Phase shifter and antenna device including the same

Abstract

To provide a phase shifter that prevents physical interference between antenna elements between adjacent columns and enables slim manufacturing of a product. [Solution] The phase shifter includes a front feed stripline that branches and electrically connects dual-polarized beam outputs to a plurality of radiating element modules arranged on the front of an antenna board assembly that forms a plurality of antenna subarrays and an additional antenna subarray; a fixed substrate unit arranged on the front of the antenna board assembly and equipped with a variable contact pattern that connects the branching points of the front feed stripline and changes the physical transmission length to the first polarization side and the second polarization side of the radiating element module; and a movable substrate unit on which a current-carrying terminal pattern that moves relative to the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate unit and becomes a contact point is formed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a phase shifter and an antenna device including the same, and more particularly to a phase shifter and an antenna device including the same that can be manufactured using various manufacturing methods and that facilitates slim manufacturing of antenna device products. [Background technology]

[0002] While fixed antennas were initially used as base station antennas in mobile communication systems, vertical beam tilt control antennas, which are capable of vertical (and / or horizontal) beam tilting, have recently become popular due to their many advantages. The beam tilt methods used in such vertical beam tilt control antennas can be broadly divided into mechanical beam tilt methods and electrical beam tilt methods.

[0003] Mechanical beam tilting is typically based on a manually or power-operated bracket structure attached to the antenna where it connects to the support pole. The operation of this bracket structure changes the antenna's installed tilt, enabling vertical beam tilting of the antenna. Electrical beam tilting is based on a multiple phase shifter (MLPS), which changes the phase difference of the signals fed to each vertically arranged antenna radiating element, enabling electrical vertical beam tilting. An example of technology related to such vertical beam tilting is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,864,837 (title: VERTICAL ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT ANTENNA, inventors: Donald L. Runyon and two others, patent date: March 8, 2005) filed by EMS Technologies, Inc.

[0004] A multiplexed phase shifter is required for such electrical vertical beam tilting. Multiplexed phase shifters are typically used in various fields of RF analog signal processing, particularly for beam control in phase array antennas and for phase modulation. The principle of a multiplexed phase shifter is to appropriately delay an input signal, thereby generating a phase difference between the input and output signals. This can be achieved simply by varying the physical length of the transmission line or by varying the signal transmission speed within the transmission line in various ways. Such phase shifters are typically used in multiplexed phase shifter structures that allow the degree of phase shift to be changed, for example, by making the length of the transmission line variable.

[0005] In particular, in recent mobile communication systems, there has been a demand for technology that can balance the phases of the radiating elements of a phased array antenna in order to adjust the vertical beam angle of the phased array antenna at a base station and thereby adjust the coverage of the base station. In response to this demand, multiple phase shifters with various structures have been developed and widely used. Such multiple phase shifters may have a structure that divides an input signal into multiple output signals and appropriately adjusts the phase difference between each output signal. An example of technology related to multiple phase shifters for vertical beam tilt is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,831,602 (Low Cost Trombone Line Beamformer, inventors: William E. McKinzie, III, and two others, patent date: December 14, 2004) filed by Etenna Corporation.

[0006] However, such multiple phase shifters have been developed primarily to improve the structure of the multiple phase shifter itself and the performance of varying the phase of a processed signal, and research into the structure of an antenna in which the multiple phase shifter is installed, such as a phased array antenna, has been somewhat insufficient. Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has recognized the need for research and development into a multiple phase shifter with improved performance and structure, and filed a Korean patent application number 10-2009-0040978 entitled "Multiple Phase Shifter for Vertical Beam Tilt Control Antenna," which was subsequently registered on November 4, 2015, under Korean patent registration number 10-1567882 (hereinafter referred to as the "applicant's registered patent").

[0007] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the applicant's registered patent (see FIG. 7), and is a conceptual diagram showing the layout relationship of a conventional phase shifter.

[0008] Here, the problem with the applicant's registered patent is that, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(a-1), a plurality of phase variable patterns are formed on the surface of the movable substrate 12 of the phase shifter 1 facing the fixed substrate 14. However, the phase variable patterns must be printed so as to separate and input an input signal to the first polarization side 12A on one side and the second polarization side 12B on the other side. This means that the printed area of ​​the phase variable patterns occupies an excessive amount of space in the width direction (W) of the movable substrate 12, further increasing the width of the movable substrate 12. This creates a problem that mutual interference may occur between the one-side column C1 and the other-side column C2, where the antenna elements 35A are already arranged at a certain distance from each other.

