Vehicle glass having antenna

Abstract

This vehicle glass comprises: a first glass layer; and a metal thin film layer disposed on the top of the first glass layer and having an antenna pattern. The antenna pattern comprises: a monopole antenna pattern extending in a longitudinal direction and radiating a signal in a predetermined reference frequency band; a first rectangular parasitic pattern disposed on a first lateral side of the monopole antenna pattern to be spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and radiating a signal in a first frequency band higher than the reference frequency band; and a second rectangular parasitic pattern disposed at a longitudinal position different from the first rectangular parasitic pattern on a second lateral side of the monopole antenna pattern to be spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and radiating a signal in a second frequency band lower than the reference frequency band.

Description

Automotive glass equipped with an antenna

[0001] The present invention relates to equipment and structures for wireless communication and vehicles, and more specifically, to vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

[0002] Wireless communication technology for the transmission and reception of information continues to advance. In particular, antenna devices are required to transmit or receive signals for wireless communication, and various types and methods of antenna devices have been developed to achieve higher performance.

[0003] Meanwhile, in the automotive sector as well, various wireless communication technologies are being utilized to transmit and receive vehicle-related information in response to advancements in information and communication technology. Previously, only low-level radio transmission and reception technologies, such as radio, were equipped in vehicles; however, recently, there has been a significant increase in demand for vehicles to transmit and receive large amounts of information with various entities, such as other vehicles, surrounding objects, infrastructure, or base stations, as referred to by the term V2X. Furthermore, regarding wireless communication methods for transmitting and receiving vehicle information, there is a growing number of cases utilizing not only short-range communication systems like Wi-Fi but also global wireless communication systems such as 3GPP LTE, 5G, and 6G.

[0004] To support signal transmission and reception using such various communication systems, various types of antenna devices have been equipped in vehicles. Due to the radio wave blocking characteristics of the vehicle body, additional antenna structures formed integrally on the exterior of the vehicle body, such as the shark fin antenna shown in Fig. 1, have traditionally been mainly adopted. However, since such external antennas have a negative impact on the aesthetics of the vehicle, various methods have been proposed to reduce the aesthetic disparity. As an example, the need for glass antennas installed on the vehicle's glass has emerged.

[0005] However, conventional proposals for antennas installed on vehicle glass are limited to merely transmitting and receiving radio signals, or even if antennas supporting high-capacity communication are proposed conceptually, they are limited to the form of film antennas attached to vehicle glass at an experimental level and fail to provide a solution applicable to the mass production of vehicle glass that can be used in actual vehicles.

[0006] One objective of the present invention to solve the aforementioned problems is to provide a vehicle glass equipped with a mass-producible antenna that has more stable performance and durability by being designed considering a glass stack-up structure mounted on an actual vehicle.

[0007] Another objective of the present invention to solve the aforementioned problems is to provide a vehicle glass having an antenna that can improve process efficiency and increase mass producibility while maintaining the performance of the antenna by minimizing the removal area of ​​the metal thin film layer by having an additional parasitic pattern.

[0008] However, the problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited thereto and may be expanded in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0009] A vehicle glass having an antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the aforementioned problems may include: a first glass layer; and a metal thin film layer disposed on the upper portion of the first glass layer and having an antenna pattern. Herein, the antenna pattern may include: a monopole antenna pattern extending in a longitudinal direction and radiating a signal in a predetermined reference frequency band; a first square parasitic pattern disposed spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern on a first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern and radiating a signal in a first frequency band different from the reference frequency band; and a first additional parasitic pattern disposed spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and the first square parasitic pattern at a longitudinal position different from the first square parasitic pattern on the first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern.

[0010] According to one aspect, the antenna pattern may be formed by etching the metal thin film layer coated or bonded to the first glass layer.

[0011] According to one aspect, the first additional parasitic pattern may be configured to reduce the etching area of ​​the metal thin film layer.

[0012] According to one aspect, the first additional parasitic pattern may include a first sub-pattern, a second sub-pattern, a third sub-pattern, and a fourth sub-pattern arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns.

[0013] According to one aspect, the first sub-pattern and the second sub-pattern may be positioned at the same transverse position, the third sub-pattern and the fourth sub-pattern may be positioned at the same transverse position, the first sub-pattern and the third sub-pattern may be positioned at the same longitudinal position, and the second sub-pattern and the fourth sub-pattern may be positioned at the same longitudinal position.

[0014] According to one aspect, the first additional parasitic pattern may be configured to have sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions so that the current distributions of the sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions cancel each other out.

[0015] According to one aspect, the first additional parasitic pattern may be configured to have sub-patterns having different transverse positions so that the first additional parasitic pattern generates a signal in a frequency band higher than the first frequency band.

[0016] According to one aspect, a transverse current flow path may be formed in the first square parasitic pattern and the first additional parasitic pattern, and a longitudinal current flow path may be formed in the monopole antenna pattern.

[0017] According to one aspect, the antenna pattern may further include: a second square parasitic pattern spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and positioned longitudinally at a different location from the first square parasitic pattern on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern, and radiating a second frequency band signal different from the reference frequency band and the first frequency band; and a second additional parasitic pattern spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and the second square parasitic pattern and positioned longitudinally at a different location from the second square parasitic pattern on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern.

[0018] According to one aspect, the vehicle glass may be a double-bonded glass further comprising: a polymer bonding layer disposed on top of the metal thin film layer; and a second glass layer bonded to the first glass layer and the metal thin film layer by the polymer bonding layer.

