Feed array and antenna system

Abstract

Provided are a feed array and an antenna system. The feed array is divided into a plurality of feed groups, each of the feed groups comprises a plurality of feeds arranged according to a preset topology structure, and any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in row and column directions.

Description

Cross-Reference to Related Application

[0001] The present invention is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of Chinese patent application No. CN202311566159.5, filed on November 22, 2023, entitled "Feed array and antenna system", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of antennas, and in particular, to a feed array and an antenna system.Background

[0003] A Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) is a new type of antenna array composed of a feed array and a transmission array. Since the RIS array itself has a phase modulation function, a group of feeds at different positions can generate beams in different directions, thereby realizing the beam forming function of the antenna array. The current hardware architecture of the feed array is a rectangular array formed by N rows and M columns of feeds, and a switching network and a combiner are used to feed baseband signals into different feed groups in the array, thereby realizing beam forming and signal transmission. A common feed grouping method is rectangular grouping, that is, the rectangular feed array is divided into several rectangular feed groups (n rows and m columns, where n and m are positive integers). According to functional requirements, the feeds in each feed group can receive baseband signals of the same path, or can receive different baseband signals through a switching network. The feeds in different groups are generally not overlapped.

[0004] With non-overlapping feed groups, limited to the number of existing feeds and the number of corresponding beams, a power reduction region exists between beams generated by two adjacent feed groups. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of rectangular groupings and corresponding beams in a transmission RIS system. As shown in Fig. 1, which illustrates a partial example of rectangular feed groupings (group 1 and group 2) and beams (beam 1 and beam 2) formed after corresponding array grouping passes through a transmission RIS, and it can be seen that there is a power reduction region between the beam 1 and the beam 2.

[0005] In order to solve the problem of signal power reduction between adjacent beams, a currently used method is to allow the same feed to belong to different feed groups through hardware architecture design. By means of a combiner, feed signals of feeds belonging respectively to adjacent rectangular array groups can be aggregated to form a new group, and a beam aligned with a middle position between an original adjacent beam is generated, thereby ameliorating the problem of signal power reduction. Taking Fig. 1 as an example, group 3 is composed of some feeds from group 1 and group 2, and a combiner is used to input a baseband signal into the group 3 so as to form beam 3, thereby ameliorating the problem of power reduction in a middle region between the beam 1 and the beam 2. A main problem of this hardware architecture is that an additional combiner is required to manage beams, which increases the complexity of system design and beam management.

[0006] In conclusion, there is no satisfactory solution to the problem in the related art that the complexity of system design and beam management increases due to the need to additionally add a combiner to manage beams.Summary

[0007] Embodiments of the present invention provide a feed array and an antenna system, so as to at least solve the problem in the related art that the complexity of system design and beam management increases because a combiner needs to be additionally added to manage a beam.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a feed array is provided. The feed array is divided into a plurality of feed groups, each of the feed groups includes a plurality of feeds arranged according to a preset topology structure, and any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in row and column directions.

[0009] In some embodiments, each feed in the feed array belongs to one of the feed groups, and each feed belongs to only one of the feed groups.

[0010] In some embodiments, the plurality of feed groups is tessellated congruent polygons.

[0011] In some embodiments, in the feed array, the number of feeds in a feed group at edge position in the feed array is less than or equal to the number of feeds in a feed group at non-edge position.

[0012] In some embodiments, the feed array is arranged in alignment in row and column directions.

[0013] In some embodiments, the preset topology structure includes at least one of the following: a preset first topology; the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset first topology; the mirror image of the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

[0014] In some embodiments, the feed array is arranged in alignment in the row direction with odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows staggered; or the feed array is arranged in alignment in the column direction with odd-numbered columns and even-numbered columns staggered.

[0015] In some embodiments, the preset topology structure includes at least one of the following: a preset second topology, wherein the preset second topology is a staggered variant of a preset first topology in a row direction or a column direction; the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset second topology; the mirror image of the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

[0016] In some embodiments, each feed group corresponds to one or more of the preset topology structures, and the plurality of the preset topology structures are staggered in row and column directions.

