Beam synthesis structure and antenna

Abstract

The utility model provides a synthetic wave beam structure and an antenna, the synthetic wave beam structure comprises an oscillator array, the oscillator array comprises a plurality of oscillators arranged in an array, and at least two oscillators in different columns or rows are connected through a power divider; the plurality of power dividers are connected through a phase shifter, and synthesized signals are input to a signal input port through the phase shifter. According to the scheme, the number of phase shifters required for beam synthesis can be reduced, so that the cost and weight of the antenna are reduced, the installation convenience of the antenna is improved, and the antenna is suitable for multi-array complex scenes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of antenna technology, and more particularly to a synthetic beam structure and antenna. Background Technology

[0002] Beamforming is a technique that enhances a beam in a specific direction by controlling the phase and amplitude of multiple radiation sources (such as antennas and microphones). The core of beamforming is adjusting the weighting coefficients and phase of each radiation source to achieve constructive interference for signals at certain angles, while destructive interference occurs for signals at other angles.

[0003] Existing composite beamforming structures typically use a single phase shifter for each column of antenna elements and a power divider for every two columns to input the composite beam to the signal input port. However, existing composite beamforming structures require a large number of phase shifters, resulting in high costs and significant antenna weight, which is inconvenient for antenna installation. Therefore, a new composite beamforming method is urgently needed to reduce the number of components and the weight of the antenna. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a composite beam structure and antenna that can reduce the number of phase shifters required for composite beams, thereby reducing antenna cost and weight, improving antenna installation convenience, and making it suitable for complex multi-array scenarios.

[0005] The technical solution provided by this utility model is as follows:

[0006] This utility model provides a synthetic beam structure, including:

[0007] A oscillator array, comprising a plurality of oscillators arranged in an array, wherein at least two oscillators in different columns or rows are connected by a power divider;

[0008] Several of the power dividers are connected through a phase shifter, and the combined signal is input to the signal input port through the phase shifter.

[0009] This solution adjusts the connection order of components during beamforming. First, at least two vibrators from different columns or rows are connected through a power divider. Then, several power dividers are connected through a phase shifter. Finally, the synthesized signal is input to the signal input port. Compared to the connection order of vibrators, power dividers, and phase shifters in existing technologies, this solution reduces the number of phase shifters required for beamforming without affecting the beamforming effect. This reduces antenna cost and weight, improves antenna installation convenience, and is suitable for complex multi-array scenarios.

[0010] In some embodiments, the number of columns in the oscillator array is even, and the oscillators in two different columns are connected through one of the power dividers; or,

[0011] The number of rows in the oscillator array is even, and two oscillators in different rows are connected through a power divider.

[0012] To ensure the beamforming effect, this scheme can be configured to connect two oscillators to one power divider. For the overall layout of the structure, the number of rows or columns of the oscillator array can be set to an even number, so that every two oscillators can be connected to a power divider.

[0013] In some embodiments, two oscillators located in an interval column of the subarray are connected via a power divider, and the two oscillators connected via the power divider are located in the same row of the subarray; or,

[0014] Two oscillators in the interval row of the array are connected by a power divider, and the two oscillators connected by the power divider are located in the same column of the array.

[0015] To facilitate the layout of the power divider and the connection to subsequent phase shifters, this scheme allows for the connection of two elements in a spaced column or two elements in a spaced row of the subarray via a single power divider. When two elements in a spaced column are connected via a single power divider, these two elements can be located in the same row of the subarray; when two elements in a spaced row are connected via a single power divider, these two elements can be located in the same column of the subarray. This ensures that the power divider can be evenly and regularly arranged on the antenna reflector.

[0016] In some embodiments, the number of columns of the subarray is four or the number of rows of the subarray is four.

[0017] In some embodiments, the number of phase shifters is two, and they are located on both sides of the array column direction or on both sides of the array row direction, respectively.

[0018] When the number of columns in the array is four or the number of rows is four, the two oscillators in each row or column are connected by a power divider. The number of phase shifters can be set to two, and they are located on both sides of the column direction or the row direction of the array, which facilitates the connection between the power divider on both sides and the corresponding phase shifter.