[0019] The disclosed technology may have the following effects. However, this does not mean that a specific embodiment must include all of the following effects or only the following effects; therefore, the scope of the rights of the disclosed technology should not be understood as being limited by this.

[0020] According to the vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention described above, by being designed with consideration of a glass stack-up structure mounted on an actual vehicle, it has the advantageous effect of being capable of mass production while possessing more stable performance and durability.

[0021] In addition, according to the vehicle glass having an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention described above, by having an additional parasitic pattern, the removal area of ​​the metal thin film layer is minimized, thereby maintaining the performance of the antenna while improving process efficiency and increasing mass producibility.

[0022] FIG. 1 is an example of a shark-fin antenna for a vehicle according to the prior art.

[0023] FIG. 2 is an example diagram of an antenna device provided on a vehicle glass.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows a layer structure of a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 4 is an example diagram of a misalignment-based connector connection structure according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 5 is an example of an embodiment of a connector connection structure for a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 6 is an example of a broadband antenna pattern that can be applied to vehicle glass according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 7 shows the current flow path of the antenna pattern of Figure 6.

[0029] Figure 8 shows an exemplary design form of the antenna pattern of Figure 6.

[0030] Figure 9 shows the S-parameters measured according to the antenna pattern of Figure 6.

[0031] FIG. 10 is an exemplary diagram of an antenna pattern having an additional parasitic pattern according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 11 shows the S parameters measured according to the antenna pattern of Figure 10.

[0033] Figure 12 shows the current distribution of the antenna pattern of Figure 10.

[0034] FIG. 13 is an exemplary diagram of an antenna pattern having an additional parasitic pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 14 shows embodiments of an antenna pattern having an additional parasitic pattern including a sub-pattern.

[0036] Figure 15 shows the S-parameters according to the antenna pattern of Figure 14.

[0037] The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail.

[0038] However, this is not intended to limit the invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0039] Terms such as "first," "second," etc., may be used to describe various components, but said components should not be limited by said terms. Such terms are used solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be named the second component, and similarly, the second component may be named the first component. The term "and / or" includes a combination of a plurality of related described items or any of a plurality of related described items.

[0040] When it is stated that one component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that while it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, there may also be other components in between. On the other hand, when it is stated that one component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

[0041] The terms used in this application are used merely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprising" or "having" are intended to specify the presence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0042] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application.

[0043] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. In order to facilitate an overall understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for identical components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of identical components are omitted.

[0044]

[0045] outline

[0046] As mentioned above, various wireless communication technologies are being utilized in the automotive sector to transmit and receive vehicle-related information, and the V2X field, in particular, is receiving significant attention for its ability to transmit and receive large amounts of information with various entities such as other vehicles, surrounding objects, infrastructure, or base stations. Regarding wireless communication methods for transmitting and receiving vehicle information, there is an increasing number of cases utilizing not only short-range communication systems such as Wi-Fi but also global wireless communication systems such as 3GPP LTE, 5G, and 6G.

[0047] In order to support signal transmission and reception using such various communication systems, various types of antenna devices have been provided in vehicles, and due to the radio wave blocking characteristics of the vehicle body, additional antenna structures formed integrally on the exterior of the vehicle body, such as the shark-fin antenna (10) shown in Fig. 1, have been mainly adopted in the past.

[0048] However, since such external antennas have a negative impact on the aesthetics of the vehicle, various methods have been proposed to reduce the aesthetic disparity. For example, the need for a glass antenna installed on the glass of a vehicle has arisen. FIG. 2 is an example of an antenna device provided on vehicle glass. As shown in FIG. 2, an antenna installation area (20) may be provided, for example, on the front windshield installed on a vehicle. However, this is merely an example, and an antenna installation area may be provided on at least a part of the front, side, or rear of the vehicle.

[0049] Although the concept of equipping an antenna on the glass of a vehicle has been proposed in the past, conventional proposals for antennas installed on vehicle glass were limited to merely transmitting and receiving radio signals, or even if antennas supporting high-capacity communication were proposed conceptually, they were limited to the form of film antennas attached to vehicle glass at an experimental level and failed to provide a solution applicable to the mass production of vehicle glass that can be used in actual vehicles.

[0050] Furthermore, conventional antenna patterns for transmitting and receiving signals in broadband or multi-band frequency bands employed highly complex structures, which reduced mass production feasibility and made them difficult to realize. Since the detailed structure of the pattern required to radiate signals in a specific frequency band demanded highly precise numerical and geometric design, there was a very high probability that the signal would not be radiated as designed due to slight design changes or changes in the application. However, automobiles are classified into a wide variety of types, such as SUVs and sedans; moreover, even within the same vehicle type, the curvature, shape, and thickness of the glass vary depending on the model, which can lead to variations in the characteristics of the radiated signals. In vehicle signal transmission and reception, specific signals are required to possess directional properties—for example, GNSS signals are controlled to radiate upwards toward satellites, while V2X signals are radiated horizontally. To achieve this, there was a need to tune the antenna pattern to suit each vehicle type and / or model. However, it was practically impossible to tune conventional complex patterns for application to individual vehicles.

[0051] The present invention aims to solve such problems. According to a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention, by being designed considering a glass stack-up structure mounted on an actual vehicle, it has the advantageous effect of being capable of mass production while possessing more stable performance and durability. In other words, the need for a glass antenna that prevents the external antenna from damaging the exterior appearance of the vehicle has arisen, and according to a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one aspect of the present invention, the antenna pattern is protected from the external environment, thereby providing stable performance and durability.

