Multilayer phase shifter driving device and related electric tuning system and electric tuning antenna
阅读说明:本技术 多层移相器驱动装置以及相关的电调系统和电调天线 (Multilayer phase shifter driving device and related electric tuning system and electric tuning antenna ) 是由 艾斌 王一丁 唐普亮 于 2018-08-06 设计创作,主要内容包括:本发明涉及一种用于电调天线的多层移相器驱动装置(1),其特征在于,所述多层移相器驱动装置包括彼此间隔开的多层控制板,每层控制板布置有用于驱动电调天线的可移动元件(8)的各移相器驱动机构(7),并且布置有供杆(5)穿过的多个孔(4),其中,每层控制板均具有固定到其上的至少一个所述杆,以作为该控制板的固定杆,并作为其他控制板的引导杆,从而所述多层控制板能够被彼此独立地驱动。此外,本发明还涉及一种电调系统以及一种电调天线。(The invention relates to a multilayer phase shifter driving device (1) for an electrical tilt antenna, characterized in that the multilayer phase shifter driving device comprises multilayer control boards spaced apart from each other, each of the multilayer control boards being arranged with a respective phase shifter driving mechanism (7) for driving a movable element (8) of the electrical tilt antenna and with a plurality of holes (4) through which rods (5) pass, wherein each of the multilayer control boards has at least one of the rods fixed thereto as a fixing rod for the control board and as a guide rod for the other control boards, so that the multilayer control boards can be driven independently of each other. In addition, the invention also relates to an electric tuning system and an electric tuning antenna.)
1. Multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus (1) for antenna, characterized in that it comprises multilayer control boards spaced apart from each other, each having a phase shifter driving mechanism (7) mounted thereon for driving a movable element (8) of a corresponding phase shifter, and each being arranged with a plurality of holes (4) through which rods (5) pass, wherein each layer of control boards has at least one of the rods (5) fixed thereto as a fixing rod for the control board, so that the multilayer control boards can be driven independently of each other.
2. The multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein all the phase shifter driving mechanisms on the multilayer control board are rotationally misaligned with each other.
3. The multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the holes is provided at an edge thereof with a protrusion (6) for fixing the fixing rod to the control board.
4. The multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least two fixing bars are provided per one layer of the control board.
5. The multilayer phase shifter driving device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each layer of control boards includes a plurality of connection portions (9) corresponding to the phase shifter driving mechanisms (7) mounted to the respective connection portions.
6. Multilayer phase shifter driving device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of connecting portions (9) are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the control plate.
7. The multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connection portions on the respective layers of the control plates are rotationally offset from each other.
8. The multilayer phase shifter driving device according to claim 5, wherein at least one connection portion on the other control board is arranged in a spaced area between two adjacent connection portions on each layer of the control boards.
9. An electrical tilt system comprising a plurality of drive motors and a multilayer phase shifter driving device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each layer of control boards is driven by one of the plurality of drive motors.
10. An electrical tilt antenna comprising a plurality of reflective plates and a multilayer phase shifter driving device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the multilayer phase shifter driving device is disposed within a cavity formed by the plurality of reflective plates.
Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an antenna with an adjustable electrical tilt angle of an antenna beam, commonly referred to as an electrically tunable antenna (RET antenna). More specifically, the present invention relates to a multilayer phase shifter driving device for an electrically tunable antenna, and an associated electrically tunable system and an electrically tunable antenna.
Background
Currently, RET antennas are widely used as base station antennas in cellular communication systems. Before introducing RET antennas, when it is necessary to adjust the coverage area of a conventional base station antenna, a technician must climb up an antenna tower on which the antenna is mounted and manually adjust the pointing angle of the antenna. Typically, the coverage area of an antenna is adjusted by changing the so-called "downtilt" angle of the antenna, which is the angle in the elevation plane in which the boresight of the antenna beam produced by the antenna points in the direction. The introduction of RET antennas allows cellular operators to electrically adjust the downtilt angle of the antenna beam by sending control signals to the antenna.
