Feed network, phase shifter and antenna device

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the field of communication, and discloses a feed network, a phase shifter and an antenna device, the feed network comprises a housing, a support member and a transmission structure, and the housing is provided with a cavity; the supporting piece is arranged in the cavity and comprises at least one suspension rod, one end of the suspension rod is fixed to the shell, and the other end of the suspension rod is suspended in the cavity; the transmission structure comprises at least one layer of transmission line, and the transmission line is fixed to the suspension rod. The suspension rod used for supporting the transmission structure is of the rod-shaped structure, compared with a PCB, the size of the rod-shaped structure is small, the proportion of non-air media in a cavity can be reduced, and therefore the effect of reducing loss and cost is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly to a power supply network, a phase shifter, and an antenna device. Background Technology

[0002] Against the backdrop of the national dual-carbon strategy, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the "Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of the Information and Communication Industry," requiring a 20% reduction in comprehensive energy consumption per unit of information traffic and a 15% reduction in comprehensive energy consumption per unit of total telecommunications business volume by 2025 compared to 2020. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop green and low-carbon base station antennas. In green base station antennas, the power supply network, as a core component, will largely determine the quality of energy efficiency.

[0003] In existing technologies, power supply networks are costly and have significant losses. Therefore, a novel power supply network structure is needed to meet the requirements of low loss and low cost. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a power supply network, a phase shifter, and an antenna device that can reduce the loss and cost of the power supply network.

[0005] The technical solution provided in this application is as follows:

[0006] On the one hand, a power supply network is provided, including:

[0007] The shell has a cavity;

[0008] A support member is disposed within the cavity. The support member includes at least one suspension rod, one end of which is fixed to the housing, and the other end of which is suspended within the cavity.

[0009] The transmission structure includes at least one layer of transmission line, which is fixed to the suspension rod.

[0010] In some embodiments, the cavity includes a main cavity and a mounting cavity, the main cavity and the mounting cavity being in communication with each other;

[0011] The support also includes a fixing part, which is fixedly disposed in the mounting cavity. One end of the suspension rod is fixedly connected to the fixing part, and the other end is suspended in the main cavity.

[0012] In some embodiments, the mounting cavity is disposed within the main cavity; or, the mounting cavity is disposed outside the main cavity.

[0013] In some embodiments, at least one phase-shifting medium is also included, which is disposed within the main cavity.

[0014] In some embodiments, the support includes a plurality of suspension rods and a plurality of horizontal rods, the plurality of suspension rods being spaced apart along the length of the housing, one end of each of the plurality of suspension rods being fixedly connected to the fixing part, and the other end of each of the plurality of suspension rods being provided with a horizontal rod; the transmission structure is connected to the plurality of horizontal rods.

[0015] In some embodiments, the support includes a suspension rod, a first horizontal rod, and a plurality of second horizontal rods, wherein the first horizontal rod is disposed at the suspension end of the suspension rod and extends along the length direction of the housing;

[0016] A plurality of second horizontal bars are spaced apart from the first horizontal bar along the length direction of the housing, and the second horizontal bars extend along the width direction of the housing;

[0017] The transmission structure includes multiple transmission lines, each of which is fixed to a plurality of second horizontal bars.

[0018] In some embodiments, the support member further includes a plurality of support rods, with one or more of the support rods provided on each of the second horizontal rods; the multiple transmission lines are respectively fixed to the plurality of support rods.

[0019] In some embodiments, the support rod is arranged along the height direction of the housing, and the support rod is positioned above or below the second horizontal rod.

[0020] On the other hand, a phase shifter is also provided, including the power supply network described in any of the above embodiments.

[0021] In another aspect, an antenna device is also provided, including the feeding network described in any of the above embodiments.

[0022] The technical advantage of this application is that the suspension rod used to support the transmission structure is a rod-shaped structure. Compared with the PCB board, the rod-shaped structure is smaller in volume, which can reduce the proportion of non-air medium in the cavity, thereby reducing losses and costs. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:

[0024] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission structure provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a power supply network provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0031] Explanation of icon numbers:

[0032] 100. Shell; 110. Cavity; 111. Main cavity; 112. Mounting cavity; 120. Partition; 121. First partition; 122. Second partition; 123. Third partition;

[0033] 200, Support component; 210, Suspension rod; 220, Fixing part; 230, Horizontal bar; 240, First horizontal bar; 250, Second horizontal bar; 260, Support rod;

[0034] 300. Transmission structure; 310. Transmission line; 311. First layer transmission line; 312. Second layer transmission line; 313. Third layer transmission line; 314. Fourth layer transmission line;

[0035] 400. Phase-shifting medium. Detailed Implementation

[0036] In the following description, specific details such as particular system architectures and techniques are set forth for illustrative purposes and not for limitation, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of this application. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this application can also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, apparatuses, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of this application with unnecessary detail.

