Transmitter and base station

Abstract

The present application provides a transmitter and a base station. The transmitter comprises a power amplifier and a circulator. The power amplifier comprises a first cover plate and a second cover plate arranged opposite to each other, and a side plate arranged between the first cover plate and the second cover plate. The circulator is fixedly connected to the side plate, and the size of the circulator in the thickness direction of the side plate is smaller than the size of the circulator in the height direction of the side plate. The transmitter has a relatively small size and relatively high space utilization and integration.

Description

Transmitter and base station

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411320699.X, filed on September 20, 2024, and entitled “Transmitter and base station”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication equipment, in particular to a transmitter and a base station. BACKGROUND

[0004] In the transmitter of the base station, the power amplifier, such as the radio frequency power amplifier, is the core component of the wireless base station that undertakes the amplification of the downlink signal. The radio frequency indicators of the power amplifier include the saturation power and the efficiency, which determine the power consumption, size, heat dissipation form, etc. of the base station. In order to realize the integrated development of the transmitter, various functional modules in the power amplifier are usually placed in an isolated cavity, and the signal output end thereof is usually connected with the mainboard of the transmitter through a circulator arranged outside the isolated cavity. The upper cover plate forming the isolated cavity is connected with the mainboard of the transmitter. The circulator is fixedly connected with the extension end of the upper cover plate, wherein the extension section of the upper cover plate is exposed outside the isolated cavity. Since the size of the circulator in the height direction is much smaller than the size of the circulator in the radial direction, in this mounting structure, the circulator occupies a large space structure in the plane of the cover plate, and the transmitter cannot be further reduced in the transverse space. Moreover, in the height direction of the circulator, due to the arrangement of other components in the power amplifier, there is still a large amount of residual space between the circulator in the height direction and other structural members of the transmitter, thus causing a waste of space of the transmitter. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a transmitter and a base station to reduce the size of the transmitter and improve the integration and space utilization of the transmitter.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a transmitter, which comprises a power amplifier and a circulator.

[0007] The power amplifier comprises a first cover plate and a second cover plate arranged oppositely, and a side plate arranged between the first cover plate and the second cover plate, and the first cover plate, the second cover plate and the side plate form an isolated cavity.

[0008] The circulator is fixedly connected with the side plate, and the size of the circulator in the thickness direction of the side plate is smaller than the size of the circulator in the height direction of the side plate.

[0009] In the transmitter of the application, the circulator is fixedly connected with the side plate of the power amplifier, the size of the circulator along the thickness direction of the side plate is the height of the circulator, and the size of the circulator along the height direction of the side plate is the radial size of the circulator. In the mounting structure, the large surface of the circulator, i.e. the surface where the radial size of the circulator is located, is connected with the side plate of the power amplifier, and the height direction of the circulator is consistent with the thickness direction of the side plate. Since the longitudinal size of the transmitter, i.e. the size in the height direction of the side plate, is large, and the transverse space is relatively compact, i.e. the space allowance of the transmitter in the longitudinal direction is large, and the space allowance in the transverse direction is small, therefore, in the mounting structure, the longitudinal size of the transmitter can be effectively utilized, the integration and space utilization of the transmitter are improved, and the transverse size of the transmitter is reduced, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the size of the transmitter.

[0010] In an implementation manner, the power amplifier further comprises a signal processing unit and an auxiliary unit; the signal processing unit is arranged on the surface of the first cover plate facing the isolation cavity; and the auxiliary unit is arranged at least one of the following positions: the surface of the second cover plate facing the isolation cavity, the surface of the side plate facing the isolation cavity, or the surface of the side plate away from the isolation cavity. The signal processing unit and the auxiliary unit are arranged separately, which can improve the space utilization in the isolation cavity, and avoid increasing the transverse size of the transmitter due to the transverse side-by-side arrangement of the signal processing unit and the auxiliary unit.

[0011] In an implementation manner, the surface of the second cover plate away from the isolation cavity is connected with the main board of the transmitter. The main board of the transmitter is arranged on the side of the second cover plate away from the isolation cavity, and the main board can be arranged at the outermost part of the isolation cavity, so as to facilitate heat dissipation of the main board. Moreover, compared with the structure in which the main board is arranged between the first cover plate and the heat sink, the heat dissipation efficiency of the first cover plate can be improved, and the heat generated by the signal processing unit can be dissipated in time.

[0012] In an implementation manner, the second cover plate is a printed circuit board, and the auxiliary unit is electrically connected with the main board through the printed circuit board. The second cover plate is a printed circuit board, so that the electrical connection between the auxiliary unit and the main board can be conveniently realized.