The base station antenna is typically implemented as a phased array antenna comprising an array of radiating elements. The array is typically a linear array in which the radiating elements are stacked along a vertical axis that is perpendicular to a plane defined by a horizontal plane, although planar arrays and arrays having other shapes may also be used. A Radio Frequency (RF) signal transmitted by a phased array antenna may be divided into a plurality of sub-components, and each sub-component may be transmitted through a subset of radiating elements commonly referred to as a "sub-array. In some cases, each sub-array may include a single radiating element, while in other cases some or all of the sub-arrays may include two or more radiating elements, each transmitting the same sub-component of the RF signal. The size of the sub-components of the RF signal may be the same or different and the relative phase of the sub-components of the RF signal may be set such that the antenna beam formed by the array has a desired shape. In many cases, the relative phases of the subcomponents of the RF signal are set by passing them through paths of different lengths, where the difference in path lengths provides the required phase shift. The antenna beam is shaped in a desired manner.
The RET antenna also includes a RET system that allows the cellular operator to dynamically adjust the downtilt angle of the antenna beam. In particular, RET systems allow cellular operators to add additional phase shifts to the sub-components of RF signals transmitted (and received) by the antennas, which changes the downtilt angle of the antenna beam produced by the antennas. RET systems typically include a drive motor, a transmission mechanism and a phase shifter for each array of radiating elements. When cross-polarized radiating elements are used, the RET system may include one drive motor and gearing per array, but two phase shifters are provided to adjust the phase of the sub-components of the RF signal having two respective polarizations. Each phase shifter may include a fixed element, a movable element, and a phase shifter driving device. The phase shifter driving device may convert a motion generated by the driving motor and transmitted through the transmission mechanism into a motion of the movable element of the phase shifter with respect to the fixed element, thereby changing the phase of the signal, thereby achieving adjustment of the electrical tilt angle.
A variety of different types of phase shifters are known in the art, including rotating brush arm phase shifters (rotary brush phase shifters), trombone type phase shifters (trombone type phase shifters), and sliding dielectric phase shifters (sliding dielectric phase shifters). In a rotary wiper arm phase shifter, a wiper printed circuit board is mounted on a main printed circuit board by a pivot pin so that the wiper printed circuit board can rotate on the main printed circuit board. Generally, the phase shifter includes one or more power dividers that divide an RF signal input to the phase shifter into a plurality of sub-components. At least a portion of the RF signal is transmitted onto the wiper printed circuit board and then coupled from the wiper printed circuit board onto the transmission path of the main printed circuit board. The path length of each sub-component of the RF signal transmitted to the wiper pcb through the phase shifter is dependent on the position of the wiper pcb on the main pcb. Thus, by moving the wiper printed circuit board (e.g., using an actuator), the phase of the sub-components of the RF signal can be adjusted in order to change the downtilt angle of the antenna beam. Trombone shifters operate in a similar manner except that the movable element of the shifter moves linearly rather than along an arc. The sliding dielectric phase shifter has a fixed path length but moves a dielectric material that is part of the RF transmission line through the phase shifter to change the dielectric constant of the transmission line substrate, thereby changing the phase shift.
Many modern base station antennas include a plurality of arrays of radiating elements. The downtilt of the antenna beam produced by each array is typically adjusted independently. Accordingly, to achieve different electrical tilt angles for different arrays, it is often necessary to adjust the respective phase shifters in different directions and with different amounts of displacement. As already mentioned, each array typically has an associated drive motor, gearing and phase shifter, which makes the structural arrangement of the antenna cavity extraordinarily complex. Furthermore, the space of the antenna cavity is narrow and the routing is complex, which makes the available space extremely limited. Therefore, how to achieve effective adjustment in such a narrow space is an urgent problem to be solved.
Disclosure of Invention
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multilayer phase shifter driving device that overcomes at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multilayer phase shifter driving device for an antenna, wherein the multilayer phase shifter driving device includes multilayer control boards spaced apart from each other, each of the multilayer control boards having one or more phase shifter driving mechanisms mounted thereon for driving a movable element of a corresponding phase shifter, and each of the multilayer control boards having a plurality of holes through which a rod passes. One or more of the bars are fixed to each layer of the control boards to serve as fixing bars for the control boards and as guide bars for the other control boards, so that the plurality of layers of the control boards can be driven independently of each other.
