Antenna device and wireless communication device

Abstract

Provided are an antenna device and a wireless communication device capable of expanding the millimeter waveband coverage range relative to the prior art. The antenna device is provided with: a plurality of aligned patch antennas for emitting millimeter waveband radio waves; and, for each of the plurality of patch antennas, a set of parasitic elements disposed so as to sandwich the patch antenna. Each of a first set of parasitic elements disposed so as to sandwich a first patch antenna among the plurality of patch antennas is provided outside a region that overlaps a second set of parasitic elements in a directional view of a center line connecting the centers of each of the second set of parasitic elements, which are disposed so as to sandwich a second patch antenna disposed next to the first patch antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an antenna device and a wireless communication device.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in order to realize a faster communication environment, the spread of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G) has been promoted. Therefore, an antenna device that communicates in the millimeter-wave band used in 5G is mounted on a wireless communication device such as a smartphone. In such an antenna device, for example, a patch antenna is adopted (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Since millimeter-wave radio waves have a larger spatial propagation attenuation amount than the radio waves of Long Term Evolution (LTE, 4G) that have been conventionally used, in the above antenna device, an array antenna in which a plurality of patch antennas are arranged in alignment is often formed. By forming an array antenna, while the peak intensity of the radio wave (beam) emitted from the antenna device is increased, the coverage range that the antenna device can cover is decreased. Therefore, in the array antenna, the decrease in the coverage range is compensated by scanning the peak direction of the beam by beamforming. In addition, it has been shown in the prior art that the directivity is controlled by changing the reactance of the parasitic element arranged around a single patch antenna.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When attempting to control the directivity in a direction different from beamforming by arranging parasitic elements in a conventional array antenna, adjacent parasitic elements are capacitively coupled to each other, resulting in a problem where the directivity cannot be controlled as intended and the desired characteristics cannot be obtained. Therefore, there is room for improvement in expanding the coverage range in the millimeter-wave band.

[0006] One aspect of the disclosed technology aims to provide an antenna device and a wireless communication device that can expand the coverage range in the millimeter-wave band more than conventionally.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] One aspect of the disclosed technology is exemplified by the following antenna device. This antenna device includes a plurality of patch antennas arranged in alignment that emit radio waves in the millimeter-wave band, and for each of the plurality of patch antennas, a pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich the patch antenna. For each of the first pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich the first patch antenna among the plurality of patch antennas, in the direction of view of the center line connecting the centers of each of the second pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich the second patch antenna arranged adjacent to the first patch antenna, it is provided outside the region overlapping with the second pair of parasitic elements.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the disclosed technology, the coverage range in the millimeter-wave band can be expanded.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <Embodiment> The configuration of the embodiments shown below is an example, and the disclosed technology is not limited to the configuration of the embodiments. The antenna device according to the embodiment includes, for example, the following configuration. The antenna device according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of patch antennas arranged in an array that emit radio waves in the millimeter wave band, and a pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich each of the plurality of patch antennas. Each of the first pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich the first patch antenna among the plurality of patch antennas is provided outside the region overlapping the second pair of parasitic elements in the direction of view of the center line connecting the centers of each of the second pair of parasitic elements arranged so as to sandwich the second patch antenna arranged adjacent to the first patch antenna.

[0011] According to such an antenna device, the direction of beamforming in each patch antenna can be changed to the direction of the center line connecting the centers of a pair of parasitic elements. Further, since each of the first pair of parasitic elements is provided outside the region overlapping the second pair of parasitic elements in the direction of view of the center line connecting the centers of each of the second pair of parasitic elements, the gain of the patch antenna due to the arrangement of the parasitic elements can be improved. Therefore, according to the present antenna device, the coverage range in the millimeter wave band can be expanded. In the above antenna device, the term "aligned" is not limited to being aligned in a single row, and may be aligned in two or more rows.

[0012] Hereinafter, the antenna device will be further described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an antenna device 1 according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the antenna device 1. The antenna device 1 includes a substrate 20 and a plurality of antennas 10 arranged on the substrate 20. The antenna device 1 is an array antenna in which a plurality of antennas 10 are aligned in a single row.

[0013] The substrate 20 is, for example, a printed circuit board. On the surface of the substrate 20 where the antennas 10 are aligned, a grounded ground plane is formed. Four antennas 10 are aligned in a row on the substrate 20. In FIG. 1, four antennas 10 are aligned on the substrate 20, but the number of antennas 10 aligned on the substrate 20 is not limited to four, and may be three or less, or five or more.