[0013] In an implementation manner, the transmitter further comprises a heat sink, and the heat sink is in contact with the surface of the first cover plate away from the isolation cavity. Since the signal processing unit generates a large amount of heat during operation, the heat sink can be arranged on the outer surface of the first cover plate for fixing the signal processing unit, so as to expel the heat generated by the signal processing unit in time. The auxiliary unit can be arranged on the second cover plate and the side plate due to the small amount of heat generated by the auxiliary unit, so as to fully utilize the space in the isolation cavity.

[0014] In an implementation, the side plate is provided with a signal transmission line, one end of the signal transmission line is connected with a signal output end of the signal processing unit, and the other end is connected with a signal input end of the circulator. The signal processing unit and the circulator are connected through the signal transmission line provided on the side plate, so that the signal transmission between the two is realized. Compared with the mounting mode of the circulator provided on the cover plate, the circulator is directly mounted on the side plate, so that the length of the signal transmission line is reduced, the length of the signal transmission line is shortened, and thus the signal transmission loss is reduced.

[0015] In an implementation, the first cover plate is a printed circuit board, the first cover plate is electrically connected with the side plate, and the signal processing unit is electrically connected with the circulator through the first cover plate and the side plate. The first cover plate is a printed circuit board, so that the electrical connection between the signal processing unit and the circulator is conveniently realized.

[0016] In an implementation, a flexible circuit board is provided between the side plate and the first cover plate, and the side plate and the first cover plate are respectively welded with the flexible circuit board. Due to the limitation of the installation space of the transmitter, when assembling, the circulator needs to be fixed on the side plate first, and then the side plate and the first cover plate are welded. If the two are directly welded, the installation precision of the side plate will be reduced. Therefore, the side plate and the first cover plate are connected through the flexible circuit board, so that after the welding between the flexible circuit board and the side plate and the first cover plate is completed, the vertical arrangement of the side plate is realized in a common overturning mode, so that the installation precision of the side plate is improved.

[0017] In an implementation, the circulator is welded with the side plate. Through welding, the reliability of the connection between the circulator and the side plate is improved.

[0018] In an implementation, the circulator is arranged outside the isolation cavity. The circulator is arranged outside the isolation cavity, so that the assembly of the circulator is facilitated. In an implementation, the circulator is arranged in the isolation cavity, so that the internal space of the isolation cavity is fully utilized, the space is further saved, and the space utilization rate of the transmitter is improved.

[0019] In a second aspect, the application provides a base station, which comprises the transmitter of the application.

[0020] The technical effects achieved by the above-mentioned second aspect can be referred to the corresponding effect description in the above-mentioned first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the basic working process of a transmitter;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of part of a component of a prior art transmitter;

[0023] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of part components of a transmitter according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of part components of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of part components of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a structure of part components of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Reference signs: 10 - power amplifier; 101 - isolation cavity; 11 - first cover plate; 12 - second cover plate; 13 - side plate; 14 - signal processing unit; 15 - auxiliary unit; 151 - power supply circuit; 152 - control circuit; 20 - circulator; 30 - main plate; 40 - heat sink; 41 - heat sink fin. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0029] The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0030] Reference herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in additional embodiments," and the like in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, unless otherwise expressly specified. The terms "including," "containing," "having," and variations thereof are meant to encompass the terms "including but not limited to."

[0031] In a communication system, a base station undertakes the connection function between a user and a network. A transmitter is used to send radio frequency signals to the user. The basic working process of the transmitter is shown in Fig. 1. When transmitting signals, the signals are modulated, frequency-converted, power-amplified and filtered in the transmitter to obtain the required amplified transmission signals, which are then transmitted to the terminal user through the antenna of the base station. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of part of a conventional transmitter. As shown in Fig. 2, the transmitter of this structure comprises a power amplifier 10 and a circulator 20. The transmission signals amplified by the power amplifier 10 are transmitted to the filter (not shown in the figure) through the circulator 20, filtered and then transmitted to the antenna, and the radio frequency signals are transmitted to the user terminal by the antenna. In the conventional transmitter, the power amplifier 10 comprises a first cover plate 11, a second cover plate 12 and a side plate 13. Taking the orientation shown in Fig. 2 as an example, the z direction is the longitudinal direction, and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is the transverse direction, such as the x direction. The first cover plate 11 is referred to as the lower cover plate, and the second cover plate 12 is referred to as the upper cover plate. The circulator 20 is fixed to the surface of the upper cover plate, arranged side by side with the power amplifier 10 and the filter in the transverse direction, and the radial dimension of the circulator 20 is much larger than the height dimension, so that the transverse dimension of the transmitter is large, and the transverse space is usually arranged compactly. In the longitudinal direction of the transmitter, there is a spare space because the devices are not stacked, so the space utilization rate of the transmitter is high. Therefore, reasonable arrangement of the position relationship between the circulator 20 and the power amplifier 10 can help to reduce the size of the transmitter and improve the space utilization rate of the transmitter.