[0009] To solve this problem, as shown in (b) and (b-1) of FIG. 1, the movable substrates 12-1 and 12-2 of the phase shifters corresponding to the first polarization side 12A and the second polarization side 12B can be divided and then arranged in the vertical direction (i.e., in the front-to-back thickness direction (D, Depth) of the antenna device) so as to be movable. However, in this case, the front-to-back thickness of the antenna device increases, which is a problem that limits the slimming of the product. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problems, and aims to provide a phase shifter and an antenna device including the same that do not increase the installation space in the thickness direction of the antenna device and can be manufactured using various manufacturing methods.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter and an antenna device including the same, which can improve the gain of the antenna while radiating a narrower beam and minimize beam interference between columns of radiating elements.

[0012] The objects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] A phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a front feed stripline that branches and electrically connects dual polarized beam outputs to a plurality of radiating element modules arranged on the front of an antenna board assembly that forms a plurality of antenna subarrays and an additional antenna subarray; a fixed substrate unit that is arranged on the front of the antenna board assembly and that connects branch points of the front feed stripline and has a variable contact pattern that changes the physical transmission length to the first polarization side and the second polarization side of the radiating element modules; and a movable substrate unit that has a current-carrying terminal pattern that moves relative to the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate unit and becomes a contact.

[0014] Here, the fixed substrate unit may be provided spaced apart in a single column in which the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray are formed in the vertical direction on the front surface of the antenna board assembly, and the movable substrate unit may be provided in a number corresponding to the fixed substrate units.

[0015] Furthermore, the front feed stripline and the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate portion can be integrally formed with the antenna board assembly.

[0016] The front feeding strip line may be formed separately from the fixed substrate part and may be pattern-printed on the front surface of the antenna board assembly made of the PCB material.

[0017] In addition, the fixed substrate unit may be provided in the form of a printed circuit board made of a PCB material separate from the antenna board assembly, and the variable contact pattern may be formed by pattern printing on a front surface of the fixed substrate unit provided in the form of a printed circuit board.

[0018] The antenna board assembly may include a reflecting panel configured to reflect antenna beams radiated from the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray forward, a rear panel laminated and coupled to a rear surface of the reflecting panel, and a front panel laminated and coupled to a front surface of the reflecting panel, and the front feeding stripline may be provided in the form of a terminal strip fixed to the front panel of the antenna board assembly, the front panel being made of a non-conductive material.

[0019] The front-feed stripline may be disposed in a stripline mounting slit formed in the front panel.

[0020] In addition, the radiating element module is electrically connected to the front of an RF filter, and the plurality of antenna subarrays and additional antenna subarrays are arranged to form a predetermined number of RF chains to realize antenna beamforming, and the phase value can be shifted by changing the length ratio of physical transmission lines for the plurality of antenna subarrays and additional antenna subarrays to a predetermined ratio.

[0021] In addition, the conductive terminal pattern of the movable substrate portion acts as a moving contact on the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate portion, thereby shifting and radiating the phase values ​​of the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray differently through the transmission line constituting the input end of each RF chain and one of the two branched output ends, thereby realizing a linear phase distribution according to the predetermined ratio with respect to the same reference phase plane.