[0014] The antenna 10 includes a patch antenna 11, a feeding point 12, and a conductor element 13. The patch antenna 11 receives power supply from the feeding point 12 and emits radio waves. The patch antenna 11 is formed, for example, in a square shape in plan view. The antennas 10 are aligned at equal intervals along the alignment direction L1. Each of the antennas 10 is arranged at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the alignment direction L1 in which the antennas 10 are arranged. As a result, among the four vertices of the patch antenna 11, a set of vertices P1 and P2 that do not share sides are arranged on the alignment direction L1. That is, a set of vertices P1 and P2 of the patch antenna 11 that do not share sides are aligned in the alignment direction L1. The alignment interval D1 of the patch antennas 11 is approximately equal to the wavelength λ of the radio waves emitted by the patch antennas 11, for example.

[0015] The conductor element 13 is a non-powered element formed of a conductor such as metal. The conductor element 13 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape in plan view, and the length of its long side is approximately equal to the length of one side of the antenna 10. The conductor element 13 is arranged so as to sandwich the patch antenna 11 with its long side facing the patch antenna 11. Therefore, in each of the antennas 10, the conductor element 13, the patch antenna 11, and the conductor element 13 are arranged in this order along the arrangement direction L2 that is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the alignment direction L1. The arrangement direction L2 can be, for example, the direction of the line segment connecting the centers of the conductor element 13, the patch antenna 11, and the conductor element 13 in each of the antennas 10.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the antenna 10 of the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2(A) is a plan view of the antenna 10, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view of the antenna 10. In FIG. 2(A), the alignment direction L1 is also shown. The side length S1 of one side of the antenna 10 is approximately equal to λ / 2. As can be understood with reference to FIG. 2(B), each of the conductor elements 13 is arranged in the radio wave emission direction of the patch antenna 11 rather than the patch antenna 11. And each of the conductor elements 13 is provided in a direction of 45 degrees with respect to the normal line N1 of the patch antenna 11 and at a distance of λ / 4 from the patch antenna 11. That is, the angle θ formed by the line segment L3 connecting the center of the patch antenna 11 and the center of the conductor element 13 and the normal line N1 is 45 degrees, and the length of the line segment L3 is λ / 4. By arranging the patch antenna 11 and the conductor element 13 along the arrangement direction L2 in this way, the polarization direction of the antenna device 1 can be set to the direction along the arrangement direction L2. That is, in the antenna device 1, the scanning direction of the beam by beamforming can be shifted from the alignment direction L1.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of the antennas 10 arranged adjacent to each other. FIG. 3 also shows an extension region R1 formed by extending the short side of the conductor element 13 formed in a rectangle in a plan view. The extension region R1 is Patch antenna 1 1 In the direction of view of the center line connecting the centers of a pair of conductor elements 13 arranged so as to sandwich the antenna 1, it can be said that it is a region overlapping the pair of conductor elements 13. In each of the antennas 10, the conductor element 13 is arranged outside the extension region R1 of the adjacent antenna 10.

[0018] Here, the arrangement of the conductor element 13 will be considered. FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing variations in which the angle between the alignment direction L1 of the antenna 10 and the arrangement direction L2 of the conductor element 13 is changed. In FIG. 4(A), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 0 degrees, and in FIG. 4(B), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 15 degrees. In FIG. 5(A), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees, in FIG. 5(B), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 60 degrees, and in FIG. 5(C), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 75 degrees. In each of FIGS. 4 and 5, an extension region R1 for one conductor element 13 is shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing, but as illustrated in FIG. 3, the extension region R1 is formed for all the conductor elements 13.

[0019] When the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 0 degrees (FIG. 4(A)) and 15 degrees (FIG. 4(B)), the conductor element 13 of a certain antenna 10 is arranged within the extension region R1 of the antenna 10 arranged adjacent thereto. In such an arrangement, the conductor elements 13 of adjacent antennas have a parasitic capacitance, and there is a risk that the gain of the patch antenna 11 may decrease due to its influence. On the other hand, when the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees (FIG. 5(A)), 45 degrees (FIG. 3), 60 degrees (FIG. 5(B)), or 75 degrees (FIG. 5(C)), the conductor element 13 of a certain antenna 10 is arranged outside the extension region R1 of the antenna 10 arranged adjacent thereto. By arranging in this way, the conductor elements 13 of adjacent antennas do not have a parasitic capacitance, so the gain of the patch antenna 11 is improved. That is, in order to improve the gain of the antenna device 1 by arranging the conductor element 13, it is preferable that the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees or more.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the intensity distribution of the radio wave radiated by the antenna 10 of the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment. As can be understood by referring to FIG. 6, the peak direction of the radio wave radiated by the antenna 10 is in the direction of a polar angle of 30 degrees and an azimuth angle of 270 degrees.