[0052] Furthermore, regarding the antenna pattern provided on the vehicle glass according to one aspect of the present invention, in radiating broadband radiation, multi-band radiation, or signals of a specific frequency band, by simplifying possible pattern design and simplifying elements for tuning the transmitted and received signals, the radiation characteristics of the transmitted and received signals can be easily controlled according to the vehicle to which they are applied. That is, by simplifying design parameters, the radiation characteristics of the signal according to the application can be simply tuned.

[0053] Hereinafter, a vehicle glass having an antenna according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0054]

[0055] Automotive glass equipped with an antenna

[0056] FIG. 3 shows a layer structure of a vehicle glass having an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a vehicle glass (1000) having an antenna according to one aspect of the present invention may include at least one of a first glass layer (100), a metal thin film layer (200), a polymer bonding layer (300), and a second glass layer (400).

[0057] For example, according to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle glass (100) having an antenna may include a first glass layer (100) and a metal thin film layer (200) disposed on the first glass layer and having an antenna pattern. Note that the metal thin film layer (200) may, for example, be coated with silver (Ag) paste on the first glass layer (100), but is not limited thereto, and any metal material for forming the antenna pattern may be used.

[0058] According to one aspect, the vehicle glass (1000) may further include a polymer bonding layer (300) disposed on top of a metal thin film layer and a second glass layer (400) bonded to the first glass layer and the metal thin film layer by the polymer bonding layer. Accordingly, the vehicle glass (1000) according to one aspect of the present invention may be a double-bonded glass. According to one aspect, the polymer bonding layer (300) may be polyvinyl-butyral (PVB), but is not limited thereto.

[0059] As a non-limiting example, the thickness of the first glass layer (100) and the second glass layer (400) may be 2.1 mm, the thickness of the polymer bonding layer (300) may be 0.8 mm, and the thickness of the metal thin film layer may be 30 to 80 nm, preferably 5 to 20 µm, but is not limited thereto.

[0060] However, the vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one aspect of the present invention may have a thickness and / or shape capable of providing safety in the event of a collision of the vehicle. For example, double-bonded glass bonded, for instance, via PVB, may be used for the front windshield of the vehicle to reduce the possibility of breakage due to a collision or of an object from the outside penetrating and entering the interior. However, it should be noted that the technical concept of the present invention is not limited to double-bonded glass.

[0061] In this regard, for example, in the case of automotive glass such as double-bonded glass, an antenna pattern can be provided by forming a metal thin film layer (200) between a first glass layer and a second glass layer as shown in FIG. 3. Since the antenna pattern has glass layers on both the upper and lower layers, it can be implemented to have very low risk of damage and high durability. However, in such a structure, the metal thin film layer is required to be formed to have a very thin thickness, so if a conventional antenna pattern design is followed in which a metal layer of a certain thickness or more is provided, it is highly likely that resonance will not occur as intended. Furthermore, in a conventional antenna design, the layer providing the antenna pattern is required to be placed at the outermost edge, but in the case of an antenna pattern embedded in double-bonded glass as shown in FIG. 3, glass layers are provided on both the upper and lower sides, and such glass layers have a considerable thickness to ensure the safety of the vehicle. In a non-limiting manner, for example, glass with a total thickness of 4 mm or more is positioned adjacent to the antenna pattern as a dielectric, so that, according to a general antenna design, a signal is not radiated and an electromagnetic field is formed inside the double-bonded glass. Accordingly, the antenna patterns according to the embodiments of the present invention described below are designed to achieve target radiation characteristics while maintaining the basic performance of automotive glass, taking into account such special characteristics.

[0062] First, considering that, unlike a conventional patch antenna in which a ground region is formed on one side of the dielectric and a microstrip line is disposed on the other side of the dielectric, only a single layer of metal thin film (200) can be used for antenna fabrication in the structure of automotive glass, according to one aspect of the present invention, an antenna pattern provided on the metal thin film layer (200) of an automotive glass (1000) equipped with an antenna may adopt a coplanar waveguide (CPW) feeding structure. That is, the antenna pattern provided on the metal thin film layer (200) may include at least one CPW feeding patch for CPW feeding. Here, a structure is required for a coupler to be coupled to the CPW feeding patch for supplying a feeding signal.

[0063] In this regard, FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram of a misalignment-based connector connection structure according to one aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an exemplary embodiment of a connector connection structure of a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0064] As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, according to one aspect of the present invention, a second glass layer (400) and a first glass layer (100) may be joined together in a state including an intended misalignment. That is, the second glass layer (400) may be spaced apart from the first glass layer (100) by, for example, a predetermined distance (d1) in the longitudinal direction. Herein, the longitudinal direction may refer to, for example, the height direction when the vehicle glass is placed in a vehicle, but is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, in this description, 'longitudinal direction' and 'transverse direction' may be used to refer to different directions that are orthogonal to each other. For example, the 'longitudinal direction' may be referred to as the 'first direction' and the 'transverse direction' may be referred to as the 'second direction'. According to one aspect, a metal thin film layer (200) may be formed aligned with a first glass layer at a predetermined position, and a PVB layer (300) may be applied at a position corresponding to the underside of the second glass layer, but is not limited thereto.

[0065] Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, by positioning the second glass layer (400) apart from the first glass layer (100) by a predetermined distance (d1), at least a portion of the metal thin film layer (200) may form an area not covered by the second glass layer (400). A connector (500) for feeding power to an antenna pattern may be connected to the area of ​​the metal thin film layer (200) formed in this way that is not covered by the second glass layer (400). Accordingly, according to one aspect of the present invention, a connector (500) for supplying a power signal to an antenna pattern can be connected without performing separate additional processing on the first glass layer (100) or the second glass layer (400).

