阅读说明：本技术 阵列天线及可变感测方向的天线系统 (Array antenna and antenna system with variable sensing direction ) 是由 颜安佑 郭荣发 于 2018-11-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文提出一种阵列天线及可变感测方向的天线系统。此阵列天线包括一个可挠式基板、两个以上的天线单元以及一条以上的信号传递线。可挠式基板包括两个以上的天线设置区,每一个天线设置区包括堆叠的两个以上的材料层,这些天线设置区通过可挠式材料层连接而形成前述的可挠式基板,且可挠式材料层延伸进入天线设置区中而作为前述材料层的一部分。每一个天线单元设置于相对应的一个天线设置区中。信号传递线设置于可挠式材料层上,并连接于两个天线单元之间以在所连接的两个天线单元之间传递信号。(An array antenna and an antenna system with variable sensing direction are provided. The array antenna comprises a flexible substrate, more than two antenna units and more than one signal transmission line. The flexible substrate comprises more than two antenna setting areas, each antenna setting area comprises more than two stacked material layers, the antenna setting areas are connected through the flexible material layers to form the flexible substrate, and the flexible material layers extend into the antenna setting areas to serve as part of the material layers. Each antenna unit is arranged in a corresponding antenna arrangement area. The signal transmission line is arranged on the flexible material layer and connected between the two antenna units so as to transmit signals between the two connected antenna units.)

1. An array antenna, comprising:

the flexible substrate comprises more than two antenna setting areas, each antenna setting area comprises more than two stacked material layers, the antenna setting areas are connected through a flexible material layer to form the flexible substrate, and the flexible material layer extends into the antenna setting areas to serve as a part of the material layer;

more than two antenna units, each of which is arranged in a corresponding one of the antenna arrangement regions; and

more than one signal transmission line is arranged on or in the flexible material layer and connected between the two antenna units so as to transmit signals between the two connected antenna units.

2. The array antenna of claim 1, wherein each of the antenna-disposing regions is a multilayer printed circuit board.

3. The array antenna as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible material layer is a single layer or multiple layers of dielectric material.

4. The array antenna as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the flexible material layer is a multi-layer dielectric material layer, the signal transmission line is disposed in the flexible material layer.

5. A variable direction sensing antenna system, comprising:

an array antenna comprising:

the flexible substrate comprises more than two antenna setting areas, each antenna setting area comprises more than two stacked material layers, the antenna setting areas are connected through a flexible material layer to form the flexible substrate, and the flexible material layer extends into the antenna setting areas to serve as a part of the material layer;

more than two antenna units, each of which is arranged in a corresponding one of the antenna arrangement regions; and

more than one signal transmission line is arranged on or in the flexible material layer and connected between the two antenna units so as to transmit signals between the two connected antenna units; and

and the control device is connected to the array antenna to adjust the bending state of the flexible substrate.

6. The antenna system of claim 5, wherein each of said antenna placement areas is a multilayer printed circuit board.

7. The antenna system of claim 5, wherein the flexible material layer is a single layer or multiple layers of dielectric material.

8. The antenna system of claim 7, wherein the signal transmission line is disposed within the flexible material layer when the flexible material layer is a multi-layer dielectric material layer.

9. The antenna system of claim 5, wherein the control means comprises:

the support frame comprises more than two section supports, and each section support has a fixed shape and is suitable for fixedly connecting at least one antenna arrangement area;

the driving structure is provided with more than two driving rods, and each driving rod is correspondingly connected with and drives one section bracket to change the position of the section bracket to be driven; and

and the driving controller is electrically coupled with the driving structure to control the movement mode of the driving rod.

10. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the support bracket is a lamp holder or a rear view mirror of an automotive lamp.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to directional array antennas, and more particularly, to an array antenna and an antenna system with variable sensing directions.

Background

In many applications, directional array antennas are often used as sensors for sensing external environmental conditions, such as: in the driving process of the automobile, the sensing of surrounding obstacles is carried out by the common directional array antenna, so that the effects of warning and avoiding collision are achieved.

The directional array antenna is a combined antenna formed by arranging a plurality of antenna units in a certain manner, and the pointing direction of a main beam of the directional array antenna is determined by the combination of electromagnetic waves emitted by the antenna units forming the array antenna. The Circuit Board used to mount the antenna unit is usually a multi-layer Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to maintain the stability of the pointing direction of the main beam of the array antenna by the rigid and non-deformable property of the PCB.