[0037] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the specific implementation methods of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0038] To keep the drawings concise, each drawing only schematically shows the parts relevant to this application, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, in some drawings, only one of the components with the same structure or function is schematically shown, or only one is labeled. In this document, "one" not only means "only one," but can also mean "more than one."

[0039] It should also be further understood that the term “and / or” as used in this application specification and the appended claims means any combination of one or more of the associated listed items and all possible combinations, and includes such combinations.

[0040] In this document, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linkage" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; or they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0041] In the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, the directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, and back) are relative rather than absolute when describing the structure and movement of the various components, and are not intended to limit the direction of the product during actual use.

[0042] Furthermore, in the description of this application, ordinal numbers, such as "first" and "second," are used only to distinguish related objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying the relative importance or order between related objects.

[0043] An antenna feed network is a network that connects the antenna transmitter or receiver to the antenna elements. Its main function is to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals from the transmitter to the antenna, or from the antenna to the receiver. It is also responsible for matching the impedance of the transmitter or receiver to minimize reflections and maximize energy transfer, and for distributing power to multiple elements of the antenna array to form the desired radiation pattern.

[0044] In existing technologies, the transmission lines of a power supply network are typically printed on a PCB board, which supports the transmission lines. The PCB board with the printed transmission lines is fixed within the cavity to form the transmission structure of the power supply network. Since the transmission lines are supported by a single PCB board, the proportion of non-air dielectric material within the cavity increases, and the dielectric constant of the PCB board is greater than that of air, thus increasing the power supply network loss. Therefore, a novel power supply network structure needs to be designed to meet the requirement of low loss.

[0045] In view of this, this application provides a power supply network that, by using a smaller support structure, can reduce the proportion of non-air medium in the cavity, thereby reducing losses and costs.

[0046] The power supply network provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] For ease of description, in the embodiments of this application, the length direction of the power supply network (i.e., the length direction of the housing) is the x direction in the figure, the width direction (i.e., the width direction of the housing) is the y direction in the figure, and the height direction (i.e., the height direction of the housing) is the z direction in the figure.

[0048] like Figure 1 As shown, in one or more embodiments, the power supply network includes a housing 100, a support member 200, a transmission structure 300, and a phase-shifting medium 400. The housing 100 has a cavity 110, and the transmission structure 300 and the phase-shifting medium 400 are both disposed within the cavity 110. The support member 200 is disposed within the cavity 110 and includes at least one suspension rod 210. One end of the suspension rod 210 is fixed to the housing 100, and the other end of the suspension rod 210 is suspended within the cavity 110. In the width direction of the housing 100, the transmission structure 300 includes at least one layer of transmission line 310, and the transmission line 310 is fixed to the suspension rod 210.

[0049] The power supply network provided in this application embodiment has a hollow housing 100 to form a cavity 110. The cavity 110 provides installation space for the transmission structure 300 and the phase-shifting medium 400. At least one phase-shifting medium 400 is provided in the cavity 110. The phase-shifting medium 400 is disposed between the transmission structure 300 and the inner wall of the cavity 110. For example, when there is only one phase-shifting medium 400, the phase-shifting medium 400 is located between the transmission structure 300 and the top wall of the cavity 110, or the phase-shifting medium 400 is located between the transmission structure 300 and the bottom wall of the cavity 110. When there are two phase-shifting media 400, one phase-shifting media 400 is located between the transmission structure 300 and the top wall of the cavity 110, and the other phase-shifting media 400 is located between the transmission structure 300 and the bottom wall of the cavity 110. The entire feed network forms a metal strip structure, wherein the top and bottom walls of the housing 100 are ground layers, the transmission structure 300 is a signal layer, and the phase-shifting media 400 between the transmission structure 300 and the ground layer is a dielectric layer. In this embodiment, the transmission structure 300 can be used to transmit signals; the phase-shifting media 400 can be used to change the phase of the radiating element, thereby achieving the downtilt of the antenna beam. By adjusting the position of the phase-shifting media, the signal phase can be changed.