[0066] According to one aspect, the metal thin film layer (200) antenna pattern includes at least one CPW feed patch for coplanar waveguide (CPW) feeding, and the area not covered by the second glass layer (400) of the aforementioned metal thin film layer (200) may be formed in at least a portion of such CPW feed patch. That is, by positioning the second glass layer (400) at a predetermined distance from the first glass layer (100), at least a portion of the CPW feed patch formed in the metal thin film layer (200) is configured not to be covered by the second glass layer (400), and a connector (500) may be attached to this area. For example, the second glass layer (400) may be removed by 5 mm in the feed patch area to attach the connector in the target band, but it should be noted that this is merely exemplary and is not limited to that value.

[0067] According to one aspect, the longitudinal length of the region in which at least a portion of the metal thin film layer (200) is not covered by the second glass layer (400) may be set to be smaller than the longitudinal length of the glass insert portion of the glass frame of a vehicle in which the vehicle glass according to one aspect of the present invention is installed. Accordingly, when the vehicle glass is installed on the vehicle frame, even if misalignment as described above is included, it can be prevented from being exposed to the outside other than the first glass layer or the second glass layer.

[0068]

[0069] Broadband antenna pattern

[0070] As mentioned above, various wireless communication technologies are utilized in the automotive sector to transmit and receive vehicle-related information. In particular, the V2X field, where vehicles transmit and receive large volumes of information with various entities such as other vehicles, surrounding objects, infrastructure, or base stations, is receiving significant attention. Regarding wireless communication methods for such vehicle information transmission and reception, there is an increasing number of cases utilizing not only short-range communication systems like Wi-Fi but also global wireless communication systems such as 3GPP LTE, 5G, and 6G. Furthermore, GNSS antennas for determining vehicle location information are also being equipped as essential components in vehicles. Therefore, there is a growing need for an integrated antenna that combines various band antennas required for internal and external vehicle communication, such as GNSS, Wi-Fi, V2X, and 4G / 5G / 6G. In particular, even in the case of automotive glass equipped with antennas, there may be a demand for an integrated antenna capable of performing all signal transmission and reception through various communication systems. As a non-limiting example, the implementation of an integrated antenna in which all antennas for internal and external vehicle communication bands are included on the vehicle's windshield may be required. To achieve this, antennas for all bands may be located together, or a full-field antenna covering a wideband is required.

[0071] According to one aspect of the present invention, an antenna pattern provided on a metal thin film layer (200) may be a broadband antenna pattern capable of transmitting and receiving signals for various communication systems required for internal and external communication of a vehicle. Hereinafter, a broadband antenna pattern that can be embedded in a vehicle glass having an antenna according to one aspect of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0072]

[0073] FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram of a broadband antenna pattern that can be applied to a vehicle glass according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 shows an exemplary design form of the antenna pattern of FIG. 6. Annotations of FIG. 8 may be used to refer to the length of the elements of the antenna pattern of FIG. 6.

[0074] As illustrated in FIG. 6, a broadband antenna pattern that can be applied to a vehicle glass (1000) according to one aspect of the present invention may include a monopole antenna pattern (210), a first square parasitic pattern (220), a second square parasitic pattern (230), a first CPW feed patch (241), and a second CPW feed patch (243).

[0075] As described above, in order to provide an antenna in the vehicle glass, a single metal thin film layer (200) may be provided, so the antenna pattern implemented in the metal thin film layer (200) can perform feeding in a CPW manner. For this purpose, for example, a first CPW feeding patch (241) and a second CPW feeding patch (243) may be placed at one end of the longitudinal direction of the metal thin film layer (200). Here, the longitudinal direction may refer to, for example, the height direction when the vehicle glass is placed in a vehicle, but is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, in this description, 'longitudinal direction' and 'transverse direction' may be used to refer to different directions that are orthogonal to each other. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the up-down direction in the drawings may be referred to as the longitudinal direction and the left-right direction in the drawings as the transverse direction, but it should be noted that the technical concept of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0076] Referring again to FIG. 6, the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be configured to extend longitudinally and radiate a predetermined reference frequency band signal. As a non-limiting example, the extension of the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be arranged to have a predetermined spacing between the first CPW feed patch (241) and the second CPW feed patch (243). As previously described, a first part of the connector may be connected to the first CPW feed patch (241) and the second CPW feed patch (243), and a second part of the connector may be connected to the extension of the monopole antenna pattern (210). Thus, it is possible to supply a feed signal to an antenna pattern having a single layer. The reference frequency band signal radiated by the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be, for example, the center frequency of the frequency band radiated by the antenna pattern, but is not limited thereto.

[0077] In order to transmit and receive wireless signals required for internal and external communication of a vehicle, such as GNSS, WiFi, V2X, 4G / 5G / 6G, a vehicle glass having an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention, as a non-limiting example, may be configured to transmit and receive signals of approximately 1 GHz to 4 GHz, more specifically 1.4 GHz to 3.7 GHz. Accordingly, as a non-limiting example, a monopole antenna pattern (210) may be configured to transmit and receive signals of 2.4 GHz. To this end, for example, a monopole antenna formed by the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be set to have a length of λ / 4 for a wavelength λ corresponding to a frequency of 2.4 GHz.