[0021] Figures 7 to 10 are diagrams illustrating the intensity distribution (dBi) of radio waves radiated by the antenna 10 when the phase of the conductor element 13 is changed while scanning the beam in the alignment direction L1. In Figures 7 to 10, the vertical axis indicates the polar angle in three-dimensional polar coordinates, and the horizontal axis indicates the azimuth angle. That is, in Figures 7 to 10, the range where the polar angle is greater than 90 degrees (the upper side of the figure) indicates the back side of the substrate 20, and the range where the polar angle is less than 90 degrees (the lower side of the figure) indicates the front side of the substrate 20 (the side where the antenna 10 is disposed). Figure 7 illustrates the case where the phases of the two conductor elements 13 included in the antenna 10 are in phase. Figure 8 illustrates the case where the phases of the two conductor elements 13 included in the antenna 10 are out of phase. Figure 9 illustrates the case where the phases of the two conductor elements 13 included in the antenna 10 are out of phase with the advance and delay of the phase reversed from that in Figure 8. And Figure 10 illustrates the case where the intensity distributions of the radio waves illustrated in Figures 7 to 9 are combined. As can be understood with reference to Figure 10, by controlling the phase of the conductor element 13, the peak direction of the radio waves emitted by the antenna 10 can be controlled.

[0022] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the radiation pattern of the antenna 10 in the embodiment. Arrow A1 illustrates the direction in which the patch antenna 11 strongly radiates when the conductor element 13 is not present. Arrows A2 and A3 illustrate the directions in which the antenna 10 strongly radiates. The directions of arrows A2 and A3 are changed by changing the inductance and reactance of the conductor element 13. That is, the antenna 10 can control the phase of the conductor element 13 by changing the inductance and reactance of the conductor element 13 and control the radiation direction of strong radio waves.

[0023] In order to control the phase of the conductor element 13, for example, an inductor or a capacitor may be provided in the conductor element 13. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the conductor element 13 provided with a control element 131 exemplified by an inductor or a capacitor. FIG. 12(A) shows a plan view of the antenna 10 provided with the control element 131. Further, FIG. 12(B) shows a side view of the antenna 10 provided with the control element 131 from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 12(A). When the control element 131 is provided in the conductor element 13, a control line 132 for controlling the control element 131 is connected to the conductor element 13. The reactance or inductance of the control element 131 can be controlled by a control signal from the control line 132. Here, by arranging the control line 132 in a direction orthogonal to the substrate 20, a decrease in the gain of the patch antenna 11 is suppressed.

[0024] FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing the conductor element 13 provided with the control element 131. FIG. 13(A) schematically shows the conductor element 13 provided with a variable inductor 1311 as the control element 131. Further, FIG. 13(B) schematically shows the conductor element 13 provided with a variable capacitor 1312 as the control element 131. As illustrated in FIGS. 13(A) and (B), the variable inductor 1311 and the variable capacitor 1312 may be provided, for example, in the middle part of the conductor element 13. Then, by controlling the inductance of the variable inductor 1311 and the capacitance of the variable capacitor 1312 (that is, controlling the reactance) by a control signal from the control line 132, the peak direction of the beam of the antenna 10 can be controlled.

[0025] <Comparative Example> FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example. The antenna device 500 is different from the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment in that the patch antenna 11 is arranged without being tilted with respect to the alignment direction L1 in which the patch antennas 11 are arranged and the conductor element 13 is not provided. The antenna device 500 is an array antenna in which the patch antennas 11 are aligned in a row.

[0026] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the intensity distribution of radio waves radiated by the patch antenna 11 of the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example. It can be understood that the patch antenna 11 of the antenna device 500 radiates strong radio waves in the direction of 0 degrees of the polar angle. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the radiation pattern of the patch antenna 11 in the comparative example. The antenna device 500 can scan the peak direction of the radio waves in the direction along the alignment direction L1 by beamforming. That is, the antenna device 500 can scan the peak direction of the radio waves in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 20.

[0027] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the intensity distribution (dBi) of radio waves radiated by the patch antenna 11 of the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example when scanning the beam in the alignment direction L1. In FIG. 17, the vertical axis indicates the polar angle in three-dimensional polar coordinates, and the horizontal axis indicates the azimuth angle. That is, in FIG. 17, the range larger than 90 degrees of the polar angle (the upper side of the figure) indicates the back side of the substrate 20, and the range smaller than 90 degrees of the polar angle (the lower side of the figure) indicates the front side of the substrate 20 (the side where the patch antenna 11 is disposed).