However, since the multi-layer printed circuit board has a stable and non-deformable property, once the directional array antenna is installed, the pointing direction and the coverage of the main beam are simultaneously limited, i.e., the sensing range of the directional array antenna is simultaneously limited, and cannot be freely adjusted according to the requirement. In a complex application environment, such a robust and unchangeable sensing range often cannot be changed closely to a sensing range required for an environmental change, thereby causing a sensing range to be neutral (become ineffective sensing). For this reason, the user has to increase the number of settings of the sensing range of the directional array antenna to reduce the chance of occurrence of sensing a null.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present disclosure provides an array antenna and an antenna system with a variable sensing direction, in which an antenna unit is disposed on a flexible substrate to form the array antenna, so that a sensing range of the array antenna can be adjusted by adjusting a bending state of the substrate, thereby increasing flexibility of the antenna system.

Viewed from one aspect, the present specification provides an array antenna. The array antenna comprises a flexible substrate, more than two antenna units and more than one signal transmission line. The flexible substrate comprises more than two antenna setting areas, each antenna setting area comprises more than two stacked material layers, the antenna setting areas are connected through the flexible material layers to form the flexible substrate, and the flexible material layers extend into the antenna setting areas to serve as part of the material layers. Each antenna unit is arranged in a corresponding antenna arrangement area. The signal transmission line is arranged on or in the flexible material layer and connected between the two antenna units to electrically couple the two antenna units and transmit signals between the two connected antenna units.

In one embodiment, each of the antenna mounting areas is a multi-layer printed circuit board.

In one embodiment, the flexible material layer is a single layer or multiple layers of dielectric material. Furthermore, when the flexible material layer is a multi-layer dielectric material layer, the signal transmission line is disposed in the flexible material layer.

Viewed from another aspect, the present specification provides a variable sensing direction antenna system comprising an array antenna and a control device. The array antenna comprises a flexible substrate, more than two antenna units and more than one signal transmission line. The flexible substrate comprises more than two antenna setting areas, each antenna setting area comprises more than two stacked material layers, the antenna setting areas are connected through the flexible material layers to form the flexible substrate, and the flexible material layers extend into the antenna setting areas to serve as part of the material layers. Each antenna unit is arranged in a corresponding antenna arrangement area. The signal transmission line is arranged on or in the flexible material layer and connected between the two antenna units to electrically couple the two antenna units and transmit signals between the two connected antenna units. The control device is connected with the array antenna to adjust the bending state of the flexible substrate.

In one embodiment, each of the antenna mounting areas is a multi-layer printed circuit board.

In one embodiment, the flexible material layer is a single layer or multiple layers of dielectric material. Furthermore, when the flexible material layer is a multi-layer dielectric material layer, the signal transmission line is disposed in the flexible material layer.

In one embodiment, the control device includes a support frame, a driving structure, and a driving controller. The support frame comprises more than two section supports, and each section support has a fixed shape and is suitable for fixedly connecting at least one antenna arrangement area; the driving structure is provided with more than two driving rods, and each driving rod is correspondingly connected with and drives one section bracket so as to change the position of the driven section bracket; the driving controller is electrically coupled to the driving structure to control the movement mode of the driving rod.

In an embodiment, the support frame is a lamp holder or a rearview mirror holder of a vehicle lamp.

Since the antenna unit is disposed on the flexible substrate and constitutes the array antenna, the sensing range of the array antenna provided by the present description can be adjusted by adjusting the bending state of the substrate, and thus the flexibility of the antenna system can be increased.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external view of an array antenna according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an array antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a system architecture diagram of an antenna system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bending state change of an antenna system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an array antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein the reference numerals are as follows:

10: array antenna

30: antenna system

100: flexible substrate

110. 210, 212, 214: antenna unit

120. 220, and (2) a step of: signal transmission line

1010. 2010, 2030: antenna arrangement area

1020. 2020: flexible material layer

2012. 2014, 2016, 2018, 2032, 2034, 2036, 2038: material layer

2014a, 2014b, 2020a, 2020b, 2020 c: dielectric material layer

3000. 3010: segment support

3100. 3110: driving rod

3200: servo motor

3300: drive controller

L1, L2, X1, X2, Y1, Y2: length of

And (3) SI: signal

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is an external view of an array antenna according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the array antenna 10 mainly includes a flexible substrate 100, antenna units 110 and signal transmission lines 120, the flexible substrate 100 mainly includes more than two antenna configuration areas 1010 and a flexible material layer 1020 connected between two adjacent antenna configuration areas 1010, each antenna unit 110 is disposed in one antenna configuration area 1010, and the signal transmission lines 120 are disposed on the flexible material layer 1020 connected between two adjacent antenna configuration areas 1010 to transmit signals between the antenna units 110.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the external environment transmits the signal SI required by the array antenna 10 to the array antenna 10, and the signal SI is further transmitted to all the antenna units 110 through the conductive traces (including but not limited to the conductive traces in the antenna unit 110) in the antenna installation region 1010 and the signal transmission line 120. Therefore, the array antenna 10 can generate a corresponding electromagnetic wave pattern according to the input signal SI to detect the state of the surrounding environment.

It should be noted that, as the design requirements (e.g., electromagnetic wave patterns) of the array antenna 10 change, it is possible to provide two antenna elements 110 in one antenna arrangement region 1010, and it is also possible to provide no antenna elements 110 in some antenna arrangement regions 1010. In addition, the signal transmission line 120 only needs to have a function of transmitting signals to all the antenna units 110, and does not need to be disposed on each of the flexible material layers 1020. Furthermore, the width of the flexible material layer 1020 may be the same as the width of the antenna disposition region 1010 or narrower than the width of the antenna disposition region 1010. Therefore, the specific configuration of the array antenna 10 shown in fig. 1 is only one way to implement the present invention, and is not intended to limit the technical conditions of the present invention.

Next, fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an array antenna according to an embodiment of the invention. The embodiment shown in fig. 2 only shows the portion of the array antenna including the antenna elements 210, 212, and 214, where the antenna elements 210 and 212 are disposed together on the antenna disposition region 2010 and the antenna element 214 is disposed on the antenna disposition region 2030. The antenna-mounting section 2010 is a printed circuit board with four stacked material layers, including four material layers 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018; the antenna mounting region 2030 is also a printed circuit board stacked with four material layers, including four material layers 2032, 2034, 2036 and 2038. Among these material layers, there are a part of the material layers such as: as the material layers 2014, 2016, 2034, 2036, a dielectric material layer made of a flexible dielectric material with electrical insulation property can be selected, and other material layers such as: the material layers 2012, 2018, 2032, 2038 and the like may be insulated with an insulating layer made of hard and non-deformable insulating material. By selecting the soft and hard materials, the printed circuit board can be prevented from deforming (not flexible) and the whole array antenna can be kept in a flexible state.

In the present embodiment, the antenna elements 210 and 212 are disposed on the surface of the uppermost material layer 2012 of the antenna disposition region 2010, and the antenna element 214 is disposed on the surface of the uppermost material layer 2032 of the antenna disposition region 2030. The signal transmission line 220 for transmitting signals between the antenna elements 210, 212, and 214 is disposed on the surfaces of the material layers 2014 and 2034 and the flexible material layer 2020, and is electrically coupled to the antenna elements 210, 212, and 214. If the material layers 2014 and 2034 and the flexible material layer 2020 are made of the same material, the material layers 2014 and 2034 and the flexible material layer 2020 can be made of the same material in the same process, so that the material layers 2014 and 2034 and the flexible material layer 2020 are integrated into a whole, thereby enhancing the integrity of these elements and reducing the possibility of separation. From another perspective, the material layer 2014 or 2034 may extend beyond the antenna mounting region 2010 or 2030 to be the flexible material layer 2020; alternatively, the flexible material 2020 may extend into the antenna mounting section 2010 or 2030 to form the material layer 2014 or 2034.