[0022] An antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the phase shifter. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] The phase shifter and the antenna device including the phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention minimize the installation space in the thickness direction of the antenna device while simultaneously providing phase shifts for the transmission lines on both the left and right polarization sides, thereby improving the reliability of the product. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the applicant's registered patent (see FIG. 7), and is a conceptual diagram showing the layout relationship of a conventional phase shifter. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram including a general circuit diagram of a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing an antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention installed on a support pole; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 1 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a phase shifter and an antenna device including the phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 5 with the radome panel separated. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of FIG. 5 in which the radome panel and the antenna housing are separated. [Figure 8A] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the front part of the radiating element module. [Figure 8B] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rear part of the radiating element module. [Figure 9] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which one of the RF chains in the configuration of FIG. 6 is separated. [Figure 10] 8B is a front view showing the radiating element module of FIG. 8A. FIG. [Figure 11] 7 is an exploded perspective view showing one of the RF chains and a phase shifter of the radiating element module of FIG. 6 in a separated state. [Figure 12] 8C is an exploded perspective view of the antenna board assembly and the feed strip line coupled thereto in the configuration of the radiating element module of FIGS. 8A and 8B. FIG. [Figure 13] 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating an operational relationship of a phase shifter in the configuration of a phase shifter and an antenna device including the phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 14] 1 is a perspective view showing a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a single column radiating element module. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 16. [Figure 18] 17 is a front view of FIG. 16, showing a state in which the fixed base plate unit and the movable base plate unit are disassembled, and is a partial perspective view. FIG. [Figure 19] 1A and 1B are a circuit diagram and a phase difference diagram for explaining the principle of phase conversion performed in an RF stage using a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 20] 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a 32T32R transmission signal channel and phase transition of an antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A phase shifter and an antenna device including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] When assigning reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are assigned the same numerals as much as possible even if they are displayed in different drawings. Furthermore, when describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of such well-known configurations or functions would hinder understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0027] When describing components of embodiments of the present invention, terms such as "first," "second," "A," "B," "(a)," and "(b)" may be used. These terms are merely used to distinguish the component from other components and do not limit the nature, order, or procedure of the components. Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined in this application.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram including a general circuit diagram of a phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how an antenna device according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed on a support pole, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention and an antenna device including the same, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 5 with the radome panel separated, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 5 with the radome panel and antenna housing section separated, FIGS. 8A and 8B are exploded perspective views of the front and rear parts of a radiating element module, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 6 with one of the RF chains separated, and FIG. 10 is a front view of the radiating element module of FIG. 8A.

[0029] The antenna device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be an antenna device incorporating MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology.

[0030] MIMO technology dramatically increases data transmission capacity by using multiple antenna subarrays. It is a spatial multiplexing technique in which a transmitter transmits different data through each transmit antenna, and a receiver separates the transmitted data through appropriate signal processing. Therefore, by simultaneously increasing the number of transmit and receive antennas, channel capacity increases, enabling more data to be transmitted. For example, increasing the number of antennas to 10 secures approximately 10 times the channel capacity compared to a single antenna system using the same frequency band.

[0031] In particular, the antenna device may have TRx modules (not shown) that function as transmitters and receivers arranged in a vertical (V)-horizontal (H) configuration, with a plurality of antenna elements 350 electrically connected to each TRx module. Herein, the channel capacity established for each TRx module may be redefined as an "RF chain," and a group unit of the plurality of antenna elements 350 arranged for antenna beamforming may be redefined as an "antenna subarray 350." Hereinafter, it will be made clear that the term "TRx module" can be used interchangeably with the term "RF chain," and that the definition of the arrangement of antenna elements 350 that establishes RF communication for each RF chain can basically be used interchangeably with the term "antenna subarray."

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an antenna device 100 including a phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention can be installed on a support pole P provided perpendicular to the installation bottom surface via a clamping portion PC.

[0033] The clamping part PC not only mediates the installation of the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, but also functions to adjust the directionality of the antenna device 100, which is provided to be tiltable and / or steerable relative to the support pole P.

[0034] Meanwhile, an antenna apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a phase shifter (hereinafter referred to as a "phase shifter") as shown in FIG.

[0035] The phase shifter may include a fixed substrate part 550 provided with a front-feed stripline 311C arranged in front of the antenna board assembly (see drawing reference numeral "310" described below), and a movable substrate part 540 that moves from the front of the fixed substrate part 550 to a certain position of column C, which is the arrangement direction of the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' described below.

[0036] Here, the fixed substrate portion 550 may be formed with a variable contact pattern 551 that changes the physical transmission length from the input end of the feed signal supplied from the front feed stripline 311C and the rear feed stripline 311B to the first polarization side and the second polarization side of each antenna element for dual polarization beam formation.

[0037] However, the single variable contact pattern 551 connected to the input end (not shown in the drawing) of the front power supply stripline 311C may be formed to branch out from the input end of the front power supply stripline 311C so as to be in contact at multiple points with the power supply terminal pattern formed on the back surface of the movable substrate part described later.

[0038] For example, one antenna element 350, 350' is connected to both output ends of the front feed stripline 311C to generate one polarization (+45 degrees) and the other polarization (-45 degrees), respectively, and other antenna elements 350, 350' arranged in a row along column C are also connected to other branched output ends that change the physical transmission length as described above, and in this case, the phase difference due to the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' can be formed to have the same phase difference value.

[0039] Meanwhile, the movable substrate unit 540 has the above-mentioned energizing terminal pattern 541 formed on the rear surface thereof, which contacts the variable contact pattern 551 disposed on the front surface of the fixed substrate unit 550, thereby changing the physical transmission length. In one embodiment of the present invention, the movable substrate unit 540 is illustrated as a variable switch panel type that energizes the approximately circular variable contact pattern 541 while rotating, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may also be a linear moving body type that is movable longitudinally along the column C.