[0019] In some embodiments, the two power dividers connected to each row of the subarray are respectively connected to the phase shifters on both sides of the row direction of the subarray; or,

[0020] The two power dividers connected to each column of the subarray are respectively connected to the phase shifters on both sides of the column direction of the subarray.

[0021] This connection method allows multiple power dividers to be connected through a single phase shifter after two vibrators in the array are connected to a power divider. This achieves a beamforming effect similar to existing technologies that connect phase shifters first and then power dividers. Compared to existing technologies, this solution requires a significantly reduced number of phase shifters, which helps to reduce antenna cost and weight.

[0022] In some implementations, the power divider is mounted in an array on the back of the antenna reflector.

[0023] Secondly, this application provides an antenna including the synthetic beam structure described in the first aspect.

[0024] According to the present invention, a beamforming structure and antenna are provided. By adjusting the connection order of the components during beamforming, at least two vibrators in different columns or rows are first connected through a power divider, then several power dividers are connected through a phase shifter, and finally the synthesized signal is input to the signal input port. Compared with the component connection order of vibrators, power dividers, and phase shifters in the prior art, the number of phase shifters required for beamforming can be reduced without affecting the beamforming effect, thereby reducing antenna cost and weight, improving antenna installation convenience, and making it suitable for complex multi-array scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The preferred embodiments will now be described in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, with reference to the accompanying drawings, to further explain the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages, and implementation methods of this solution.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a synthetic beam structure in the prior art;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the synthesized beam structure in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] The numbers in the diagram are: 10-oscillator; 20-power divider; 30-phase shifter. Detailed Implementation

[0029] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the specific implementation methods of this utility model will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0030] To keep the drawings concise, only the parts relevant to this invention are shown schematically in each figure, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, in some figures, only one of the components with the same structure or function is schematically depicted, or only one is labeled. In this document, "one" not only means "only one," but can also mean "more than one."

[0031] Beamforming is a technique that enhances a beam in a specific direction by controlling the phase and amplitude of multiple radiating sources (such as antennas and microphones). The core of beamforming is adjusting the weighting coefficients and phases of each radiating source to achieve constructive interference for signals at certain angles and destructive interference for signals at other angles. Existing beamforming structures typically use a single phase shifter for each column of antenna elements, and a power divider for the two phase shifters corresponding to every two columns of elements to combine the beam before inputting the combined signal to the signal input port. For example... Figure 1 As shown, taking a 4x4 array of oscillators as an example, in the existing technology, each column of oscillators is connected to a phase shifter (i.e., Figure 1 PS1, PS2, PS3, or PS4 (as shown) are connected, and the two phase shifters are separated by a power divider (i.e., Figure 1 As shown, power divider1 and power divider2 are connected, and the synthesized signal is then sent to the signal input port. Taking a 4x4 array as an example, existing technologies require four phase shifters. The large number of phase shifters increases the cost and makes the antenna heavy, which is not conducive to antenna installation. Therefore, a new beamforming method is urgently needed to reduce the number of components and the weight of the antenna.

[0032] This application adjusts the connection order of components during beamforming by first connecting two elements from different columns or rows through a power divider, and then connecting several power dividers through a phase shifter. Compared to the previous connection order of elements, power dividers, and phase shifters, this reduces the number of phase shifters required for beamforming. Since phase shifters are significantly heavier and more expensive than power dividers, this solution, while increasing the number of power dividers, still significantly reduces the cost and weight of the antenna without affecting the beamforming effect, making it suitable for complex multi-array scenarios. The following is a detailed description of this solution with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0033] In one embodiment, refer to the appendix to the specification. Figure 2 This invention provides a synthetic beam structure, comprising: a subarray, which includes a plurality of elements 10 arranged in an array. The subarray is an antenna system composed of multiple antenna elements (subarrays). By controlling the phase and amplitude of each subarray 10, rapid beam pointing and shape control can be achieved. The number of rows and columns of the subarray is not limited. For example, in one specific implementation, the subarray can have four columns and four rows; in another, it can have four columns and six rows; and in yet another, it can have eight columns and eight rows. Different numbers of rows and columns can be selected for the subarray according to the application scenario and actual needs.