It should be noted that the term "aperture" in the control panel as used in the present invention includes a semi-closed opening, such as a recess in the perimeter of the control panel, in addition to a fully closed opening.
In some embodiments, the multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus relates to a two-layer phase shifter driving apparatus including two control plates, i.e., an upper control plate and a lower control plate, each of which is provided with at least one rod fixed thereto to serve as a fixing rod of the control plate and to serve as a guide rod of the other control plate. In other embodiments, the multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus may relate to a three-layer phase shifter driving apparatus including an upper control board, a middle control board, and a lower control board.
The multilayer control board being able to be driven "independently of each other" means: each layer of control panels can be moved not only in different directions of movement but also with different amounts of displacement without interfering with the other control panels. Thus, each phase shifter driving mechanism disposed on one layer of the control plate can move in one direction and by one displacement amount, thereby bringing the corresponding movable elements of the first group of phase shifters. And each phase shifter driving mechanism disposed on the other layer of the control board is capable of moving in the other direction and by the other displacement amount to bring the corresponding movable elements of the second group of phase shifters. Thus, a desired tilt adjustment for the antenna beam is achieved. Furthermore, the arrangement also enables a compact and efficient arrangement in a space-saving manner.
All of the phase shifter drive mechanisms on the multilayer control board are rotationally offset from each other. That is, the phaser actuator on one control plate is rotationally offset from the phaser actuator on the other control plate. The phase shifter drive mechanisms on one control plate are "rotationally offset" from the phase shifter drive mechanisms on the other control plate meaning that: the phase shifter drive mechanisms on the control boards of each layer are respectively arranged on sides or edges spaced apart from each other. When viewed from above, the two rotationally offset phaser drive mechanisms do not overlap. The control boards are vertically stacked inside the antenna, and the phase shifter driving mechanisms on all the control boards are rotationally offset from each other so that all the phase shifter driving mechanisms do not overlap when viewed from above.
In some embodiments, at least one phaser drive mechanism on each layer of control plates is arranged spaced apart (i.e., not directly adjacent to each other) from other phaser drive mechanisms on the layer of control plates. In some embodiments, the respective phaser drive mechanisms on each layer of control plates are arranged spaced apart from (i.e., not directly adjacent to) each other. That is, at least one phaser actuator on the other control plate is disposed in the space between two phaser actuators on one control plate.
In some embodiments, at the edge of at least one hole of each layer of control plates, a protrusion is provided, and a rod is fixed to the corresponding protrusion for fixing the rod to the control plates.
Each fixing rod and the corresponding protrusion can be fixedly connected through a threaded connection mode, such as a screw connection mode, a bolt-nut connection mode, and other fastening connection modes, such as a snap connection mode and the like. Without a fixed rod, when the driving motor pulls the control board through the transmission mechanism, it is likely that the phase shifter driving mechanisms of the control board are driven asynchronously (e.g., the phase shifter driving mechanisms on the side of the pull rod close to the transmission mechanism are driven first, while the phase shifter driving mechanisms on the side of the pull rod far from the transmission mechanism are driven later), and such different movements make it impossible to obtain a desired adjustment effect. The arrangement of the fixing bars thus advantageously reduces or eliminates this potential problem, so that the control panel, together with the associated phaser drive mechanisms, as a whole, can be brought along synchronously.
In some embodiments, there are at least two securing bars on each level of control panel. Along with the increase of dead lever quantity, the control panel can be driven by more reliably synchronous.
In some embodiments, each layer of control plates has a plurality of connections, and the phase shifter drive mechanisms are secured to the respective connections.
In some embodiments, in the circumferential direction of each control plate, a respective connection is formed, which is arranged at a distance from one another and is each fixedly connected to one of the phaser drive mechanisms.