[0032] Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of part of a transmitter according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 3, the transmitter comprises a power amplifier 10 and a circulator 20.

[0033] Referring to Fig. 3, the power amplifier 10 can comprise an isolation cavity 101, a signal processing unit 14 and an auxiliary unit 15. The signal processing unit 14 can comprise active devices and matching circuits, and is used to realize signal processing functions such as signal amplification. The signal processing unit 14 is placed in the isolation cavity 101 to shield the signal processing unit by using the isolation cavity 101 to prevent the radio frequency signals from causing oscillation of the signal processing unit. The auxiliary unit 15 can comprise a power supply circuit 151 and a control circuit 152, and is used to realize functions such as power supply and switching control of the signal processing unit 14. The auxiliary unit 15 can be placed in the isolation cavity 101 or outside the isolation cavity 101, which is not specifically limited here.

[0034] The isolation cavity 101 can be formed by the first cover plate 11, the second cover plate 12 and the side plates 13. The first cover plate 11 and the second cover plate 12 are oppositely arranged along the longitudinal direction, i.e. the z direction, and the side plates 13 are arranged between the first cover plate 11 and the second cover plate 12, and the two ends of the side plates 13 are fixedly connected with the first cover plate 11 and the second cover plate 12 respectively. As an example, the first cover plate 11 and the second cover plate 12 can be rectangular plates. Correspondingly, the number of the side plates 13 can be four. Each side plate 13 can be a planar plate. The four side plates 13 form a frame between the first cover plate 11 and the second cover plate 12.

[0035] In the specific arrangement of the signal processing unit 14, the signal processing unit 14 can be arranged on the inner surface of the first cover plate 11. The inner surface of the first cover plate 11 is the surface of the first cover plate 11 facing the isolation cavity 101. In order to improve the space utilization in the isolation cavity 101, the auxiliary unit 15 can be arranged at least one of the following positions: the inner surface of the second cover plate 12, the inner surface of the side plate 13, or the outer surface of the side plate 13. The inner surface of the second cover plate 12 is the surface of the second cover plate 12 facing the isolation cavity 101. The inner surface of the side plate 13 is the surface of the side plate 13 facing the isolation cavity 101. The outer surface of the side plate 13 is the surface of the side plate 13 facing away from the isolation cavity 101. Referring to FIG. 3, in the embodiment of the present application, the power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 in the auxiliary unit 15 can be arranged on the outer surface of the side plate 13 and the inner surface of the second cover plate 12 respectively. As an example, the power supply circuit 151 is arranged on the outer surface of the side plate 13, and the control circuit 152 is arranged on the inner surface of the second cover plate 12. The arrangement of the above-mentioned power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 is only an example, and the arrangement of the two can be interchanged, which is not limited herein.

[0036] The auxiliary unit 15 needs to be connected with the main board 30 of the transmitter to control the auxiliary unit 15 by using the main board 30. In the arrangement of the main board 30 of the transmitter, the main board 30 can be arranged on the outer surface of the second cover plate 12 and fixedly connected with the second cover plate 12. The outer surface of the second cover plate 12 is the surface of the second cover plate 12 facing away from the isolation cavity 101. Since the auxiliary unit 15 needs to be electrically connected with the main board 30 to control the auxiliary unit 15 by using the main board 30, the second cover plate 12 can be a printed circuit board to realize the electrical connection between the auxiliary unit 15 and the main board 30.