[0034] This scheme uses at least two vibrators 10 in different columns or rows connected by a power divider 20. A power divider is a device that splits the energy of one input signal into two or more outputs of equal or unequal energy. Conversely, it can also combine the energy of multiple signals into one output, in which case it can also be called a combiner. That is, in this application, when combining beams, the vibrators 10 are first connected to the power divider 20. Two vibrators 10 can be connected to one power divider 20, or multiple vibrators 10 can be connected to one power divider 20; at least two vibrators 10 in different columns can be connected to one power divider 20, or at least two vibrators 10 in different rows can be connected to one power divider 20. This application does not impose any restrictions and the choice can be made according to the antenna board layout requirements.

[0035] After at least two different columns or rows of vibrators 10 are connected through a power divider 20, several power dividers 20 are connected through a phase shifter 30, and the synthesized signal is input to the signal input port through the phase shifter 30. That is, in this application, when synthesizing beams, the vibrator 10 is first connected to the power divider 20, and then to the phase shifter 30. This method, compared to the component connection order of the vibrator, power divider, and phase shifter in the prior art, does not affect the effect of beam synthesis. Furthermore, this application does not limit the number of power dividers 20 connected to the phase shifter 30. In specific implementations, the power dividers 20 can be allocated according to their positions to facilitate antenna layout. For example, in one specific implementation, five power dividers 20 located on the same side can be connected to one phase shifter 30.

[0036] This solution adjusts the connection order of components during beamforming. First, at least two vibrators from different columns or rows are connected through a power divider. Then, several power dividers are connected through a phase shifter. Finally, the synthesized signal is input to the signal input port. Compared to the connection order of vibrators, power dividers, and phase shifters in existing technologies, this solution reduces the number of phase shifters required for beamforming without affecting the beamforming effect. This reduces antenna cost and weight, improves antenna installation convenience, and is suitable for complex multi-array scenarios.

[0037] In one embodiment, based on the foregoing embodiments, this application can arrange the connections of each vibrator in the subarray by row or column. To ensure beamforming, two vibrators 10 can be connected to a power divider 20. For overall structural layout, the number of rows or columns in the subarray can be even, so that every two vibrators 10 can be connected to a power divider 20. For example, in one specific implementation, the number of columns in the subarray is even, and two vibrators 10 in different columns are connected through a power divider 20. As another example, in another specific implementation, the number of rows in the subarray is even, and two vibrators 10 in different rows are connected through a power divider 20.

[0038] Preferably, when the connection between each oscillator 10 in the array and the power divider 20 is arranged column by column, two oscillators 10 located in an alternate column of the array are connected by a power divider 20, and the two oscillators 10 connected by the power divider 20 are located in the same row of the array. When the connection between each oscillator 10 in the array and the power divider 20 is arranged row by row, two oscillators 10 located in an alternate row of the array are connected by a power divider 20, and the two oscillators 10 connected by the power divider 20 are located in the same column of the array.

[0039] To facilitate the layout of the power divider and the connection to subsequent phase shifters, this scheme allows for the connection of two elements in a spaced column or two elements in a spaced row of the subarray via a single power divider. When two elements in a spaced column are connected via a single power divider, these two elements can be located in the same row of the subarray; when two elements in a spaced row are connected via a single power divider, these two elements can be located in the same column of the subarray. This ensures that the power divider can be evenly and regularly arranged on the antenna reflector.

[0040] In one specific implementation, the subarray has four columns, and there are two phase shifters 30, located on opposite sides of the column direction. The two power dividers 20 connected to each row of the subarray are connected to the phase shifters 30 on opposite sides of the row direction. Specifically, when the subarray has four columns, the two oscillators 10 in each row are connected by one power divider 20. The number of phase shifters 30 can be set to two, located on opposite sides of the column direction, thus facilitating the connection between the power dividers 20 on both sides and the corresponding phase shifters 30.