[0040] The variable contact patterns 541 are arranged one at a position related to the antenna subarray 350 side and one at a position related to the additional antenna subarray 350' side among the antenna elements arranged lengthwise approximately in the longitudinal direction of column C, and the front feed stripline 311C is connected to the branched ends of the variable contact patterns 551 of the fixed substrate part 550 branched from each input end of the rear feed stripline 311B, and the output ends may be branched so as to be connected to each antenna element 350, 350' on the antenna subarray 350 and additional antenna subarray 350' side.

[0041] Here, in conventional phase shifters, a configuration equivalent to the front power supply stripline that functions as the variable contact pattern described above is provided on a movable substrate section (see reference numeral "12" in Figure 1), and a configuration equivalent to the current-carrying terminal pattern is provided on a fixed substrate section. However, in the case of the present invention, the key component is to reverse the installation position.

[0042] More specifically, when the column C is used as a reference, the width range for forming the power terminal pattern 541 is relatively narrower than that of the variable contact pattern 551 or the front power supply stripline 311C arranged on the fixed substrate unit 550, so that the power terminal pattern 541 can be arranged on the movable substrate unit 540 side without the risk of mutual interference between adjacent columns C (e.g., C1 and C2 in FIG. 1).

[0043] In addition, the front feed stripline 311C and the variable contact pattern 541, whose transmission line length is physically variable according to the contact of the current-carrying terminal pattern 541, can be arranged so as not to overlap each other from each branch point to the output terminal, and therefore can have a sufficient arrangement width to the extent that they do not interfere with each other relative to the separation distance between the antenna elements 350, 350' arranged at an interval of half the wavelength (1 / 2λ) between adjacent columns C.

[0044] Here, a plurality of movable substrate units 540 on which the conductive terminal patterns 541 are formed may be provided corresponding to the locations on which the variable contact patterns 551 described above are formed, and each movable substrate unit 540 may be configured to move simultaneously by driving the phase shift drive motor 510 described later.

[0045] More specifically, two RF chains can be constructed in the V-direction as shown in Figures 6 and 7. Here, two antenna subarrays 350 may be arranged in the V-direction for each RF chain.

[0046] Each RF chain may further include an additional antenna subarray 350' having the same specifications and number as the antenna subarray 350 described above.

[0047] Here, each RF chain is constructed via a transmission line that branches from one input terminal to two output terminals, and the above-mentioned antenna subarray 350 is connected to one of the two output terminals, and the above-mentioned additional antenna subarray 350' may be further arranged at the other of the two output terminals.

[0048] Therefore, a total of 24 antenna subarrays 350 and additional antenna subarrays 350' can be arranged in the V-direction.

[0049] In this way, regardless of the name, the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' have a total of 24 antenna elements 350 arranged in the V-direction, and when the phase shifter 500 described below is not provided, they generally mean an antenna device that realizes a 64T64R transmission signal channel (i.e., a total of four RF chains), as already explained with reference to Figure 1.

[0050] However, in one embodiment of the present invention, a transmission line is constructed so that it branches from one input terminal to two output terminals, and then antenna subarray 350 and additional antenna subarray 350' are provided at locations corresponding to each output terminal, and two RF chains can be realized by phase shifting at two locations on the transmission line using phase shifter 500.

[0051] That is, as shown in Figures 6 to 10, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a radiating element module 300 that is electrically connected to the front of the RF filter 210 and includes a plurality of antenna subarrays 350 and an additional antenna subarray 350' arranged to realize antenna beamforming, and a phase shifter 500 that shifts the phase value by changing the length ratio of the physical transmission lines for the plurality of antenna subarrays 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' to a predetermined ratio.

[0052] Here, the radiation beams of the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350', which are radiated at the phase values ​​shifted by the phase shifter 500, can be beamformed with a gain improved by +3 dB compared to the conventional case where a beam is radiated through an antenna subarray for each RF chain, rather than branching from the input terminal of each RF chain to two output terminals.

[0053] In other words, the radiation beams of antenna subarray 350 and additional antenna subarray 350', which radiate at phase values ​​shifted by phase shifter 500, can achieve antenna device performance with an improved gain of +3 dB compared to an antenna device having the same number of RF chains.

[0054] In the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, additional antenna subarrays 350' can be further arranged in the V-direction so as to branch into the radiating element module 300 together with a plurality of antenna subarrays 350 arranged to realize predetermined antenna beamforming for each predetermined number of RF chains provided to realize 32T32R transmission signal channels.