[0078] Meanwhile, according to one aspect of the present invention, an open-ended branch may be provided for impedance matching of the monopole antenna pattern (210). For example, the antenna pattern may further include a transverse branch pattern (211) extending from the monopole antenna pattern (210) to a second transverse side. The transverse branch pattern (211) may be spaced apart from the second square parasitic pattern at a predetermined interval. For impedance matching of the monopole antenna pattern (210), the monopole antenna and the branch may have a predetermined length ratio. As a non-limiting example, the length ratio of the vertical part to the horizontal part may be set to 2:1. For example, the length (210L) from the branching point of the transverse branch pattern (211) of the monopole antenna pattern (210) to the end of the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be twice the length (211L) of the transverse branch pattern (211). Accordingly, impedance matching for the monopole antenna pattern (210) is performed to ensure improved power efficiency, reduced signal reflection, and system stability. The width (210W) of the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the width (211W) of the transverse branch pattern (211) may be the same, but are not limited thereto.

[0079] According to one aspect of the present invention, for broadband signal transmission and reception, a metal patch that is not directly fed around a monopole antenna can be placed to improve impedance matching and expand the frequency bandwidth. Such a metal patch can be combined with the original monopole antenna to function as an additional inductor or capacitor.

[0080] In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a first square parasitic pattern (220) and a second square parasitic pattern (230) may be provided around a monopole antenna pattern (210) according to one aspect of the present invention. Such first square parasitic pattern (220) and / or second square parasitic pattern (230) may be a surface-shaped patch having a predetermined area or larger. In this regard, as previously described, the metal thin film layer (200) applicable to automotive glass may have a thickness much thinner than that which can be utilized for general antenna formation, such as 30 to 80 nm. If a general antenna patch design is applied to such a thin metal layer, the intended radiation characteristics may not be achieved. According to one aspect of the present invention, at least some of the patches constituting the antenna patch, for example, a first square parasitic pattern (220) and / or a second square parasitic pattern (230), are composed of planar radiators, so that the current density within the pattern is minimized, thereby preventing an increase in resistance per area and an increase in surface energy loss due to the concentration of current density. Additionally, since they are composed of planar radiators, they can provide various current flow paths compared to line-shaped patches and provide various cases for resonance that may occur, thus enabling broadband signal radiation.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 6, the first square parasitic pattern (220) may be configured to be spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern on the first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern (210) and to radiate a first frequency band signal higher than the reference frequency band radiated by the monopole antenna pattern (210). For example, the first square parasitic pattern (220) may be configured to transmit and receive a signal in the 3 GHz band, but is not limited thereto.

[0082] Meanwhile, the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be configured to be spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern at a longitudinal position different from the first square parasitic pattern on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern (210), so as to radiate a second frequency band signal lower than the reference frequency band radiated by the monopole antenna pattern (210). For example, the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be configured to transmit and receive a signal in the 2 GHz band, but is not limited thereto.

[0083] According to one aspect, the longitudinal length (220L) of the first square parasitic pattern (220) and the longitudinal length (230L) of the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be equal to each other, and the transverse length (230W) of the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be formed to be longer than the transverse length (220W) of the first square parasitic pattern (220).

[0084] More specifically, although not limited thereto, the ratio of the longitudinal length (220L) of the first square parasitic pattern (220) to the transverse length (220W) of the first square parasitic pattern (220) may be set to 1:1, and the ratio of the longitudinal length (230L) of the second square parasitic pattern (230) to the transverse length (230W) of the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be 1:2. Thus, the antenna pattern according to one aspect of the present invention can easily control radiation characteristics according to the type or model of the vehicle by simplifying design parameters as much as possible and minimizing variable elements relative to fixed elements.

[0085] Meanwhile, according to one aspect of the present invention, the antenna pattern may include a configuration for improving impedance matching of parasitic patches. For example, a parasitic patch in the direction having a horizontal branch may have an aspect ratio of 2:1 and improve impedance matching around 2 GHz, and a parasitic patch in the opposite direction may have a ratio of 1:1 and improve impedance matching around 3 GHz.

[0086] More specifically, the antenna patch according to one side may further include a stub pattern (213) that extends from the monopole antenna pattern (210) to a first side in the transverse direction and is spaced apart from the first square parasitic pattern (220) by a preset distance. Such a stub pattern (213) may be used to improve the impedance matching of the first square parasitic pattern (220). For example, the stub pattern (213) may generate inductance, and the spacing between the stub pattern (213) and the first square parasitic pattern (220) may generate capacitance, but is not limited thereto.

[0087] Meanwhile, the aforementioned transverse branch pattern (211) may be used to improve the impedance matching of the second square parasitic pattern (230). For example, the transverse branch pattern (211) generates inductance, and the gap between the transverse branch pattern (211) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) may generate capacitance, but is not limited thereto.

[0088] Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, regarding automotive glass equipped with an antenna, various environmental factors such as the position where the antenna patch can be placed, the installation angle of the glass, and the presence or absence of curvature of the patch may differ depending on the type or model of the vehicle to which it is applied. However, just as GNSS signals are transmitted and received upward toward satellites and V2X signals are transmitted and received horizontally toward surrounding objects, it is necessary to appropriately control the signal radiation direction of the automotive antenna. Therefore, it may be required to tune the antenna patch appropriately according to the type, model, and location of the vehicle in which the automotive glass equipped with an antenna is installed, in order to control the radiated signal or adjust the impedance matching. According to the prior art, since broadband antenna patterns have a very complex design, there was a problem in that tuning required an amount of effort and time equivalent to performing a nearly new design even for such small environmental differences. According to one aspect of the present invention, as a non-limiting example, other design elements may be fixed, and control, change, or impedance matching of the radiation direction and radiation frequency may be performed by changing the transverse length (213W) of the stub pattern (213) and the transverse length (211W) of the transverse branch pattern (211). For example, depending on the type of vehicle in which the vehicle glass is installed, the longitudinal length (211W) of the transverse branch pattern (211) and the longitudinal length (213W) of the stub pattern (213), i.e., the width, may be maintained, but at least one of the transverse length (213W) of the stub pattern (213) and the transverse length (211W) of the transverse branch pattern (211) may be changed so that at least one of the radiation direction or radiation frequency can be easily controlled.Other conditions, such as the spacing between the first square parasitic pattern (220) and the stub pattern (213), the spacing between the second square parasitic pattern (230) and the transverse branch pattern (211), the longitudinal / transverse length of the first square parasitic pattern (220) or the second square parasitic pattern (230), the width (210W) of the monopole antenna pattern (210), and the spacing between the monopole antenna pattern (210) and other patterns, may be fixed, but are not limited thereto.