[0037] In the transmitter of the embodiment of the present application, the power amplifier 10 outputs the transmission signal, the circulator 20 realizes the one-way transmission of the transmission signal, and blocks the transmission of the reflected signal to the power amplifier 10, thereby ensuring the stability of the output load of the power amplifier 10 and protecting the normal operation of the power amplifier 10.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the circulator 20 can be arranged on the side plate 13 of the power amplifier 10 and fixedly connected with the side plate 13. In the structure shown in FIG. 3, the circulator 20 is arranged on the outer surface of the side plate 13. The outer surface of the side plate 13 is the surface of the side plate 13 facing away from the isolation cavity 101. Exemplarily, the circulator 20 can be welded on the surface of the side plate 13, or can be attached on the surface of the side plate 13 by other means, such as a fixing member, exemplarily, can be attached on the surface of the side plate 13 by bolts, screws, positioning pins, adhesion and the like. The dimension of the circulator 20 along the thickness direction of the side plate 13 is smaller than the dimension of the circulator 20 along the height direction of the side plate 13. The dimension of the circulator 20 along the thickness direction of the side plate 13 is the height, and the dimension of the circulator 20 along the height direction of the side plate 13 is the radial dimension. Taking the direction shown in FIG. 3 as an example, the height direction of the circulator 20 is the transverse direction, i.e., the x direction shown in FIG. 3, and the radial direction of the circulator 20 is the longitudinal direction, i.e., the z direction shown in FIG. 3. Since the height dimension of the circulator 20 is much smaller than the radial dimension, the mounting manner can save the dimension of the transmitter along the x direction to the greatest extent, and fully utilize the space along the z direction, thereby improving the space utilization and integration of the transmitter.

[0039] In order to fix the circulator 20, the side plate 13 needs to have a certain strength to support and fix the circulator 20, so as to avoid that the side plate 13 is bent by the circulator 20 due to insufficient strength. Meanwhile, in order to avoid that the thickness of the side plate 13 is too large to increase the overall volume of the transmitter, the thickness of the side plate 13 needs to be controlled within a certain range, so as to ensure that the side plate 13 neither occupies too much space nor meets the sufficient supporting strength. In an embodiment, in order to realize the attachment and electrical connection of the circulator 20 and the side plate 13, the side plate 13 can be a metal side plate 13. In an embodiment, the side plate 13 can be a PCB or other plastic product plate, so as to reduce the cost. However, in order to realize the welding of the side plate 13 and the circulator 20, a metal plating layer can be arranged on the surface of the side plate 13.

[0040] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, in the transmitter, the electrical signal of the signal processing unit 14 needs to be transmitted outward through the circulator 20. In order to realize the connection of the circulator 20 and the signal processing unit 14, the side plate 13 can be provided with a signal transmission line, one end of the signal transmission line is connected with the signal output end of the signal processing unit 14, and the other end is connected with the signal input end of the circulator 20. In order to facilitate heat dissipation, the signal processing unit 14 can be arranged on the first cover plate 11, and the first cover plate 11 can be a printed circuit board. The circuit in the first cover plate 11 can be connected with the signal transmission line of the side plate 13. Thus, the signal processing unit 14 can be electrically connected with the circulator 20 through the first cover plate 11 and the side plate 13. In the transmitter with the connection structure, the circulator 20 is arranged on the side plate 13, which can shorten the distance of the signal transmission line between the signal processing unit 14 and the circulator 20 in the side plate 13, thereby reducing the transmission loss.

[0041] Due to the limitation of the installation space of the transmitter, the circulator 20 needs to be fixed to the side plate 13 first during assembly, and then the side plate 13 and the first cover plate 11 are welded. If the two are directly welded, the installation precision of the side plate 13 will be reduced. Therefore, the side plate 13 and the first cover plate 11 can be connected through a flexible circuit board, and the vertical arrangement of the side plate 13 can be realized in a generally flipped manner after the welding between the flexible circuit board and the side plate 13 and the first cover plate 11 is completed, so as to improve the installation precision of the side plate 13. Therefore, in the embodiment of the application, a flexible circuit board (not shown in FIG. 3) can be arranged between the side plate 13 and the first cover plate 11. The flexible circuit board is connected with the first cover plate 11 and the side plate 13 respectively.

[0042] In addition, the transmission signal transmitted to the circulator 20 through the power amplifier 10 needs to be transmitted to the subsequent devices such as the filter of the transmitter through the main board, and therefore, the circulator 20 and the main board 30 need to be electrically connected to realize the transmission of the transmission signal. The connection between the circulator 20 and the main board 30 can be achieved through the side plate 13 and the second cover plate 12 connected to the main board 30. In this connection structure, transmission lines need to be arranged between the side plate 13 and the second cover plate 12 and between the second cover plate 12 and the main board 30 to realize the transmission of the signal. Therefore, the side plate 13 and the second cover plate 12 can both be printed circuit boards to pre-embed the transmission lines in the side plate 13 and the second cover plate 12. In one embodiment, a flexible circuit board (not shown in the figure) can be arranged between the second cover plate 12 and the side plate 13 to realize the mechanical connection and electrical connection between the two by using the flexible circuit board.

[0043] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of part of the structure of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 4, in the transmitter of this embodiment, the power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 in the auxiliary unit 15 are arranged inside the isolation cavity 101, and the circulator 20 is arranged inside the isolation cavity 101. This arrangement structure can be more conducive to improving the space utilization rate inside the isolation cavity 101 and improving the integration of the transmitter.