[0017] In some embodiments, the plurality of feed groups is connected to baseband signals of an antenna system via a switching network and radio frequency links, and respectively form one beam, wherein the beam directions corresponding to each of the feed groups are different.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the present invention, an antenna system is provided. The antenna system includes the feed array described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0019] In the embodiments of the present invention, by improving the arrangement manner of a feed array such that adjacent feed groups are staggered in both horizontal and vertical directions, the power reduction condition of the middle region between adjacent beams can be ameliorated, thereby solving the problem in the related art that the complexity of system design and beam management is increased due to the fact that a combiner needs to be additionally added to manage beams.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of rectangular groupings and corresponding beams in a transmitting RIS system; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a hardware architecture of a feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement manner of feed groups in a feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of feed groups and corresponding beams according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a topology structure of a preset first topology according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of feed groups and corresponding beams according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a staggered feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a topology structure of a preset second topology according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0021] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

[0022] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" in the description, claims, and accompanying drawings of the present invention are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific sequence or order.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, a feed array is provided, which can be applied to an antenna, in particular a transmission intelligent surface (RIS) antenna. The feed array is a novel antenna array composed of a feed array and a transmission array. The hardware architecture of the feed array is a rectangular array formed by N rows and M columns of feeds.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a hardware architecture of a feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, each rectangle represents a feed, and the feed array is formed by multiple rows and multiple columns of feeds.

[0025] In the present embodiment, the feed array is divided into a plurality of feed groups, each of the feed groups includes a plurality of feeds arranged according to a preset topology structure, and any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in row and column directions.

[0026] In the embodiments of the present invention, by changing the grouping manner of feed groups such that adjacent feed groups are staggered in both horizontal and vertical directions, the power reduction condition of the middle region between adjacent beams is ameliorated without increasing the complexity of system design and beam management, thereby solving the problem in the related art that the complexity of system design and beam management is increased due to the fact that a combiner needs to be additionally added to manage beams.

[0027] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement manner of feed groups in a feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the plurality of feed groups is arranged to cover the entire feed array in a tessellated manner.

[0028] In the present embodiment, each feed in the feed array belongs to one of the feed groups, and each feed belongs to only one of the feed groups.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the plurality of feed groups is tessellated congruent polygons. The present invention does not limit the shape of the polygons, and for the shape of each feed group, reference can be made to the description of the preset topology structure in the present invention.

[0030] In some embodiments, in the feed array, the number of feeds in a feed group at edge position in the feed array is less than or equal to the number of feeds in a feed group at non-edge position. The number of feeds in each feed group may be the same or different.

[0031] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of feed groups and corresponding beams according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, feed groups 1, 2 and 3 correspond to beams 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

[0032] In the present embodiment, the feed group 2 is located at the edge of the feed array, and the number of feeds contained in the feed group 2 is different from that of the feed groups 1 and 3. Compared with the beams corresponding to the rectangular groupings in Fig. 1, the beams corresponding to the feed groups in Fig. 4 have better coverage range in the embodiments of the present invention, which can ameliorate the significant power reduction condition of the middle region between two adjacent beams, thereby solving the problem in the related art that the complexity of system design and beam management is increased due to the fact that a combiner needs to be additionally added to manage beams.

[0033] In the embodiments of the present invention, the grouping manner of the feed groups should satisfy the following conditions: (1) any feed in the feed array belongs to a certain feed group, and only belongs to one of the feed groups; (2) any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in row and column directions.

[0034] In the embodiments of the present invention, the row direction and the column direction may be replaced with the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present invention, the determination of the condition (2) may include that in each feed group, there exists at least one feed for which the row and the column in the array where the feed is located have no intersection with an adjacent feed group. Exceptions may exist for feed groups at the edge positions.

[0036] In the present embodiment, the purpose of the condition (1) is to eliminate the combiner in the hardware architecture, and to use only feeds within a determined group for beam forming, thereby reducing hardware complexity. The effect of the condition (2) is to constrain the shape of the feed grouping manner, so as to ensure that the feeds in two adjacent feed groups are staggered in rows and columns, thereby ameliorating the signal power between adjacent beams.