The connecting portion may be a side edge of the control panel or a protrusion integrally formed with the side edge of the control panel, and the protrusions on the respective layers of the control panels may extend toward each other. Therefore, for example, a two-layer phase shifter driving device is taken as an example: the projections on the upper control panel extend toward the lower control panel and the projections on the lower control panel extend toward the upper control panel. The connecting part and the phase shifter driving mechanism can be fixedly connected through a threaded connection mode, such as a screw connection mode, a bolt-nut connection mode, and other fastening connection modes, such as a snap connection mode and the like.
In some embodiments, the connections are arranged circumferentially spaced apart from one another.
In some embodiments, at least one connection portion on the other control board is disposed in a spaced area between two adjacent connection portions on each layer of the control board, so that the multilayer control board forms a compact structure.
The compact structure is very advantageous because the space available inside the antenna cavity is extremely limited. This problem is particularly significant when multiple sets of phase shifter drive mechanisms need to be driven by multiple layers of control boards. The connecting parts on each layer of control panel can make full use of space.
The multilayer control plates do not interfere with each other in respective moving strokes.
Each layer of control panels needs to be able to move independently of each other. For example, the two-layer phase shifter driving device is taken as an example, the up-and-down moving stroke of the two-layer phase shifter driving device can be, for example, -50 mm to +50 mm, and the size of the moving stroke can be adjusted according to different application scenarios. What is to be ensured here is that: when the upper phase shifter driving device moves downwards by-50 mm and the lower phase shifter driving device moves upwards by +50 mm, the control plate on the upper layer and the control plate on the lower layer do not contact or collide, namely, the two layers do not have stroke overlapping or interference. Thereby ensuring independent movement from each other.
In some embodiments, the phase shifter drive mechanisms on the multilayer control board are in the same plane or substantially the same plane. In some embodiments, the phase shifter driving mechanism on the multilayer control board may also be arranged with a certain distance offset up and down. For example, offset up and down by no more than the vertical thickness of the entire structure. If multiple phaser actuators are scattered in different planes beyond the thickness of the entire structure, the design may need to be modified as appropriate to accommodate.
As mentioned above, due to the limited internal space of the antenna, it is generally not allowed to arrange the sets of phase shifter drive mechanisms in layers spaced apart by a large distance, respectively. Usually the movable element of the phase shifter and the associated phase shifter drive mechanism are close to the same plane, which, although saving space, makes the structural arrangement more difficult. Therefore, it is important to individually control the groups of phase shifter driving mechanisms located substantially on the same plane in a narrow space and to ensure that they do not interfere with each other.
In some embodiments, at least one opening is provided on each layer of control board, each opening being provided for cable routing and/or other structural components.
As mentioned above, the routing inside the antenna is also rather complex. It is therefore necessary to leave sufficient space for cable runs and other necessary structural components, such as structural reinforcements, in addition to the arrangement of the required phase shifter drive. The arrangement of the openings effectively achieves this object.
In some embodiments, each of the control panels is constructed from sheet metal plastic.
The use of plastic parts is particularly suitable for mass production. On one hand, the production efficiency is accelerated, and on the other hand, the production cost is saved. Furthermore, corresponding structural reinforcements can also be formed for the plastic part.
In some embodiments, each control plate is constructed in a polygonal configuration, so that the multilayer phase shifter driving device is constructed in a compact polyhedral structure.
In some embodiments, the polygonal configuration may be, for example, hexahedral or octahedral.
In some embodiments, the rods are each configured to be guidably received within a track mechanism secured to a reflector plate of the antenna. This enables the movement of the individual control panels in a defined manner in a simple and economical manner and further makes the movement of the control panels more precise and reliable. In addition, the cooperation of the guide rail mechanism and the rod can realize simple, quick and efficient assembly of the multilayer phase shifter driving device.
In some embodiments, the phaser drive mechanism has at least one slot segment within which is mounted a mounting terminal for a movable element of a respective phaser such that the mounting terminal is movable within the slot segment. The mounting terminals may be moved left and right within the respective slot sections when the respective phase shifter drive mechanisms are brought together, e.g., up and down, so that the movable elements of the phase shifters may be moved with respect to the fixed elements of the respective phase shifters to adjust the phase to change the tilt angle of the antenna beam.