[0028] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between the coverage range and gain of the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example. Further, FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the coverage range and gain of the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment. The vertical axis in FIGS. 18 and 19 indicates the coverage range, and the horizontal axis indicates the gain. In FIGS. 18 and 19, the coverage range is shown by a cumulative distribution function (CDF). And FIG. 20 is a table comparing the coverage range and gain of the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example and the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment based on FIGS. 18 and 19. In the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example, it is -16.3 dBi at a CDF gain of 20%, -7.1 dBi at a CDF gain of 50%, and the maximum gain is 14.3 dBi. On the other hand, in the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment, it is -11.1 dBi at a CDF gain of 20%, -3.5 dBi at a CDF gain of 50%, and the maximum gain is 14.2 dBi. That is, it can be understood that the antenna device 1 according to the present embodiment has a wider coverage range that realizes a higher gain than the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example.

[0029] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a smartphone in which the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example is mounted. In FIG. 21, the housing of the smartphone formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is shown by a dotted line, and the antenna device 500 mounted in the housing is shown by a solid line. In FIG. 21, three antenna devices 500 are mounted on the smartphone. Two of the antenna devices 500 mounted on the smartphone are arranged with the radio wave emission direction facing the side surface of the housing. One of the antenna devices 500 mounted on the smartphone is arranged with the radio wave emission direction facing the bottom surface of the housing. As described above, the antenna device 500 scans the peak direction of the beam in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 20. Therefore, for example, the antenna device 500 arranged with the radio wave emission direction facing the side surface of the housing cannot scan the peak direction in the thickness direction of the housing.

[0030] FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a smartphone 300 equipped with the antenna device 1 according to the present embodiment. In the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment, as described above, the scanning direction of the beam by beamforming can be shifted from the alignment direction L1. Therefore, when the antenna device 1 is mounted on the smartphone 300, even if the antenna device 1 is arranged with the radio wave emission direction facing the side surface of the housing, it is possible to scan the peak direction in the thickness direction of the housing.

[0031] <Operational effects of the embodiment> According to the present embodiment, by arranging the conductor element 13, the direction of beamforming of the antenna device 1 can be changed from the direction along the alignment direction L1 to the direction along the arrangement direction L2. Therefore, the antenna device 1 according to the present embodiment can cover a range that could not be covered by the beamforming by the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example.

[0032] As described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, the antenna device 1 including the conductor element 13 has a wider high-gain range than the antenna device 500 according to the comparative example. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the coverage range of the antenna device 1 can be improved.

[0033] As illustrated in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), if the conductor element 13 is arranged in the extension region R1, the gain of the patch antenna 11 may decrease. In the present embodiment, in each of the antennas 10, the conductor element 13 is arranged outside the extension region R1 of the adjacent antenna 10. By arranging the conductor element 13 in this way, not only is the decrease in the gain of the patch antenna 11 due to the provision of the conductor element 13 suppressed, but also the coverage range of the antenna device 11 is improved as described with reference to FIG. 20.

[0034] <First modification> In the embodiment described above, the conductor elements 13 of the adjacent antennas 10 are arranged outside the extension region R1 by inclining the arrangement direction L2 with respect to the alignment direction L1. In the first modification, an example in which the conductor elements 13 of the adjacent antennas 10 are arranged outside the extension region R1 in an arrangement different from that of the embodiment will be described.

[0035] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the antenna device 1a according to the first modification. FIG. 23 is a plan view of the antenna device 1a. In the antenna device 1a, the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 are parallel. That is, the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 0 degrees. In the antenna device 1a, the positions of the adjacent antennas 10 are shifted in the height direction of the substrate 20, so that the conductor elements 13 of the adjacent antennas 10 are arranged outside the extension region R1. Even with such an arrangement, the coverage range of the patch antenna 11 by providing the conductor elements 13 is improved.

[0036] <Second Modification> In the embodiment described above, the case where there is one polarization plane has been described. In the second modification, the case where there are two polarization planes will be described. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the antenna device 1b according to the second modification. FIG. 24 is a plan view of the antenna device 1b. In the antenna device 1 according to the embodiment, a set of conductor elements 13 are arranged so as to sandwich the patch antenna 11. The antenna device 1b according to the second modification includes an antenna 10a in which two sets of conductor elements 13 are arranged so as to sandwich the patch antenna 11. And, the arrangement direction L2 of one set of conductor elements 13 arranged so as to sandwich the patch antenna 11 and the arrangement direction L4 of the other set of conductor elements 13 are orthogonal. By arranging the two sets of conductor elements 13 so that the arrangement direction L2 and the arrangement direction L4 are orthogonal, the antenna device 1b can correspond to two polarization planes. That is, the antenna device 1b can scan the peak direction of beamforming in the direction of the arrangement direction L2 and the direction of the arrangement direction L4.