[0044] When the circulator 20 is arranged inside the isolation cavity 101, the size of the second cover plate 12 along the x direction shown in FIG. 4 can be shortened, thereby further reducing the lateral size of the transmitter. In addition, when the circulator 20 is arranged inside the isolation cavity, the circulator 20 can also be a shell-free circulator 20. During assembly, the components of the circulator 20 are directly assembled inside the isolation cavity 101 to further reduce the occupied space of the circulator 20.

[0045] It can be understood that the positions of the power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 in the structure shown in FIG. 4 can be interchanged, and the specific arrangement positions of the two are not limited in the application.

[0046] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, in the transmitter according to this embodiment, the circulator 20 is arranged outside the isolation chamber 101. The signal processing unit 14 can be a multi-stage signal processing unit, and each signal processing unit can include an active device and a matching circuit. As shown in Figure 5, the signal processing unit 14 can include two signal processing units, a first-stage signal processing unit and a second-stage signal processing unit. Correspondingly, the auxiliary unit 15 can include a plurality of power supply circuits 151 and control circuits 152. For example, each signal processing unit can be connected to one power supply circuit 151 and one control circuit 152. Each power supply circuit 151 and control circuit 152 can be arranged on the inner surface of the second cover plate 12, the inner surface of the side plate 13, and the outer surface of the side plate 13, so as to make full use of the space inside the isolation chamber 101 and outside the side plate 13. It can be understood that the positions of the power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 in the structure shown in Figure 5 can be interchanged, and the specific arrangement positions of the power supply circuit 151 and the control circuit 152 are not limited in the present application.

[0047] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a transmitter according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the side of the first cover plate 11 facing away from the isolation chamber 101 is provided with a heat sink 40. Since the signal processing unit 14 generates a large amount of heat during operation, the heat sink 40 can be arranged at the bottom of the first cover plate 11 to timely discharge the heat generated by the signal processing unit 14. The heat sink 40 can be in contact with the bottom surface of the first cover plate 11 to improve the heat exchange effect. As shown in Figure 6, the heat sink can include a plurality of heat dissipation fins 41 to improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0048] In addition, other surface mounted devices (SMD) in the transmitter can also be arranged on the side plate to further improve the integration of the transmitter. The SMD can be mounted on the inner surface of the side plate or the outer surface of the side plate.

[0049] The above merely illustrates the specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A transmitter, characterized by The transmitter comprises a power amplifier and a circulator; The power amplifier comprises a first cover plate and a second cover plate arranged oppositely, and a side plate arranged between the first cover plate and the second cover plate, and the first cover plate, the second cover plate and the side plate form an isolation cavity; The circulator is fixedly connected with the side plate, and a size of the circulator along a thickness direction of the side plate is smaller than a size of the circulator along a height direction of the side plate.

2. The transmitter of claim 1, characterized in that The power amplifier further comprises a signal processing unit and an auxiliary unit; The signal processing unit is arranged on a surface of the first cover plate facing the isolation cavity; The auxiliary unit is arranged on at least one of the following positions: a surface of the second cover plate facing the isolation cavity, a surface of the side plate facing the isolation cavity, or a surface of the side plate away from the isolation cavity.

3. The transmitter of claim 2, characterized in that A surface of the second cover plate away from the isolation cavity is connected with a main board of the transmitter.

4. The transmitter of claim 3, characterized in that The second cover plate is a printed circuit board, and the auxiliary unit is electrically connected with the main board through the printed circuit board.

5. The transmitter of any of claims 2-4, characterized by The transmitter further comprises a heat sink, and the heat sink is in contact with a surface of the first cover plate away from the isolation cavity.

6. The transmitter of any of claims 2-5, characterized by The side plate is provided with a signal transmission line, one end of the signal transmission line is connected with a signal output end of the signal processing unit, and the other end is connected with a signal input end of the circulator.

7. The transmitter of claim 6, characterized in that The first cover plate is a printed circuit board, the first cover plate is electrically connected with the side plate, and the signal processing unit is electrically connected with the circulator through the first cover plate and the side plate.

8. The transmitter of claim 7, characterized in that A flexible circuit board is arranged between the side plate and the first cover plate, and the side plate and the first cover plate are respectively connected with the flexible circuit board.

9. The transmitter of any of claims 1-8, wherein, The circulator is arranged in the isolation cavity or outside the isolation cavity.

10. A communication base station, characterized by comprising: The transmitter comprises the transmitter according to any one of claims 1-9.

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