[0050] In this embodiment, the transmission structure 300 is suspended within the cavity 110 by a support member 200. The support member 200 includes at least one suspension rod 210. One end of the suspension rod 210 is directly or intermittently fixed to the inner wall of the cavity 110 by means of adhesive, snap-fit, threaded connection, welding, etc. The transmission line 310 of the transmission structure 300 is fixed to the suspension rod 210, so that the entire transmission structure 300 can be suspended and fixed within the cavity 110. In this embodiment, the suspension rod 210 can be vertically arranged, that is, the suspension rod 210 extends along the z-direction, or the suspension rod 210 can be horizontally arranged, extending along the x-direction. It should be noted that the number and arrangement of the suspension rods 210 are related to the number and shape of the transmission line 310. In practical applications, the suspension rods 210 can be arranged according to the number and shape of the transmission line 310 so that each layer of transmission line 310 can be fixedly suspended within the cavity 110 by the suspension rod 210. For example, if the transmission structure 300 includes only one layer of transmission line 310 and the length of the transmission line 310 is relatively short, the transmission structure 300 can be fixedly supported by one or two suspension rods 210. When the transmission structure 300 includes multiple layers of transmission lines 310, the transmission structure 300 can be fixedly supported by three, four or more suspension rods 210.

[0051] In this embodiment, the suspension rod 210 used to support the transmission structure 300 is a rod-shaped structure. Compared with the PCB board, the rod-shaped structure has a smaller volume, which can reduce the proportion of non-air medium in the cavity 110, thereby reducing losses and costs.

[0052] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the cavity 110 includes a main cavity 111 and a mounting cavity 112, which are interconnected; the support member 200 also includes a fixing part 220, which is fixedly disposed in the mounting cavity 112, one end of the suspension rod 210 is fixedly connected to the fixing part 220, and the other end of the suspension rod 210 is suspended in the main cavity 111.

[0053] In this embodiment, the suspension rod 210 is indirectly fixed to the housing 100 via the fixing part 220. The fixing part 220 is fixed inside the mounting cavity 112, which can achieve a fixed connection between the fixing part 220 and the housing 100. One end of the suspension rod 210 is fixedly connected to the fixing part 220, which can achieve a fixed connection between the entire support member 200 and the housing 100. For example, in this embodiment, the fixing part 220 can extend along the x-direction, and there are multiple suspension rods 210. The multiple suspension rods 210 are spaced apart along the x-direction, and the transmission line 310 extends along the x-direction. The multiple suspension rods 210 fix the transmission line 310 so that the transmission line 310 can be suspended inside the main cavity 111. At the same time, the phase shifting medium 400 is also disposed inside the mounting cavity 112. Of course, in other embodiments, the fixing part 220 may also extend in the y direction, the multiple suspension rods 210 may extend in the y direction, the transmission line 310 may extend in the y direction, and the multiple suspension rods 210 may support the transmission line 310 so that the transmission line 310 may be suspended in the mounting cavity 112.

[0054] In this embodiment, the mounting cavity 112 can be disposed inside the main cavity 111 or outside the main cavity 111. When the mounting cavity 112 is disposed inside the main cavity 111, for example, a partition 120 is provided inside the housing 100, and the partition 120 is disposed inside the housing 100 to form the mounting cavity 112 inside the main cavity 111. In one example, the partition 120 is U-shaped and includes a first partition 121, a second partition 122, and a third partition 123 connected in sequence. The first partition 121, the second partition 122, the third partition 123, and the top plate of the housing 100 surround to form an installation cavity 112. The first partition 121 and the third partition 123 are arranged opposite to each other, and the second partition 122 is arranged opposite to the top plate of the housing 100. The second partition 122 has an opening. When the fixing part 220 is disposed in the installation cavity 112, one end of the suspension rod 210 is connected to the fixing part 220, and the other end of the suspension rod 210 passes through the opening on the second partition 122 and is suspended in the main cavity 111. In another example, the partition 120 includes two L-shaped partitions arranged opposite each other, with a gap between the horizontal portions of the two partitions to form an opening through which the suspension rod 210 can pass, so that the suspension rod 210 can be suspended in the main cavity 111.

