Bent Laminated Antenna for Wide-Angle Directivity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing array antennas have a limited range of angles in which their directivity can be controlled, restricting their operational flexibility.
Innovation Solution
An antenna design featuring a laminated body with a flexible dielectric layer, a conductive pattern layer, a conductive ground layer, and an antenna pattern layer, where the laminated body is bent to divide radiation elements into groups, allowing for phase control of feed lines to enhance directivity across a wider angle range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional array antenna with parallel array elements is used, then the directivity can be controlled by adjusting phase difference between elements, but the range of angles for high directivity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna elements are segmented into multiple groups (first group and second group) with different orientations. Specifically, the antenna includes first antenna elements arranged in a first direction and second antenna elements arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. This segmentation allows independent phase control of each group, enabling broader angular coverage for directivity control without requiring a completely complex reconfiguration mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna implements dynamic beamforming by independently controlling the phase of signal waves fed to different antenna element groups. The phase difference between first and second antenna elements can be adjusted dynamically to steer the main lobe in different directions. This dynamic phase control extends the controllable angle range while maintaining a relatively simple fixed physical structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of antenna elements is increased to widen the controllable angle range, then the directivity control range improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and utilizes the orthogonal relationship between two sets of antenna elements. By taking out the first antenna elements in the first direction and second antenna elements in the orthogonal second direction, the design achieves extended angular coverage without proportionally increasing overall complexity. The orthogonal arrangement allows each subset to be manufactured and controlled independently, simplifying the overall manufacturing process compared to a fully dense array.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna transitions from a one-dimensional linear array to a two-dimensional orthogonal arrangement. First antenna elements are arranged in a first direction while second antenna elements are arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first. This dimensional expansion doubles the effective coverage without linearly increasing manufacturing complexity, as each directional subset can be processed separately.
Data Source
AI summary
To widen a range of an angle in which the directivity of an antenna is controllable to be high. An antenna includes a sheet-shaped laminated body that includes a conductive pattern layer, a first dielectric layer, a conductive ground layer, and an antenna pattern layer, the antenna pattern layer including element rows arranged in parallel, the element rows each including even-numbered radiation elements that are connected in series and linearly aligned at an interval in a direction orthogonal to a parallel alignment direction of the element rows, the conductive pattern layer including feed lines for feeding power to the center of each or the element rows, the element rows being divided into groups using a bending line as a boundary, by bending the laminated body along the bending line.