[0055] In this case, the phase shifter 500 can be interpreted as having the improved gain as described above by radiating the phase values ​​of the multiple array antenna elements 350A and the additional array antenna element 350′A of each RF chain in different transitions.

[0056] This is like adding the phase shifter 500 to a high-spec antenna device that is generally designed to achieve a 64T64R transmission signal channel without the phase shifter 500 and applying the phase shifting method unique to the present invention to achieve a 32T32R transmission signal channel and enable radiation of an antenna beam with improved gain. However, in this case, not only must the transmission lines be constructed so that they branch into two output terminals relative to the input terminal of each RF chain, but also the phase must be shifted once in the transmission line before being branched into two output terminals by the phase shifter 500, and once in one of the transmission lines connected to the two output terminals after branching, so that the phase shift value achieves a linear distribution with respect to the reference identical phase plane.

[0057] Here, the multiple antenna subarrays 350 in a MIMO antenna device for mobile communications are generally designed as multiple dual-polarized antenna module arrays to reduce the effects of fading due to multipath and to perform polarization diversity functions.

[0058] 3 to 9, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an antenna housing unit 110 that forms the left, right, and rear appearances of the entire product, and a radome panel 120 that forms the front appearance of the entire product, is provided to shield the open front surface of the antenna housing unit 110, and protects internal components (including an RF filter 210 and an antenna board assembly 310, which will be described later) provided in the internal space of the antenna housing unit 110 from the outside. The radome panel 120 can be detachably fixed to the front end of the antenna housing unit 110 by a plurality of connecting clips 115 provided along the edge.

[0059] In addition, the rear portion of the antenna housing portion 110 may further be provided with a plurality of heat sink fins 111, which may be manufactured integrally or separately, and which transfer heat from the inside of the antenna housing portion 110 and dissipate system heat by heat exchange with the outside air.

[0060] Here, the functions and detailed features of the antenna housing part 110 and the radome panel 120 are not particularly relevant to the technical features of the embodiment of the present invention, and therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0061] The RF filter 210 may be provided as a plurality of unit RF filter bodies (reference numeral not shown) arranged on the front surface of a main board (not shown) disposed in the internal space 110S of the antenna housing part 110. Here, the plurality of unit RF filter bodies may be arranged corresponding to the number of antenna sub-arrays 350 and additional antenna sub-arrays 350′, which will be described later, arranged in the H-direction.

[0062] 11 is an exploded perspective view showing one of the RF chains and the phase shifter of the radiating element module of FIG. 6 in a separated state, FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the antenna board assembly and the feed strip line coupled thereto in the configuration of the radiating element module of FIGS. 8A and 8B in an exploded state, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operational relationship of the phase shifter in the configuration of a phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention and an antenna device including the same, FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a phase shifter according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 14, FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a single-column radiating element module, FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 16, and FIG. 18 is a front view and partial perspective view showing the fixed substrate unit and the movable substrate unit in an exploded state.

[0063] As shown in Figures 11 to 18, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a radiating element module 300 that is electrically connected to the front of the RF filter 210 configured as described above and includes a plurality of antenna subarrays 350 and an additional antenna subarray 350' arranged to realize antenna beamforming.

[0064] The radiating element module 300 may include an antenna board assembly 310 to which a plurality of antenna subarrays 350 and an additional antenna subarray 350' are fixed in a VH arrangement on the front surface.

[0065] Here, the antenna board assembly 310 may include, as shown in FIG. 12, a reflecting panel 310A configured to reflect antenna beams emitted from multiple antenna subarrays 350 and additional antenna subarrays 350' forward, and a rear panel 310B and a front panel 310C stacked and bonded to the back and front of the reflecting panel 310A.

[0066] The reflecting panel 310A is preferably made of an electromagnetic wave shielding material that does not transmit antenna beams, and the rear panel 310B and front panel 310C provided on the rear and front sides of the reflecting panel 310A are preferably made of a non-conductive material, such as a plastic resin material that can be easily manufactured integrally with the reflecting panel 310A using a molding method.

[0067] More specifically, the reflecting panel 310A is made of a different material from the material constituting the rear panel 310B and the front panel 310C, and may be made of a plastic resin material that makes it easy to manufacture the rear panel 310B and the front panel 310C integrally using a double injection method based on the reflecting panel 310A.