[0089] FIG. 7 illustrates the current flow path of the antenna pattern of FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a vehicle glass having an antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention has an antenna pattern on a metal thin film layer (200). The antenna pattern may include a monopole antenna pattern (210), a first square parasitic pattern (220), and a second square parasitic pattern (230). Here, the monopole antenna pattern (210) may be configured to transmit and receive a signal in a reference frequency band, the first square parasitic pattern (220) may be configured to transmit and receive a signal in a frequency band higher than the reference frequency band, and the second square parasitic pattern (230) may be configured to transmit and receive a signal in a frequency band lower than the reference frequency band. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a transverse current flow path is formed in the first square parasitic pattern (220) and / or the second square parasitic pattern (230), so that resonance along the transverse direction occurs and signals of polarization along the transverse direction can be transmitted and received. Additionally, a longitudinal current flow path is formed in the monopole antenna pattern (210), so that resonance along the longitudinal direction occurs and signals of polarization along the longitudinal direction can be transmitted and received. Thus, in an antenna pattern according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to minimize interference between signals radiated from adjacent patterns. For example, since the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the first square parasitic pattern (220) radiate signals of different polarizations even though they are adjacent to each other, mutual signal interference can be minimized. In addition, the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) are adjacent to each other but radiate signals of different polarizations, so mutual signal interference can be minimized.Although the first square parasitic pattern (220) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) transmit and receive signals of similar polarization, a monopole antenna pattern (210) is placed between them so that they are physically spaced apart, and the monopole antenna pattern (210) acts as a filter for the signals generated in the first square parasitic pattern (220) and / or the second square parasitic pattern (230), so that interference between the signals generated in the first square parasitic pattern (220) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) can be minimized.

[0090] Figure 9 shows the S-parameters measured according to the antenna pattern of Figure 6. As shown in Figure 9, when examining the S11 parameter plot across the frequency domain of a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention, it can be confirmed that both the simulation results according to the design and the measurement results according to the embodiment exhibit broadband performance within a frequency band range of approximately 1.4 to 3.7 GHz. Even when a conservative standard of 10 dB is set as the criterion for determining the radiable frequency band, it was confirmed that signals are transmitted and received in a wide frequency band of approximately 1.47 to 3.69.

[0091]

[0092] Minimization of the etching region of the metal thin film layer

[0093] As previously described with reference to FIG. 3, a vehicle glass (1000) having an antenna according to one aspect of the present invention may include at least one of a first glass layer (100), a metal thin film layer (200), a polymer bonding layer (300), and a second glass layer (400).

[0094] For example, according to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle glass (100) having an antenna may include a first glass layer (100) and a metal thin film layer (200) disposed on the first glass layer and having an antenna pattern. Note that the metal thin film layer (200) may, for example, be coated with silver (Ag) paste on the first glass layer (100), but is not limited thereto, and any metal material for forming the antenna pattern may be used.

[0095] In order to improve the mass production of vehicle glass having an antenna according to embodiments of the present invention, as a non-limiting example, it is possible to form an antenna pattern by coating or bonding a metal thin film layer (200) on top of a first glass layer and etching the metal thin film layer (200). That is, an antenna pattern according to one aspect may be formed by etching the metal thin film layer coated or bonded to the first glass layer. For example, an antenna pattern may be formed by performing a laser patterning process on the metal thin film layer (200), but is not limited thereto.

[0096] Here, since the etching or patterning process for the metal thin film layer (200) requires a significant amount of time and effort, the antenna pattern of the vehicle glass having an antenna according to the embodiments of the present invention can improve process efficiency and ensure mass production by simplifying the etching or patterning process as much as possible. In one example, the etching or patterning process of the metal thin film layer (200) can be optimized by minimizing the area removed from the metal thin film layer (200).

[0097] In this regard, FIG. 10 is an exemplary diagram of an antenna pattern having an additional parasitic pattern according to one aspect of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the following description is based on a form in which an additional parasitic pattern is provided on a broadband antenna pattern according to, for example, one embodiment of the present invention; however, it should be noted that the technical concept of the present invention regarding the additional parasitic pattern is not limited thereto. That is, it should be understood that a form in which an additional parasitic pattern is added to any antenna pattern is also included within the technical concept of the present invention.

[0098] As described above with reference to FIG. 6, a broadband antenna pattern applicable to a vehicle glass (1000) according to one aspect of the present invention may include a monopole antenna pattern (210), a first square parasitic pattern (220), a second square parasitic pattern (230), a first CPW feed patch (241), and a second CPW feed patch (243). For configurations identically illustrated in FIG. 10, the technical features of the antenna pattern described above with reference to FIG. 6 may be applied in the same way.