[0055] like Figure 2As shown, when the mounting cavity 112 is located outside the main cavity 111, a partition 120 is provided outside the housing 100. The partition 120 is also U-shaped, and its two ends are connected to the top plate of the housing 100. The partition 120 and the top plate of the housing 100 form the mounting cavity 112. The top plate of the housing 100 has an opening corresponding to the position of the partition 120 for the suspension rod 210 to pass through. The fixing part is located inside the mounting cavity 112, and the suspension rod 210 passes through the opening in the top plate of the housing 100 and is suspended inside the main cavity 111. In this embodiment, the mounting cavity 112 is located outside the main cavity 111, and the fixing part 220 can be installed outside the main cavity 111, which can further reduce the proportion of non-air medium in the main cavity 111, thereby further reducing losses.

[0056] It should be noted that the partition 120 can not only form a mounting cavity 112 with the top plate of the housing 100, but also... Figure 3 As shown, the partition 120 and the side plate of the housing 100 can also form a mounting cavity 112. The mounting cavity 112 can be located inside or outside the side plate of the housing 100. The partition 120 can be integrally formed with the housing 100, or it can be formed separately and then assembled together.

[0057] In some embodiments, the transmission structure 300 includes a multilayer transmission line 310, such as Figure 4 As shown, the multilayer transmission lines 310 are spaced apart along the y-direction. For example, in this embodiment, the transmission structure 300 includes a first-layer transmission line 311, a second-layer transmission line 312, a third-layer transmission line 313, and a fourth-layer transmission line 314; the first-layer transmission line 311, the second-layer transmission line 312, the third-layer transmission line 313, and the fourth-layer transmission line 314 are arranged sequentially along the y-direction. In other embodiments, the multilayer transmission lines 310 are also spaced apart along the x-direction, or a portion of the transmission lines 310 are spaced apart along the y-direction, while another portion is arranged sequentially along the x-direction.

[0058] To secure the multilayer transmission line 310 described in the above embodiments, in one embodiment, such as Figure 4 As shown, the support member 200 includes a plurality of suspension rods 210 and a plurality of horizontal rods 230. The plurality of suspension rods 210 are spaced apart along the length of the housing. One end of each of the plurality of suspension rods 210 is fixedly connected to the fixing part 220, and the other end of each of the plurality of suspension rods 210 is provided with a horizontal rod 230. The transmission structure 300 is connected to the plurality of horizontal rods 230.

[0059] Multiple suspension rods 210 are spaced apart along the x-direction, and each suspension rod 210 is fixedly connected to a fixing part 220 so that the multiple suspension rods 210 can be fixedly suspended in the main cavity 111. Each suspension rod 210 has a horizontal rod 230 at its suspension end, and the horizontal rod 230 extends along the y-direction. Multilayer transmission lines 310 are connected to the multiple horizontal rods 230 to fix the transmission structure 300 in the main cavity 111 in both the x-direction and y-direction.

[0060] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the lengths of the multiple horizontal rods 230 may be inconsistent, and the length of the horizontal rods 230 can be set according to the interval between the transmission lines 310 that need to be fixed. This embodiment does not limit the connection form between the horizontal rods 230 and the transmission lines 310, as long as a fixed connection between the horizontal rods 230 and the transmission lines 310 can be achieved. For example, the horizontal rods 230 and the transmission lines 310 can be fixedly connected by means of heat fusion, snaps, hooks, or slots. Similarly, the horizontal rods 230 and the suspension rods 210 can also be fixedly connected by means of snaps, hooks, slots, or threaded connections.

[0061] In another embodiment, such as Figure 5 As shown, the support member 200 includes a suspension rod 210, a first horizontal rod 240, and a plurality of second horizontal rods 250. The first horizontal rod 240 is disposed at the suspension end of the suspension rod 210 and extends along the length direction of the housing 100, that is, along the x-direction. The plurality of second horizontal rods 250 are spaced apart from the first horizontal rod 240 along the length direction of the housing 100 and extend along the width direction of the housing 100. The transmission structure 300 includes a multi-layer transmission line 310, which is fixed to the plurality of second horizontal rods 250 respectively.