In some embodiments, at least one bar that is not secured to the control panel serves as a guide bar for the respective control panel.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical tilt system, wherein the electrical tilt system comprises a plurality of driving motors and a multilayer phase shifter driving device according to the present invention, wherein each driving motor drives one of the multilayer control boards, respectively.
Taking the three-layer phase shifter driving device according to some embodiments of the present invention as an example, the electrical tuning system includes three driving motors, and each driving motor drives a corresponding one-layer phase shifter driving device to move up or down according to a corresponding control instruction. Each layer of phase shifter driving devices can be independently driven in different directions and displacement amounts to achieve the desired tuning effect.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical tilt antenna, including a plurality of reflective plates and a multilayer phase shifter driving device, where the multilayer phase shifter driving device is disposed in a cavity formed by the reflective plates.
Drawings
The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of the figures. In the figure:
fig. 1 shows an exemplary perspective view of a two-layer phase shifter driving device;
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary top view of the two-layer phase shifter driving apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary side view of the two-layer phase shifter driving apparatus of FIG. 1;
fig. 4 shows a partial view of a two-layer phase shifter driving apparatus of fig. 1 mounted within an antenna;
fig. 5 shows an exemplary perspective view of a three-layer phase shifter driving device;
fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary top view of the three-layer phase shifter driving apparatus of fig. 5.
Detailed Description
Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the invention. It should be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, the embodiments described below are intended to provide a more complete disclosure of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.
It is to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the specification have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.
As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprising," "including," and "containing" when used in this specification specify the presence of stated features, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features. The term "and/or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
In the specification, spatial relations such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "high", "low", and the like may explain the relation of one feature to another feature in the drawings. It will be understood that the spatial relationship terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, features originally described as "below" other features may be described as "above" other features when the device in the figures is inverted. The device may also be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the relative spatial relationships may be interpreted accordingly.
It should be understood that like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views. In the drawings, the size of some of the features may be varied for clarity.
The multilayer phase shifter driving apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention is suitable for an electrically tunable antenna. An electric tuning system for each antenna array is arranged in the electric tuning antenna. The electric tuning system comprises a driving motor, a transmission mechanism, a phase shifter driving device and a phase shifter. The driving motor drives the phase shifter driving device through the transmission mechanism, so that the phase shifter driving device drives the movable element of the phase shifter to adjust the phase of the sub-component of the radio frequency signal supplied to the antenna radiation element. As described above, by changing the phases of the sub-components of the radio frequency signals of the antenna radiating elements, the magnitudes of the vertical field component and the horizontal field component are changed to change the strength of the resultant field strength, thereby changing the downtilt angle of the antenna beam generated by the antenna.
Referring now to fig. 1 to 4, a multilayer phase shifter driving device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in the drawing, the multilayer phase shifter driving device 1 is a two-layer phase shifter driving device. The two-layer phase shifter driving device 1 includes an
The
The fixed connection between the fixing bar 5 and the
In general, it is difficult to accurately set the transmission rod of the transmission mechanism at the midpoint of the
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the
The sides of the
A certain distance is kept between the
As shown in fig. 1, 2 and 4, one or
Fig. 4 shows a partial view of a two-layer phase shifter driving device 1 mounted in an antenna. As is clear from the figure, the two-layer phase shifter driving device 1 is housed in a cavity defined by the reflecting
Fig. 1 and 4 show an exemplary construction of the phase
Referring to fig. 5 and 6, a multilayer phase shifter driving device 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, the multilayer phase shifter driving device in fig. 5 and 6 is a three-layer phase shifter driving device. Fig. 5 shows an exemplary perspective view of a three-layer phase shifter driving device, and fig. 6 shows an exemplary plan view of the three-layer phase shifter driving device.
As can be seen from the figure, the three-layer phase shifter driving apparatus includes an upper control board, a middle control board, and a lower control board. The upper control plate has
It should be noted that the specific structure of each control board is not shown in fig. 5 and 6, and for this reason, reference may be made to the explanation of the two-layer phase shifter driving device mentioned with reference to fig. 1 to 4.
Although not further shown, the upper control board of the three-layer phase shifter driving device in fig. 5 and 6 may have six
Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without substantially departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, all such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.
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