[0099] As illustrated in FIG. 10, according to one aspect of the present invention, the antenna pattern may further include a first additional parasitic pattern (260) spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the first square parasitic pattern (220) at a longitudinal position different from the first square parasitic pattern (220) on the first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern (210).

[0100] Additionally, according to one aspect of the present invention, a second additional parasitic pattern (270) may be further included, which is spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) at a longitudinal position different from the second square parasitic pattern (230) on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern (210).

[0101] That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the antenna pattern further comprises a first additional parasitic pattern (260) and / or a second additional parasitic pattern (270), thereby making it possible to minimize the removal portion of the metal thin film layer (200). That is, as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to form an antenna pattern while removing only a very small portion of the metal thin film layer (200), thereby enabling efficiency of the manufacturing process.

[0102] However, when introducing an additional parasitic pattern to minimize the etching area in this manner, it is necessary to consider the impact of the additional parasitic pattern on the radiation performance of the radiation pattern for transmitting and receiving the target signal. Figure 11 shows the S-parameters measured according to the antenna pattern of Figure 10, and Figure 12 shows the current distribution of the antenna pattern of Figure 10. As can be seen in Figure 11, when an additional parasitic pattern is provided in the form shown in Figure 10, it can be observed that radiation performance degrades in a significant number of frequency bands. As can be seen in Figure 12, this may be attributed to the fact that current is induced not only in the square parasitic patterns intended for target signal radiation but also in the additional parasitic pattern. Although current is induced in the additional parasitic pattern, impedance matching is not performed for it, and therefore, there is a problem in that signal control in the desired form is impossible.

[0103] According to another embodiment of the present invention, by making the additional parasitic pattern include a plurality of sub-patterns, the influence of the additional parasitic pattern on a pattern for transmitting and receiving a target signal, such as a square parasitic pattern, can be minimized.

[0104] In this regard, FIG. 13 is an example of an antenna pattern having an additional parasitic pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 13, the following description is based on the second square parasitic pattern (230) and the second additional parasitic pattern (270) for convenience of explanation, but it is obvious that the technical concept regarding such additional parasitic patterns can also be applied to the first square parasitic pattern (220) and the first additional parasitic pattern (260).

[0105] As described above in this description, a longitudinal current flow path may be formed in the monopole antenna pattern (210), and a transverse current flow path may be formed in the second square parasitic pattern (230). Here, even if the monopole antenna pattern (210) and the second square parasitic pattern (230) are arranged relatively close to each other, they have mutually different current flow paths, so the polarization between the radiated signals may be different from each other, and interference between the mutually radiated signals may occur less. However, as shown in FIG. 13, a transverse current flow path may be formed in the second additional parasitic pattern (270) arranged adjacent to the second square parasitic pattern (230), similar to the second square parasitic pattern (230). Since an electric field loop tends to generate an electric field loop in the opposite direction in adjacent regions, an electric field loop or current flow path in the opposite direction may be generated in the second square parasitic pattern (230) and the second additional parasitic pattern (270). Such current flow paths in opposite directions cause problems in canceling out currents from each other, which can eventually result in degradation of the radiation pattern, reduced radiation efficiency, or reduced impedance matching.

[0106] According to one aspect of the present invention, the first additional parasitic pattern (260) or the second additional parasitic pattern (270) can solve such problems by having a plurality of sub-patterns. For example, the first additional parasitic pattern (260) or the second additional parasitic pattern (270) may include a first sub-pattern, a second sub-pattern, a third sub-pattern, and a fourth sub-pattern arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns. For convenience of explanation, the second additional parasitic pattern (270) may be used as an example, and the second additional parasitic pattern (270) may include a first sub-pattern (271), a second sub-pattern (273), a third sub-pattern (275), and a fourth sub-pattern (275) arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns.

[0107] As illustrated in FIG. 13, the first sub-pattern (271) and the second sub-pattern (273) may be positioned in the same transverse position, the third sub-pattern (275) and the fourth sub-pattern (277) may be positioned in the same transverse position, the first sub-pattern (271) and the third sub-pattern (275) may be positioned in the same longitudinal position, and the second sub-pattern (273) and the fourth sub-pattern (277) may be positioned in the same longitudinal position.

[0108] That is, the first additional parasitic pattern (260) or the second additional parasitic pattern (270) according to one aspect of the present invention may include a plurality of sub-patterns that are divided longitudinally and have different transverse positions, and may include a plurality of sub-patterns that are divided transversely and have different longitudinal positions.

[0109] Here, at least one of the first additional parasitic pattern (260) or the second additional parasitic pattern (270) may be configured to have sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions so that the current distributions of the sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions cancel each other out. That is, the additional parasitic pattern may be divided in the transverse direction and may include a sub-pattern placed at a first longitudinal position and a sub-pattern placed at a second longitudinal position. As shown in FIG. 13, electric field and / or current flow paths are formed in different directions in the sub-patterns (271, 275) placed at the first longitudinal position and the sub-patterns (273, 277) placed at the second longitudinal position, and they may be configured to cancel out signals generated by each other. Thus, compared to the case where sub-patterns are not provided, the effect of having parasitic patterns can be reduced.

[0110] Meanwhile, at least one of the first additional parasitic pattern (260) or the second additional parasitic pattern (270) may be configured to have sub-patterns having different transverse positions so that the additional parasitic pattern generates a signal in a frequency band higher than the frequency band of the signal generated by the square parasitic pattern. For example, the first additional parasitic pattern may be configured to generate a signal in a frequency band higher than the first frequency band, and the second additional parasitic pattern may be configured to generate a signal in a frequency band higher than the second frequency band. As shown in FIG. 13, when the additional parasitic pattern is divided longitudinally to have a plurality of sub-patterns placed at different transverse positions, the current flow path formed in each sub-pattern may have a much shorter length than before the division. Therefore, the sub-patterns generate signals of much higher frequencies compared to the additional parasitic patterns and / or square parasitic patterns prior to division, and thus enable stable signal transmission and reception without affecting the radiated signal of the square parasitic pattern for generating a signal in the target frequency band.