[0062] In this embodiment, a suspension rod 210 is fixedly connected to the fixing part 220, and a first horizontal rod 240 is provided at the suspension end of the suspension rod 210. The first horizontal rod 240 extends along the x-direction and can be used to install multiple second horizontal rods 250. The second horizontal rods 250 extend along the y-direction and can be used to fix the multi-layer transmission line 310 of the transmission structure 300. This embodiment provides another structural form of the support member 200, which can also fix the transmission structure 300 in the main cavity 111 and reduce the proportion of waste air medium in the main cavity 111, thereby reducing losses.

[0063] In this embodiment, the transmission line 310 can be directly or indirectly fixedly connected to the second horizontal bar 250. When the transmission line 310 is indirectly connected to the second horizontal bar 250, such as... Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the support member 200 also includes multiple support rods 260. Each second horizontal rod 250 is provided with one or more support rods 260. When multiple support rods 260 are provided on the second horizontal rod 250, the multiple support rods 260 are spaced apart along the y-direction. The multilayer transmission line 310 is fixed to the multiple support rods 260 respectively. The support rods 260 extend along the z-direction and can be positioned above or below the second horizontal rod 250.

[0064] This application also provides an embodiment of a phase shifter, which includes the feeding network described in any of the above embodiments. The phase shifter is used to realize real-time variable network coverage and simultaneously adjust the signal phase to achieve electrical downtilt of the array antenna. The feeding network is electrically connected to the radiating element and the antenna connector. The feeding network can feed radio frequency signals to the radiating element with a certain amplitude and phase, or transmit received wireless signals to radio frequency devices, such as the signal processing unit of a communication base station, with a certain amplitude and phase.

[0065] This application also provides an embodiment of an antenna device, including the feeding network described in any of the above embodiments. The antenna device can be applied in communication equipment, which can be a communication base station. The main component for information transmission between the communication base station and the mobile device is the antenna device. The antenna device can include multiple radiating elements and multiple feeding networks, with each feeding network corresponding to one of the radiating elements, thus forming an array antenna. Each radiating element is electrically connected to its corresponding feeding network, so that each radiating element is electrically connected to a radio frequency circuit through its respective feeding network, thereby enabling each radiating element to receive or transmit radio frequency signals.

[0066] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail or recorded in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0067] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A feed network, characterized by, include: The shell has a cavity; A support member is disposed within the cavity. The support member includes at least one suspension rod, one end of which is fixed to the housing, and the other end of which is suspended within the cavity. The transmission structure includes at least one layer of transmission line, which is fixed to the suspension rod.

2. A power supply network according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cavity includes a main cavity and a mounting cavity, and the main cavity and the mounting cavity are in communication with each other; The support also includes a fixing part, which is fixedly disposed in the mounting cavity. One end of the suspension rod is fixedly connected to the fixing part, and the other end is suspended in the main cavity.

3. A power supply network according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mounting cavity is located inside the main cavity; or, the mounting cavity is located outside the main cavity.

4. A power supply network according to claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes at least one phase-shifting medium disposed within the main cavity.

5. A power supply network according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The support includes multiple suspension rods and multiple horizontal rods. The multiple suspension rods are spaced apart along the length of the housing. One end of each of the multiple suspension rods is fixedly connected to the fixing part, and the other end of each of the multiple suspension rods is provided with a horizontal rod. The transmission structure is connected to the multiple horizontal rods.

6. A power supply network according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The support includes a suspension rod, a first horizontal rod, and a plurality of second horizontal rods. The first horizontal rod is disposed at the suspension end of the suspension rod and extends along the length direction of the housing. A plurality of second horizontal bars are spaced apart from the first horizontal bar along the length direction of the housing, and the second horizontal bars extend along the width direction of the housing; The transmission structure includes multiple transmission lines, each of which is fixed to a plurality of second horizontal bars.

7. A power supply network according to claim 6, characterized in that, The support also includes a plurality of support rods, with one or more of the support rods provided on each of the second horizontal rods; the multiple transmission lines are respectively fixed to the plurality of support rods.

8. A power supply network according to claim 7, characterized in that, The support rod is arranged along the height direction of the housing, and the support rod is located above or below the second horizontal rod.

9. A phase shifter, characterized by Includes the power supply network as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. An antenna device, characterized by Includes the power supply network as described in any one of claims 1-8.

Images