[0041] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, for a 4x4 subarray, equivalent to existing technology, only two phase shifters 30 (i.e., attached) are needed. Figure 2 The power divider 30 uses eight (i.e., PS1 and PS2 shown) power dividers. Figure 2 The power divider1 to power divider8 shown can reduce the number of phase shifters required for beamforming by half compared to the component connection order of the vibrator, power divider, and phase shifter. Although the number of power dividers is increased, the cost and weight of the antenna in this scheme can still be reduced significantly because the phase shifter is much heavier and more expensive than the power divider.

[0042] In one specific implementation, the subarray has four rows, and there are two phase shifters 30, located on opposite sides of the row direction. Each column of the subarray has two power dividers 20 connected to the phase shifters 30 on opposite sides of the column direction. Specifically, when the subarray has four rows, each column's two oscillators 10 are connected by a power divider 20. The number of phase shifters 30 can be set to two, located on opposite sides of the row direction, facilitating the connection between the power dividers 20 and the corresponding phase shifters 30.

[0043] In one specific implementation, the power divider 20 is mounted in an array on the back of the antenna reflector, which facilitates the layout of the back of the antenna reflector.

[0044] In one embodiment, this application provides an antenna including the synthetic beam structure of the foregoing embodiments.

[0045] In one embodiment, this application provides a method for synthesizing beams, including the following steps:

[0046] S100. Connect at least two different columns or rows of oscillators in a subarray through a power divider. The subarray includes a plurality of oscillators arranged in an array.

[0047] S200: After connecting several power dividers through a phase shifter, the combined signal is input to the signal input port.

[0048] This solution sets up at least two vibrators in different columns or rows connected by a power divider, and then sets up several power dividers connected by a phase shifter. The synthesized signal is input to the signal input port through the phase shifter. By adjusting the connection order of each component when synthesizing the beam, compared with the connection order of vibrators, power dividers and phase shifters in the prior art, the number of phase shifters required for beam synthesis can be reduced without affecting the beam synthesis effect. This reduces the cost and weight of the antenna, improves the ease of installation, and is suitable for complex multi-array scenarios.

[0049] In one embodiment, based on the foregoing embodiments, this application can arrange the connections of each vibrator in the subarray by row or column. To ensure beamforming effect, two vibrators can be connected to a power divider. For overall structural layout, the number of rows or columns in the subarray can be even, so that every two vibrators can be connected to a power divider. For example, in one specific implementation, the number of columns in the subarray is even, and two vibrators located in alternate columns but in the same row are connected by a power divider; in another specific implementation, the number of rows in the subarray is even, and two vibrators located in alternate rows but in the same column are connected by a power divider.

[0050] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this utility model. 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 utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A synthetic beam structure, characterized by, include: A oscillator array, comprising a plurality of oscillators arranged in an array, wherein at least two oscillators in different columns or rows are connected by a power divider; Several of the power dividers are connected through a phase shifter, and the combined signal is input to the signal input port through the phase shifter.

2. The synthetic beam structure of claim 1, wherein, The number of columns in the oscillator array is even, and two oscillators in different columns are connected through one of the power dividers; or, The number of rows in the oscillator array is even, and two oscillators in different rows are connected through a power divider.

3. The synthetic beam structure of claim 2, wherein, Two oscillators located in an interval column of the array are connected by a power divider, and the two oscillators connected by the power divider are located in the same row of the array; or, Two oscillators in the interval row of the array are connected by a power divider, and the two oscillators connected by the power divider are located in the same column of the array.

4. The synthetic beam structure according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The number of columns in the array is four, or the number of rows in the array is four.

5. The synthetic beam structure of claim 4, wherein, The number of phase shifters is two, and they are located on both sides of the column direction or the row direction of the array, respectively.

6. The synthetic beam structure of claim 5, wherein, The two power dividers connected to each row of the subarray are respectively connected to the phase shifters on both sides of the row direction of the subarray; or, The two power dividers connected to each column of the subarray are respectively connected to the phase shifters on both sides of the column direction of the subarray.

7. The synthetic beam structure of claim 1, wherein, The power dividers are mounted in an array on the back of the antenna reflector.

8. An antenna, characterized by Includes the synthetic beam structure as described in any one of claims 1-7.

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