[0068] For reference, the antenna board assembly 310 may be provided in the form of a printed circuit board made of a typical PCB material (e.g., FR4 material), and a power feed line (transmission line, which corresponds to the power feed strip line of the present invention described later) may be printed on the front or back surface of the printed circuit board using a pattern printing method.

[0069] However, when the feed line is printed on the front or rear surface of such a printed circuit board using a pattern printing method, the feed line is formed directly on a dielectric layer having a predetermined dielectric constant, which increases insertion loss.

[0070] Therefore, in an antenna device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the radiating element module 300 may further include a plurality of rear-feed striplines 311B and front-feed striplines 311C made of a conductive material and arranged in one of stripline mounting slits 311B-S, 311C-S formed in a slit shape in the rear panel 310B and the front panel 310C, as shown in FIG. 12, for electrical connection with the RF filter 210.

[0071] That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, at least the front feeding stripline 311C may be provided in the form of a terminal strip fixed to the antenna board assembly 310 made of a non-conductive material.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present invention, the front feed stripline 311C, which essentially functions as a feed transmission line, is illustrated and described as being configured as an air strip type, but this is not necessarily limited to this, and it can also be formed as a PCB type in which a pattern is printed on one side of a general PCB (printed circuit board).

[0073] Here, stripline mounting slits 311B-S and 311C-S may be formed penetrating the antenna board assembly 310 in the front-rear direction so that the rear-feed stripline 311B and the front-feed stripline 311C can be accommodated using an air layer as a medium.

[0074] Meanwhile, as shown in Figures 11 to 15, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a phase shifter 500 that physically changes the length of the transmission lines of the feed striplines 311B and 311C connected from the RF filter 210 to the plurality of antenna subarrays 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' to vary the phase by a predetermined value relative to the reference phase plane, thereby achieving a desired phase transition value.

[0075] The phase shifter 500 may include a phase shift drive motor 510 fixed between the unit RF filter bodies on the rear side of the antenna board assembly 310; a horizontal mounting bar 520 that moves horizontally up and down on the rear side of the antenna board assembly 310 according to the rotation direction of the motor shaft of the phase shift drive motor 510; front horizontal moving bars 590 that are connected to the left and right ends of the horizontal mounting bar 520, avoiding the left and right ends of the antenna board assembly 310, and that move up and down on the front side of the antenna board assembly 310 in conjunction with the horizontal mounting bar 520; a vertical mounting bar 530 that has one end connected to the front horizontal moving bar 590 and the other end hingedly connected to a variable switch panel 540 (described later); and the above-mentioned moving board unit 540 that is rotatably provided on the front side of a fixed board unit 550 fixed to the front side of a front panel 310C of the antenna board assembly 310.

[0076] Here, as shown in Figures 14 and 15, the horizontal mounting bar 520 moves up and down while maintaining left and right horizontality on the rear side of the antenna board assembly 310, and can be connected to the left and right ends of the front moving horizontal bar 590, which moves up and down while maintaining left and right horizontality on the front side of the antenna board assembly 310, via the outer parts of the left and right side ends of the antenna board assembly 310.

[0077] 14 and 15, a phase shift drive motor 510 is disposed on the horizontal mounting bar 520 so as to have a motor rotation shaft in the vertical direction, and a rotation screw rod 515 may be axially coupled to the motor rotation shaft of the phase shift drive motor 510 and rotatably provided on one side or the other side.

[0078] Here, the phase shift drive motor 510 is fixed inside the antenna housing part 110, and when the rotating screw rod 515 rotates while engaging with the female thread of the screw rod through hole (not shown in the drawing) provided in the screw guide mounting block (not shown in the drawing), the screw guide mounting block moves up and down, thereby moving the horizontal mounting bar 520 up and down.

[0079] As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, in the phase shifter 500 having such a configuration, when the phase shift drive motor 510 is electrically operated and the rotating screw rod 515 rotates to one side or the other, the screw guide mounting block moves up or down depending on the direction of rotation of the rotating screw rod 515, the horizontal mounting bar 520 to which the screw guide mounting block is fixed and the front moving horizontal bar 590 fixed thereto move up or down while maintaining horizontal alignment, and the multiple vertical mounting bars 530 simultaneously move up and down, causing the moving base unit 540 connected to their ends to rotate, thereby achieving a phase shift value by changing the physical transmission length of the variable contact pattern 551 of the fixed base unit 550 and the front feeding stripline 311C.