It should be noted that the antenna configuration area in the present invention may be a multi-layer printed circuit board including more than two material layers, and the number of the material layers included in each antenna configuration area may be designed independently, and need not be the same; similarly, although the flexible material layer 2020 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 is a single dielectric material layer (the same material as the material layer 2014 or 2034), the flexible material layer 2020 may be designed to include multiple dielectric material layers according to actual design requirements, and the signal transmission line 220 may be disposed in the material layers 2014 and 2034 and the flexible material layer 2020. Referring to fig. 5, the flexible material 2020 includes a plurality of dielectric material layers 2020 a-2020 c, and the signal transmission line 220 is disposed on the dielectric material layer 2020b and covered by the dielectric material layer 2020 a; meanwhile, the material layer 2014 also includes two dielectric material layers 2014a and 2014b, and the signal transmission line 220 is disposed on the dielectric material layer 2014b and covered by the dielectric material layer 2014 a.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of an antenna system according to an embodiment of the invention. The antenna system 30 in this embodiment uses the array antenna shown in fig. 2, and is matched with a control device composed of a supporting frame, a driving structure (including driving rods 3100 and 3110 and the servo motor 3200) and a driving controller 3300, so as to achieve the effect of changing the position of the array antenna and adjusting the bending state of the flexible substrate according to command control. Wherein, the instruction for controlling the control device can be automatically provided according to the sensing result of other sensing devices, such as: the horizontal angle or other moving states of the object on which the antenna system 30 is disposed may be sensed by a movement sensing device such as a gravity sensing device, and then the position of the array antenna may be changed and the bending state of the flexible substrate may be adjusted according to the sensing results. The aforementioned bent state is illustrated in fig. 4, for example. Referring to fig. 4, before the positions are not adjusted, the positions of the three antenna elements are located at three positions 400, 410 and 420 shown in fig. 4, respectively, at this time, the horizontal position difference length of the antennas located at two positions 400 and 420 is X1, the vertical position difference length is Y1, and the length of the signal line connecting the antennas at two positions 400 and 420 is L1. After the bending state is adjusted, the antenna originally located at the position 400 remains stationary, and the antennas originally located at the positions 410 and 420 are moved to the positions 410a and 420a, respectively, at this time, the length L2 of the signal line connecting the antennas at the positions 400 and 420a is the same as the previous length L1, but the horizontal position difference length of the antennas at the positions 400 and 420 varies from X1 to X2, and the vertical position difference length varies from Y1 to Y2. In this way, by adjusting the relative positions of the two antennas in the space under the condition that the length of the signal line is not changed (i.e., the length L1 is equal to the length L2), the electromagnetic wave pattern formed by combining the electromagnetic waves emitted by the two antennas can be changed.

In the present embodiment, the supporting frame includes segment supports 3000 and 3010, and the driving structure includes driving rods 3100 and 3110 and a servo motor 3200. The segment supports 3000 and 3010 have a fixed shape (e.g., planar), and the segment support 3000 can be used to fix at least the antenna disposition area 2010 and the segment support 3010 can be used to fix at least the antenna disposition area 2030. A driving rod 3100 is connected to the segment holder 3000 and the servo motor 3200 so as to change the position of the segment holder 3000 according to the operation of the servo motor 3200; also, a driving lever 3110 is connected to the sector supporter 3010 and the servo motor 3200 so that the position of the sector supporter 3010 can be changed according to the operation of the servo motor 3200. The driving controller 3300 is electrically coupled to the servo motor 3200, and controls the operation of the servo motor 3200 according to a predetermined or externally input command, thereby controlling the moving manner of the driving rods 3100 and 3110. As the driving rods 3100 and 3110 start to move, the position of the segment support 3000, the position of the segment support 3010, and the angle θ between the segment supports 3000 and 3010 start to change, and the electromagnetic wave pattern formed by the combination of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the antenna elements 210, 212, and 214 changes due to the above change.

Accordingly, the designer can easily achieve the effect of changing the electromagnetic wave pattern of the array antenna by properly designing the positions and the operation functions of the elements in the control device.

The above-described techniques may be employed at many levels of life. For example, many current vehicles are equipped with a technology for actively changing the irradiation direction of the head lamp as the steering wheel rotates, and if the array antenna is installed on the lamp holder of the car lamp by using the technology provided in the present specification, the sensing range of the array antenna can be changed to the position where the important detection is needed as the steering wheel rotates, thereby further making the driving safer. In addition, for example, a rear view mirror of an automobile or the like may be provided with the array antenna.

In the above embodiments, since the antenna unit is disposed on the flexible substrate to form the array antenna, the sensing range of the array antenna formed by the antenna unit can be adjusted by adjusting the bending state of the substrate, and thus the flexibility of the antenna system can be increased.