[0111] FIG. 14 illustrates embodiments of an antenna pattern equipped with an additional parasitic pattern including sub-patterns, and FIG. 15 illustrates S-parameters according to the antenna pattern of FIG. 14. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the additional parasitic pattern can be divided more finely to provide a larger number of sub-patterns. FIG. 14 illustrates sub-patterns according to a total of three levels of division, and FIG. 15 shows S-parameters according to each sub-pattern. In general, it was found that the finer the division, the greater the improvement in impedance matching; however, it was confirmed that when the segmented parasitic patch is below a certain size, further division does not show a significant difference. As illustrated in FIG. 15, it was confirmed that a distinct improvement in impedance matching was achieved in actual measurement results as well as in simulations.

[0112]

[0113] Although the invention has been described above with reference to the drawings and embodiments, this does not mean that the scope of protection of the present invention is limited by the drawings or embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

[0114] Although the present invention described above is explained based on a series of functional blocks, it is not limited by the aforementioned embodiments and attached drawings, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

[0115] The combination of the aforementioned embodiments is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and various forms of combinations in addition to the aforementioned embodiments may be provided as needed for implementation and / or as required.

[0116] In the aforementioned embodiments, methods are described based on flowcharts as a series of steps or blocks; however, the present invention is not limited to the order of the steps, and some steps may occur in a different order or simultaneously with other steps as described above. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the steps shown in the flowcharts are not exclusive, that other steps may be included, or that one or more steps of the flowcharts may be omitted without affecting the scope of the present invention.

[0117] The foregoing embodiments include examples of various aspects. While it is not possible to describe all possible combinations for representing various aspects, those skilled in the art will recognize that other combinations are possible. Accordingly, the present invention shall be deemed to include all other substitutions, modifications, and changes falling within the scope of the following claims.

[0118] [Explanation of the symbol]

[0119] 100: 1st glass layer

[0120] 200: Metal thin film layer

[0121] 210: Monopole antenna pattern

[0122] 211: Lateral Branch Pattern

[0123] 213: Stub Pattern

[0124] 220 : 1st Square Parasitic Pattern

[0125] 230 : Second square parasitic pattern

[0126] 241: 1st CPW Patch

[0127] 243: 2nd CPW Patch

[0128] 260: Part 1 Parasitic Pattern

[0129] 270: Part 2 Parasitic Pattern

[0130] 300: Polymer bonding layer

[0131] 400: Second glass layer

[0132] 500 : Connector

[0133] 1000 : Automotive glass equipped with an antenna

Claims

1. As a vehicle glass equipped with an antenna, First glass layer; and A metal thin film layer disposed on top of the first glass layer and having an antenna pattern; comprising The above antenna pattern is, A monopole antenna pattern that extends longitudinally and radiates a signal in a predetermined reference frequency band; A first square parasitic pattern disposed spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern on a first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern and radiating a first frequency band signal different from the reference frequency band; and A first additional parasitic pattern spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and the first square parasitic pattern at a longitudinal position different from the first square parasitic pattern on the first transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern; comprising Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

2. In Paragraph 1, The above antenna pattern is, Formed by etching the metal thin film layer coated or bonded to the first glass layer, Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

3. In Paragraph 2, The above first additional parasitic pattern is, Configured to reduce the etching area of ​​the above metal thin film layer, Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

4. In Paragraph 3, The above first additional parasitic pattern is, A first sub-pattern, a second sub-pattern, a third sub-pattern, and a fourth sub-pattern arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns, Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

5. In Paragraph 4, The first sub-pattern and the second sub-pattern are positioned at the same transverse position, the third sub-pattern and the fourth sub-pattern are positioned at the same transverse position, the first sub-pattern and the third sub-pattern are positioned at the same longitudinal position, and the second sub-pattern and the fourth sub-pattern are positioned at the same longitudinal position. Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

6. In Paragraph 4, The above first additional parasitic pattern is, A configuration having sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions such that the current distributions of the sub-patterns having different longitudinal positions cancel each other out. Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

7. In Paragraph 4, The above first additional parasitic pattern is, A first additional parasitic pattern configured to generate a signal in a frequency band higher than the first frequency band by providing sub-patterns having different transverse positions, Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

8. In Paragraph 1, A transverse current flow path is formed in the first square parasitic pattern and the first additional parasitic pattern, and A longitudinal current flow path is formed in the above monopole antenna pattern, Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

9. In Paragraph 1, The above antenna pattern is, A second square parasitic pattern spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and positioned longitudinally at a location different from the first square parasitic pattern on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern, and radiating a second frequency band signal different from the reference frequency band and the first frequency band; and A second additional parasitic pattern spaced apart from the monopole antenna pattern and the second square parasitic pattern at a longitudinal position different from the second square parasitic pattern on the second transverse side of the monopole antenna pattern; further comprising Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

10. In Paragraph 1, The above-mentioned vehicle glass is, A polymer bonding layer disposed on top of the metal thin film layer; and A double-bonded glass further comprising: a second glass layer bonded to the first glass layer and the metal thin film layer by the polymer bonding layer; Vehicle glass equipped with an antenna.

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