[0080] The fixed substrate part 550 is a type of printed circuit board, and a variable circuit as a variable contact pattern 551 having at least one or more disconnection points that can change the phase of the frequency through the transmission line is printed on its front surface, and at least one current-carrying terminal pattern 541 that energizes the disconnection points of the variable contact pattern 551 may be printed on the back surface of the movable substrate part 540.

[0081] Here, the movable substrate unit 540 is provided so as to be constantly elastically supported on the front side of the fixed substrate unit 550 via an elastic member (not shown in the drawing) made of a plate spring, and the elastic member is hinged by a hinge panel (not shown in the drawing) so as to be elastically supported toward the movable substrate unit 540.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 12, the reflecting panel 310A is a panel type made of a material capable of blocking electromagnetic waves, as described above, and has a front panel 310C stacked on its front surface, and the fixed substrate portion 550 of the phase shifter 500 described above can be fixed to the front surface of the front panel 310C.

[0083] Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 12, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a low pass filter (215, Low Pass Filter, LPF) connected to an output port (not shown) of the unit RF filter body and to input terminals (not shown) of a plurality of feeding striplines 311B and 311C.

[0084] The low-pass filter (LPF) 215 is a filter for removing high-frequency noise, and may be provided in a tubular shape with its upper and lower ends connected to the input ends of each of the feed striplines 311B and 311C.

[0085] Meanwhile, a plurality of ground washers (reference numeral not shown) are arranged in pairs on the front surface of the reflecting panel 310A to perform a grounding function.

[0086] The antenna device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above has an advantage over conventional devices in that the antenna board assembly 310 does not use a printed circuit board made of a normal PCB material, but is instead integrally molded with a rear panel 310B and a front panel 310C made of a plastic resin material on the back and front sides of a reflecting panel 310A, and the feed striplines 311B and 311C, which function as transmission lines, are housed in an air dielectric layer, thereby minimizing insertion loss.

[0087] FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram and a phase difference diagram for explaining the principle of the phase conversion performed in the RF stage using phase shifter 500 of an antenna device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the transmission signal channel and phase transition of 32T32R of an antenna device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] Generally, when the length of the transmission line is changed in each RF chain, in order to realize a mirror symmetry structure, the phase of the signal fed to at least two of the four antenna subarrays 350 requires support work in the digital stage.

[0089] In an antenna device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the phase shifter 500 is intended to eliminate the support work in the digital stage described above, and as shown in FIG. 18, a power supply signal input from one TRx module (meaning a transmitting / receiving element mounted on a main board or an amplifying element section) can be configured to rotate so that the lengths of one side transmission line and the other side transmission line can be changed at a predetermined ratio by a first current-carrying pattern terminal (not shown in the drawing) and a second current-carrying pattern terminal (not shown in the drawing) of a variable switch panel 540 at a first power-off point (not shown) before branching from each input terminal to two output terminals, and at a second power-off point (not shown) after branching.

[0090] Therefore, at the first power-off point before the input terminal branches into two output terminals, the physical lengths of the one-side transmission line and the other-side transmission line are changed using the first current-carrying pattern terminal of variable switch panel 540 to vary the phase by ΔΦ and −ΔΦ, thereby realizing a desired phase transition value, and at the second power-off point, which is the transmission line of the output terminal after the terminal branches into two output terminals, the physical length of the other-side transmission line is changed using the second current-carrying pattern terminal of variable switch panel 540 to vary the phase by 2ΔΦ and −2ΔΦ, thereby realizing a desired phase transition value.

[0091] In this case, the phase transition values ​​for the two antenna subarrays 350 and the two additional antenna subarrays 350' can form a linear phase distribution based on the same phase plane, thereby realizing a mirror symmetry structure with the most efficient beamforming performance as shown in Figure 8.

[0092] Here, as shown in FIG. 19, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention realizes beamforming by performing phase transitions so as to have a predetermined physical length ratio at one point of the transmission line before branching from the input end of the RF chain to two output ends, and at one point of the transmission line connecting one of the two output ends after branching, among the antenna subarray 350 and additional antenna subarray 350′ arranged to realize a total of 32T32R transmission line channels.

[0093] This results in a gain improvement of +6 dB compared to an antenna device having two RF chains and a 32T32R transmission line channel that is not equipped with a phase shifter 500, and a gain improvement of +3 dB compared to an antenna device having two RF chains and a 32T32R transmission line channel that is equipped with a phase shifter but is not branched into two output terminals, thereby providing the advantage of being able to radiate a beam with a narrow beam width and high antenna gain.

