Rotating-Arm Phase Shifter With Lower Drive Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing phase shifters in base station antennas require a large force to drive the rotating arm, leading to high power consumption and energy inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A phase shifter design with a rotating arm and drive arm connection that allows for a smaller force to rotate, utilizing an integrated or fastened structure, and a drive assembly that drives the rotating arm through a rectilinear movement, reducing power requirements and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a conventional phase shifter structure is used, then the rotating arm can be driven to rotate, but a relatively large force is required leading to high power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The output line includes an arc-shaped segment that guides the coupling line along a curved path. This curvature design allows the rotating arm to rotate with smaller force by distributing the mechanical stress along the arc, reducing the peak force requirement on the drive assembly and thereby lowering power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive arm serves as an intermediary component between the drive assembly and the rotating arm. It extends to the side of the rotating shaft facing away from the output line, creating a mechanical advantage that reduces the force transmission requirement from the drive assembly to the rotating arm.
2Power
If the drive arm extends to the side of the rotating shaft facing away from the output line, then the force arm is extended reducing power requirements, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive arm performs multiple functions: it transmits drive force from the drive assembly, extends the force arm to reduce power requirements, and positions the coupling line correctly relative to the arc-shaped segment. By consolidating these functions into a single component, structural complexity is minimized while achieving the power reduction goal.
3Reliability
If the rotating arm and drive arm are integrated or fastened, then connection reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating arm and drive arm can be integrated into a single piece or fastened together, merging two components into one reliable connection. This eliminates potential failure points at the interface while maintaining the mechanical advantage provided by the extended force arm configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides a phase shifter. The phase shifter includes a phase shift assembly including a substrate, a rotating arm, a drive arm, and a drive assembly. An output line is disposed on the substrate, and the output line includes an arc-shaped segment. The rotating arm is rotatably connected to the substrate through a rotating shaft, a coupling line is disposed on the rotating arm, and the coupling line is electrically connected to the arc-shaped segment. One end of the drive arm is fastened to the rotating arm, and the other end extends to a side that is of the rotating shaft and that faces away from the output line, and is in transmission connection to the drive assembly. The drive assembly drives the drive arm to move, and the drive arm drives the rotating arm to rotate relative to the substrate.