Multipath Phase Shifter Assembly for Compact Antenna Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional base station antenna systems face challenges in increasing the number of phase shifters without significantly increasing the system's volume, which complicates the layout of the feeding network due to the need for a compact and high-performance design.
Innovation Solution
A phase shifting device is designed with a housing containing multipath phase shifter assemblies, where phase shifters are arranged in parallel or stacked configurations, connected through power dividers to achieve compactness and efficiency, allowing for multiple phase shifts while maintaining a compact structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of phase shifters is increased to improve antenna directivity and frequency band performance, then the system performance is improved, but the volume of the base station antenna system significantly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where multiple phase shifters are integrated within a single housing unit. The first and second phase shifters are disposed in parallel within the same housing, creating a compact nested arrangement that allows multiple functional elements to occupy overlapping or adjacent spatial volumes, thereby improving antenna performance without proportionally increasing system volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a traditional linear or planar arrangement of phase shifters to a three-dimensional stacked configuration. By disposing phase shifters in parallel within a compact housing and utilizing vertical stacking in the second aspect, the design exploits the third dimension to pack multiple components into a smaller footprint, resolving the volume-performance contradiction.
2Reliability
If the number of phase shifters is increased to improve antenna directivity, then the antenna directivity is improved, but the layout difficulty of the feeding network increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple phase shifters into a single integrated housing unit, combining what would traditionally be separate discrete components into one unified structure. This consolidation simplifies the feeding network layout by reducing the number of separate connection points and simplifying the overall signal distribution architecture, while still providing multiple phase shifting functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support for multiple phase shifters, acts as a signal distribution hub through integrated power dividers, and maintains electromagnetic shielding. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components and simplifies the overall system layout.
Data Source
AI summary
A phase shifting device, including: a housing; and at least one multipath phase shifter assembly in the housing, wherein the multipath phase shifter assembly includes at least two phase shifters disposed in parallel in a planar arrangement.