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention do not limit the topology structure of a single feed group and the specific distribution mode of a plurality of feed groups in the feed array, as long as the described conditions can be satisfied, the technical effect of ameliorating power reduction condition in the middle region between adjacent beams can be achieved.

[0038] In some embodiments, the feed array is arranged in alignment in row and column directions.

[0039] In some embodiments, on the basis that the feed array is arranged in alignment in row and column directions, the preset topology structure includes at least one of the following: a preset first topology; the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset first topology; the mirror image of the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

[0040] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a topology structure of a preset first topology according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 5, on the basis that the feed array is arranged in alignment in row and column directions, the preset first topology may include any one of structures a to k.

[0041] The topology structure of the preset first topology shown in Fig. 5 is only an example, and the preset first topology in the embodiments of the present invention is not limited thereto. Exemplarily, the preset first topology structure may also be formed by combining any one or more of structures a to k.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the feed array may be grouped according to any one of the preset first topologies. The topologies of all the feed groups in the same feed array may be completely the same, or may include one or more variations of the same topology. Variations of the topology may include rotation and mirroring.

[0043] In some embodiments, each of the feed groups in the feed array may correspond to one or more of the preset topologies, wherein a plurality of the preset topologies is staggered in row and column directions. That is, each feed may correspond to only one preset first topology, or may include a combination of a plurality of the preset first topologies. When a single topology can satisfy the basic conditions of the grouping manner, a combination of a plurality of topologies also satisfy the basic conditions of the grouping manner.

[0044] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of feed groups and corresponding beams according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 6, feed groups 1 and 2 correspond to beams 1 and 2, respectively. Feed groups 1 and 2 are defined by two solid box-out areas.

[0045] In the present embodiment, each feed group in Fig. 6 is formed by a combination of two feed groups in Fig. 4.

[0046] In the present embodiment, all the grouping manners of the feed groups in any of the above embodiments may be recombined to derive new combination manners. Since the two feed groups determined in this grouping manner are staggered in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the power reduction problem in the middle area covered by adjacent beams can be ameliorated.

[0047] In other embodiments, the feed array is arranged in alignment in the row direction with odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows staggered; or the feed array is arranged in alignment in the column direction with odd-numbered columns and even-numbered columns staggered.

[0048] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a staggered feed array according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 7, the staggered arrangement of the feed array is divided into the following two manners: a horizontally staggered arrangement 72 and a vertically staggered arrangement 74.

[0049] In the present embodiment, the horizontally staggered arrangement 72 means that the feed array is arranged in alignment in the row direction with odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows staggered. The vertically staggered arrangement 74 means that the feed array is arranged in alignment in the column direction with odd-numbered columns and even-numbered columns staggered.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present invention, by changing the arrangement manner of the feed arrays, it can also be ensured that adjacent feed groups are staggered in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, thereby ameliorating the problem of low power in the coverage region between adjacent beams.

[0051] In some embodiments, on the basis that the feed array is staggered in the row direction or the column direction, the preset topology includes at least one of the following: a preset second topology, wherein the preset second topology is a staggered variant of a preset first topology in a row direction or a column direction; the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset second topology; the mirror image of the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

[0052] In some embodiments, the preset second topology may be based on the preset first topology, with its topology being staggered by rows or columns; a staggering scheme may be staggered upward or downward; accordingly, each preset first topology may generate at most four different preset second topologies after the staggered variant.

[0053] In the present embodiment, the staggered variant of the preset first topology includes at least one of the following: odd-numbered rows being staggered to the left / even-numbered rows being staggered to the right; odd-numbered rows being staggered to the right / even-numbered rows being staggered to the left; odd-numbered columns being staggered upward / even-numbered columns being staggered downward; odd-numbered columns being staggered downward / even-numbered columns being staggered upward.

[0054] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a topology structure of a preset second topology according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 8, taking the C structure of the preset first topology in Fig. 5 as an example, four types of preset second topologies C-0 to C-3 may be generated after the staggered variant.

[0055] In the present embodiment, C-0 and C-1 are respectively produced by staggering the C structure by rows in the horizontal direction, and C-2 and C-3 are respectively produced by staggering the C structure by columns in the vertical direction.