[0037] Here, the arrangement of the two sets of conductor elements 13 will be considered. FIGS. 25 and 26 are diagrams showing variations in which the angle between the alignment direction L1 of the antenna 10 and the arrangement direction L2 of the conductor elements 13 is changed. In FIG. 25(A), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 0 degrees, and in FIG. 25(B), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 15 degrees. In FIG. 26(A), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees, in FIG. 26(B), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 60 degrees, and in FIG. 26(C), the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 75 degrees. Note that in each of FIGS. 25 and 26, in order to avoid complication of the drawing, the extension region R1 for one conductor element 13 is shown, but as illustrated in FIG. 3, the extension region R1 is formed for all the conductor elements 13.

[0038] When the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 0 degrees (FIG. 25(A)), 15 degrees (FIG. 25(B)), and 75 degrees (FIG. 26(C)), the conductor element 13 of a certain antenna 10a is arranged within the extension region R1 of the antenna 10a arranged adjacent thereto. Therefore, there is a possibility that the gain of the patch antenna 11 may decrease due to the influence of the conductor element 13. On the other hand, when the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees (FIG. 26(A)), 45 degrees (FIG. 24), and 60 degrees (FIG. 26(B)), the conductor element 13 of a certain antenna 10a is arranged outside the extension region R1 of the antenna 10a arranged adjacent thereto. Therefore, even if the conductor element 13 is arranged, the gain of the patch antenna 11 is improved. That is, in order to improve the gain of the antenna device 1b by arranging the conductor element 13, it is preferable that the angle between the alignment direction L1 and the arrangement direction L2 is 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less.

[0039] <Other variations> In the embodiments and variations described above, the rectangular patch antenna 11 is adopted, but the patch antenna 11 may have other shapes. The patch antenna 11 may be, for example, circular, triangular, or a polygon with five or more sides.

[0040] The embodiments and variations disclosed above can be combined with each other.

Description of Symbols

[0041] 1, 1a, 1b... Antenna device 10, 10a... Antenna 11... Patch antenna 12... Feeding point 13... Conductor element 20... Substrate 131... Control element 132... Control line 300... Smartphone 500... Antenna device 1311... Variable inductor 1312... Variable capacitor L1... Alignment direction L2... Arrangement direction L3... Line segment L4... Arrangement direction D1... Alignment interval S1... Side length N1... Normal R1... Extension region P1, P2... Vertices A1, A2, A3... Arrows

Claims

1. A plurality of patch antennas arranged to emit millimeter-wave band radio waves, and for each of the plurality of patch antennas, a pair of parasitic elements arranged to sandwich the patch antenna, comprising: each of the first set of parasitic elements arranged to sandwich the first patch antenna among the plurality of patch antennas is provided outside a region overlapping with the second set of parasitic elements in a direction view of a center line connecting the centers of each of the second set of parasitic elements arranged to sandwich a second patch antenna arranged adjacent to the first patch antenna; the first set of parasitic elements is provided in a direction in which the radio wave emitted by the first patch antenna is emitted; An antenna device.

2. The angle formed by the center line connecting the centers of the first set of parasitic elements and the direction in which the plurality of patch antennas are arranged is 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less. The antenna device according to claim 1.

3. The length of each line segment connecting the center of each of the first set of parasitic elements and the center of the first patch antenna is 1 / 2 wavelength of the radio wave, the angle formed by the normal of the first patch antenna and each of the line segments is 45 degrees. The antenna device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Each of the parasitic elements is provided with a variable capacitor or a variable inductor. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The first patch antenna is formed in a rectangle, a pair of vertices that do not share sides among the vertices of the first patch antenna are arranged in the direction in which the plurality of patch antennas are arranged. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. Each of the plurality of patch antennas is formed in a rectangle, the length of one side of the plurality of patch antennas formed in a rectangle is 1 / 2 wavelength of the radio wave emitted by each of the plurality of patch antennas. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The interval between each of the plurality of patch antennas is equal to the wavelength of the radio wave emitted by each of the plurality of patch antennas. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. For each of the plurality of patch antennas, further comprising a pair of additional parasitic elements arranged to sandwich the patch antenna from a direction different from the pair of parasitic elements. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A wireless communication device comprising the antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Wireless communication device.

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