 3 and the flexible circuit board 4 (except for the welding points) are made of insulating materials. The spiral gradient array arm 2 is made of copper material and has a sheet structure. The outer diameter of the limit plate 31 is larger than the outer diameter of the flexible circuit board 4. The outer diameter of the two antenna covers 3 is 11.6*7.6mm, which is greatly reduced compared to the traditional omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna. In the present invention, the spiral gradient array arm 2 is used to radiate the signal to be transmitted and receive the induction signal (adjusting the head-to-tail line width ratio of the gradient line of the spiral gradient array arm 2 can control the working bandwidth of the device to transmit and receive signals, adjusting the inclination angle of the gradient line of the spiral gradient array arm 2 can adjust the axial ratio characteristics and achieve better data transmission and reception effects, and adjusting the gradient line length of the spiral gradient array arm 2 can adjust the resonant frequency to meet the frequency of receiving and transmitting signals of different terminal devices to achieve the best); the parallel feeding plate 1 is used for impedance matching (the parallel feeding plate 1 constitutes a radio frequency quarter-wavelength matching circuit, which can realize the 50 ohm impedance transformation of the input cable segment to the impedance of the array arm, which is usually 100-150 ohms); the flexible circuit board 4 (ultra-thin flexible circuit board, which is convenient for eight spiral gradient array arms 2 to conform to each other) is used to support the solid spiral gradient array arm 2; the antenna cover 3 is used to protect the parallel feeding plate 1, the spiral gradient array arm 2, and the circuit board 4; the feeding cable 6 is used to feed the signal to the application equipment.

[0028] Figure 6 It can be seen that the spiral gradient array arm 2 gradient line structure increases the current distribution, which is more conducive to impedance matching and bandwidth expansion (it is beneficial to the reception and transmission of signals. Compared with the conventional array arm, the gradient array arm has a smoother current distribution and more current distribution at the end, so that the intensity of impedance changes is reduced, and the corresponding effect is good impedance matching or wider bandwidth performance). Figure 7 It can be seen that the spiral gradient array arm 2 gradient line structure can significantly expand the work and increase the matching performance (favorable for signal transmission and reception, by Figure 7 After comparing the structures, it can be seen that when the new gradient array arm is adopted, the performance of S11 is significantly improved, whether it is the deepest point of resonance or the 10dB bandwidth, which further illustrates that Figure 6 structural advantages). Figure 8 It can be seen that by adjusting the inclination angle of the gradient structure to optimize the axial ratio, selecting the appropriate angle of the spiral gradient array arm 2 can obtain both good standing wave and good axial ratio performance (which is conducive to signal transmission and reception. The standing wave ratio is explained as above. Figure 8 The current of the tilted array can be decomposed into horizontal and vertical components. The ratio of the horizontal and vertical components can be adjusted by adjusting the width of the gradient end and the tilt angle. A good axial ratio characteristic can be obtained by precisely controlling the value of each component). Fig. 9 It can be seen that the 3D radiation direction is displayed Figure 6 Excellent omnidirectionality. It can be seen that the present invention has excellent omnidirectionality and better signal receiving and sending effects (better omnidirectional radiation characteristics indicate that the antenna can receive or transmit signals from 360 degrees horizontally, thereby avoiding signal coverage blind spots and better covering the communication area). Fig.10 The standing wave ratio performance of the new type is demonstrated (an excellent standing wave ratio indicates that the antenna has less reflection of the fed signal, that is, radiates as much useful signal as possible, thereby improving the working efficiency of the system. At the same time, a lower standing wave ratio can also avoid the possibility of the entire system being burned by excessive reflection energy). Fig.11 The axial ratio performance of this new type is demonstrated (the axial ratio index is an important parameter of the circularly polarized antenna. The lower the axial ratio, the purer the circular polarization performance, and the radiated signal is close to the circularly polarized wave. A high axial ratio will lead to reduced antenna radiation performance, and the useful signal cannot be completely radiated, resulting in polarization loss, thereby reducing the efficiency of the overall system). Fig.12 Demonstrated the horizontal petal width performance of the new type (improved horizontal petal width performance, Fig. 9 Same explanation). Fig.13 The vertical plane flap width performance of the new type is demonstrated (a vertical plane direction performance diagram is given). Fig.14 The radiation efficiency of the new type is demonstrated (combined with the above analysis, the improvement of radiation efficiency comes from good standing wave matching and good axial ratio performance, and the radiation efficiency can be improved by optimizing these two parameters).

[0029] Figure 2-14 In the invention, through all the above technical solutions, the utility model changes the traditional four-leaf clover omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna into a three-dimensional spiral antenna. Through the spiral antenna gradient structure, the miniaturization and broadbandization of the omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna are realized. On the basis of maintaining the characteristics of high gain and high axial ratio, the height of the antenna is reduced and the low profile is realized. Due to the smaller appearance and lighter weight, it can be easily installed on the application terminal for use, which solves the problem that the current conventional antenna is large in size and heavy in weight and cannot be effectively integrated with existing miniaturized equipment, and has a wider range of applications. The flexible circuit board process is used to process the circuit, which replaces the laser engraving or sheet metal process of the traditional omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, which relatively reduces the design cost, realizes low cost and lightweight, and relies on the mature flexible circuit board process to greatly improve the production efficiency and product consistency. The application of this new type of terminal equipment can achieve better data receiving and sending effects.

[0030] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the utility model and the advantages of the utility model. For those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the utility model is limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the utility model can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the utility model. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-restrictive. The scope of the utility model is defined by the attached claims rather than the above description, and it is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims. Any figure mark in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claims involved.

[0031] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in the embodiments may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, characterized in that: It comprises a parallel feed plate, a spiral gradient array arm, an antenna cover, and a flexible circuit board; the parallel feed plate has a plurality of openings, and a fixing hole is provided in the middle of the plurality of openings; there are a plurality of spiral gradient array arms, and the spiral gradient array arms are of an arc structure; there are at least two antenna covers, and each antenna cover comprises a limit plate and a connecting column, and one end of the limit plate and the connecting column are installed together; the lower ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms and the upper ends of the other plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively installed together, and the upper ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms and the lower ends of the other plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively located in the plurality of openings of the parallel feed plate and installed together; the flexible circuit board is of a hollow structure, and the outer sides of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms are respectively installed on the inner ends of the circuit board, and the circuit board, the spiral gradient array arm, and the feed plate are installed between the two antenna covers; the lower ends of the plurality of spiral gradient array arms are connected to a feed cable.

2. A flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape formed by one and the other spiral gradient array arms connected at the upper and lower ends in one opening of the parallel feeding plate is a semicircular arc.

3. A flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radome and flexible circuit board are made of insulating materials.

4. The flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spiral gradient array arm is made of copper and has a sheet structure.

5. The flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer diameter of the limiting plate is larger than the outer diameter of the flexible circuit board.

6. The flexible gradient omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer diameter of the two antenna covers is between 10-12*7-8mm.

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