[0056] Fig. 8 is merely an example of the staggered variant of the preset first topology with the C structure. According to the above rules of the staggered variant, four different preset second topologies can be derived from any one of the preset first topologies after the staggered variant, which is not limited in the present invention.

[0057] In some embodiments, each of the feed groups in the feed array may correspond to one or more of the preset topology structures, and the plurality of the preset topology structures are staggered in row and column directions. That is, each feed may correspond to only one preset second topology, or may include a combination of a plurality of preset second topologies.

[0058] In some embodiments, the plurality of feed groups is connected to baseband signals of an antenna system via a switching network and radio frequency links, and respectively form one beam, wherein the beam directions corresponding to each of the feed groups are different.

[0059] In the present embodiment, after the feed groups are grouped, different feed groups may be selected by using a switching network, so as to form beams in corresponding directions. Since the feed groups are staggered with respect to each other, power reduction in the middle region between adjacent beams can also be ameliorated.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present invention, a user may response an optimal beam according to adjacent beam quality, and select a corresponding feed group for communication. By means of the embodiments of the present invention, on the basis without using a combiner, the problem of signal power reduction between adjacent beams can be ameliorated by means of feed grouping only or changing the arrangement of feeds, thereby reducing the complexity of system design and beam management.

[0061] Another embodiment of the present invention further provides an antenna system. The antenna system includes the feed array according to any one of the above embodiments.

[0062] In some embodiments, the antenna array in the antenna system includes a feed array and a transmission array, and each feed group in the feed array forms a beam after passing through the transmission array (transmission RIS).

[0063] In some embodiments, the antenna system further includes a switching network and a generation apparatus for generating a baseband signal. Each feed group is connected to the generation apparatus under the control of the switching network, and switching of the feed groups can be realized under the control of the switching network.

[0064] By means of the embodiments of the present invention, the signal power of the middle region covered by adjacent beams can be improved without using a combiner.

[0065] For specific examples in the present embodiment, reference may be made to the examples described in the above embodiments and exemplary implementations, and details are not repeated herein.

[0066] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present invention can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, they may be centralized on a single computing device or distributed on a network composed of a plurality of computing devices, they can be implemented by program codes executable by a computing apparatus, and thus can be stored in a storage apparatus and executed by the computing apparatus, furthermore, in some cases, the shown or described steps may be executed in an order different from that described herein, or they may be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps therein may be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.

[0067] The above descriptions are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements and the like made within the principle of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feed array, wherein the feed array is divided into a plurality of feed groups, each of the feed groups comprises a plurality of feeds arranged according to a preset topology structure, and any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in row and column directions.

2. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein each feed in the feed array belongs to one of the feed groups, and each feed belongs to only one of the feed groups.

3. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of feed groups is tessellated congruent polygons.

4. The feed array according to claim 3, wherein in the feed array, the number of feeds in a feed group at edge position in the feed array is less than or equal to the number of feeds in a feed group at non-edge position.

5. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein the feed array is arranged in alignment in row and column directions.

6. The feed array according to claim 5, wherein the preset topology structure comprises at least one of the following: a preset first topology; the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset first topology; the mirror image of the preset first topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

7. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein the feed array is arranged in alignment in the row direction with odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows staggered; or the feed array is arranged in alignment in the column direction with odd-numbered columns and even-numbered columns staggered.

8. The feed array according to claim 7, wherein the preset topology structure comprises at least one of the following: a preset second topology, wherein the preset second topology is a staggered variant of a preset first topology in a row direction or a column direction; the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°; a mirror image of the preset second topology; the mirror image of the preset second topology rotated by 90°, 180°, or 270°.

9. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein each feed group corresponds to one or more of the preset topology structures, and the plurality of the preset topology structures are staggered in row and column directions.

10. The feed array according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of feed groups is connected to baseband signals of an antenna system via a switching network and radio frequency links, and respectively form one beam, wherein the beam directions corresponding to each of the feed groups are different.

11. An antenna system, comprising the feed array according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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