[0094] Furthermore, the antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 20 is able to achieve beamforming with the same effect as a 64T64R antenna device because phase changes are applied to four antenna subarrays per RF chain. In addition, since the antenna device has two RF chains, it has the advantage of being more cost-effective and easier to process than a 64T64R antenna device having four RF chains.

[0095] The antenna device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention described above with reference to Figures 2 to 20 does not separate the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350', but has antenna elements 350A that realize a predetermined number of transmission channels (e.g., 64T64R), and uses the phase shifter 500 to operate in a manner that reduces its usage specifications by one level, thereby achieving a higher antenna gain and beamforming effect.

[0096] Applying the same principle as in the antenna device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, if the antenna subarray 350 and the additional antenna subarray 350' are arranged so that two RF chains are substantially constructed in the V-direction, and if the phase shifter 500 is used to change the phase to a desired value and radiate the antenna beam, it goes without saying that by realizing one RF chain, it is possible to realize just like a 16T16R transmission signal channel.

[0097]

[0033] A phase shifter and an antenna device including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the true scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0098] The present invention provides a phase shifter and an antenna device including the same, which can be manufactured using various manufacturing methods without increasing the installation space in the thickness direction of the antenna device, and which can improve the antenna gain while radiating a narrower beam and minimize beam interference between each column of radiating elements. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] P: Support pole, PC: Clamping part 100: Antenna device, 110: Antenna housing part 120: Radome panel, 210: RF filter 310: Antenna board assembly, 310A: Reflecting panel 310B: Rear panel, 310C: Front panel 311B: Rear-fed stripline, 311C: Front-fed stripline 350: antenna subarray, 350': additional antenna subarray 500: Phase shifter, 510: Phase transition drive motor 520: Horizontal mounting bar, 530: Vertical mounting bar 540: moving substrate section, 550: fixed substrate section 590: Front horizontal moving bar

Claims

1. a front-feed stripline that branches and electrically connects dual-polarized beam outputs to a plurality of radiating element modules disposed on a front surface of the antenna board assembly that constitutes a plurality of antenna subarrays and an additional antenna subarray; a fixed substrate portion disposed on the front surface of the antenna board assembly, the fixed substrate portion having a variable contact pattern for connecting branch points of the front feed strip line and changing a physical transmission length to the first polarization side and the second polarization side of the radiating element module; a movable substrate portion on which a current-carrying terminal pattern is formed, the current-carrying terminal pattern being a contact point while moving relative to the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate portion.

2. 2. The phase shifter of claim 1, wherein the fixed substrate portion is provided spaced apart in a column formed by the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray in the vertical direction on the front surface of the antenna board assembly, and the movable substrate portion is provided in a number corresponding to the fixed substrate portion.

3. 2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the front feed stripline and the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate portion are fixed to the antenna board assembly.

4. the front feed stripline is formed separately from the fixed substrate portion, The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein a pattern is printed on a front surface of the antenna board assembly made of the PCB material.

5. The fixed substrate part is provided in the form of a printed circuit board made of a PCB material separate from the antenna board assembly, 2. The phase shifter of claim 1, wherein the variable contact pattern is formed by printing a pattern on a front surface of the fixed substrate part provided in the form of a printed circuit board.

6. the antenna board assembly includes: a reflecting panel configured to reflect antenna beams radiated from the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray forward; a rear panel laminated and coupled to a rear surface of the reflecting panel; and a front panel laminated and coupled to a front surface of the reflecting panel; 2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the front feeding stripline is provided in the form of a terminal strip fixed to the front panel of the antenna board assembly, the front panel being made of a non-conductive material.

7. 7. The phase shifter according to claim 6, wherein the front-feed stripline is disposed in a stripline mounting slit formed in the front panel.

8. the radiating element module is electrically connected to a front end of an RF filter, and the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray are arranged to form a predetermined number of RF chains to realize antenna beamforming; 2. The phase shifter according to claim 1, wherein the phase value is shifted by changing a ratio of lengths of physical transmission lines for the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray at a predetermined ratio.

9. 9. The phase shifter according to claim 8, wherein the current-carrying terminal pattern of the movable substrate portion acts as a moving contact on the variable contact pattern of the fixed substrate portion, thereby shifting and radiating the phase values ​​of the plurality of antenna subarrays and the additional antenna subarray differently in a transmission line constituting the input end of each RF chain and one of the two branched output ends, thereby realizing a linear phase distribution according to the predetermined ratio with respect to the same reference phase plane.

10. An antenna device comprising a phase shifter according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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