阅读说明：本技术 从或向机动车传输高频信号的天线装置以及具有天线装置的机动车 (Antenna device for transmitting high-frequency signals from or to a motor vehicle and motor vehicle having an antenna device ) 是由 L·赖夏特 S·福尔纳哈尔斯 于 2020-03-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于从机动车辆(10)传输高频信号或将高频信号传输到机动车辆的天线装置(12)。该天线装置包括提供经由天线(16)传输的高频信号的第一无线电模块(18)和第二无线电模块(20)、包括天线(16)和补偿器(30)的天线模块(14)。天线模块(14)经由第一天线电缆(24)连接到第一无线电模块(18),并经由第二天线电缆(26)连接到第二无线电模块(20)。补偿器(30)被设计用于根据控制信号修改高频信号的信号强度,第一无线电模块(18)和第二无线电模块(20)还被设计为产生用于控制补偿器的控制信号,第二无线电模块(20)将用于第一无线电模块(18)的控制信号调制到第二天线电缆(26)上以用于控制补偿器。(The invention relates to an antenna device (12) for transmitting high-frequency signals from or to a motor vehicle (10). The antenna arrangement comprises a first radio module (18) and a second radio module (20) providing high frequency signals transmitted via an antenna (16), an antenna module (14) comprising an antenna (16) and a compensator (30). The antenna module (14) is connected to the first radio module (18) via a first antenna cable (24) and to the second radio module (20) via a second antenna cable (26). The compensator (30) is designed for modifying the signal strength of the high-frequency signal in dependence on a control signal, the first radio module (18) and the second radio module (20) are further designed for generating a control signal for controlling the compensator, the second radio module (20) modulating the control signal for the first radio module (18) onto the second antenna cable (26) for controlling the compensator.)

1. An antenna device (12) for transmitting high frequency signals from or to a motor vehicle (10), comprising:

-a first radio module (18) and a second radio module (20) designed for providing high frequency signals transmitted via the antenna (16);

-an antenna module (14) comprising a compensator (30) and an antenna (16) for transmitting high frequency signals; wherein

-the antenna module (14) is connected to the first radio module (18) via a first antenna cable (24) and to the second radio module (20) via a second antenna cable (26), wherein the respective antenna cable is designed to pass high frequency signals between the antenna module (14) and the respective radio module and vice versa; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

-the compensator (30) is designed for modifying the signal strength of the high frequency signal in dependence on the control signal; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

-the first radio module (18) and the second radio module (20) are further designed to generate control signals for controlling the compensator, wherein the second radio module (20) is designed to modulate the control signals for the first radio module (18) onto the second antenna cable (26) for controlling the compensator.

2. The antenna device (12) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first radio module (18) is designed to modulate a control signal for the second radio module (20) onto the first antenna cable (24).

3. The antenna device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first radio module (18) and the second radio module (20) comprise a navigation service, a mobile radio communication service, a broadcast service and/or a data transmission service.

4. The antenna device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein modifying the signal strength of the high frequency signal comprises: amplify and/or attenuate signal amplitude.

5. The antenna device (12) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the antenna module (14) further comprises a switching unit (34) which is designed to switch between a transmission path and a reception path for the high-frequency signal of the respective radio module in dependence on a control signal.

6. The antenna device (12) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one third radio module (22) with a third antenna cable (28) is also provided, the first radio module (18) and the second radio module (20) being designed to modulate control signals for the third radio module (22) onto the first antenna cable (24) and/or the second antenna cable (26).

7. The antenna device (12) according to claim 6, characterized in that the second radio module (20) is further designed to bundle together and modulate the control signals of the first and third radio modules onto the second antenna cable (26).

8. The antenna device (12) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the antenna device (12) further comprises a signal path control device (36), wherein the signal path control device (36) is designed to check which radio module does not transmit a high-frequency signal and to transmit a control signal of the respective radio module via the antenna cable of the radio module that does not transmit a high-frequency signal.

9. The antenna device (12) as claimed in claim 8 as dependent on claim 5, characterized in that the signal path control means (36) are designed to check which radio module is switched over to the transmission path and to transmit the control signal via the antenna cable of the radio module switched over to the transmission path.

10. A motor vehicle (10) having an antenna arrangement (12) according to any one of the preceding claims.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an antenna device for transmitting high-frequency signals from or to a motor vehicle and to a motor vehicle having such an antenna device.

Background

Services that use high-frequency signals in motor vehicles, such as vehicle-to-vehicle services or vehicle-to-infrastructure services that transmit in the range of 5 to 6 gigahertz, are becoming increasingly important. Since the usually installed cables, in particular coaxial cables, have a high attenuation in this frequency range and the front end, i.e. the radio module for motor vehicle services, is connected to the associated antenna via a cable of several meters length, a compensator on the antenna is required in the antenna module to ensure sufficient performance of the antenna arrangement.

The compensator can distinguish between a transmit mode and a receive mode of the connected radio module and can amplify or attenuate the high frequency signal accordingly. For this purpose, a control signal for controlling the compensator is required in order to switch between settings (e.g. amplification or attenuation) of the respective radio module.

An antenna arrangement and a method for operating such an antenna arrangement are known from DE 102015220297 a 1. The antenna device has an antenna, wherein the antenna is connected to the electronic apparatus via an antenna cable, and a high-frequency signal is transmitted between the electronic apparatus and the antenna via the antenna cable, or vice versa. The antenna arrangement has a control unit and a switching unit which is controlled by the control unit, wherein a switching between a reception path and a transmission path between the electronic device and the antenna takes place by means of the switching unit.

Document DE 102017202341 a1 discloses a compensator for compensating for power losses or coupling losses in a signal transmission path for transmitting communication signals between an antenna and an electronic control unit.

DE 102014215578 a1 discloses a compensator module which can be connected to a transceiver unit by means of an antenna cable, wherein the compensator module is designed to determine an output transmission power and to generate a characteristic value therefrom, which characteristic value represents the output transmission power and/or represents a difference between the output transmission power and the transmission power, and wherein the compensator module has a data interface in order to transmit the characteristic value to the transceiver unit via the antenna cable during operation.

A remote antenna system having a bidirectional control path with a transmission circuit and a receiver circuit is known from document US 10021652B 2.

From document US 2014/0148214 a1 an apparatus and method are known for effectively controlling the transmission strength of a remote antenna with fixed gain from the outside.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an antenna device for transmitting high frequency signals for a plurality of radio modules, i.e. for a plurality of high frequency services.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed by the dependent claims, the following description and the drawings.

The invention is based on the following recognition: in an antenna device having a plurality of radio modules, a control signal of a compensator for attenuating or amplifying a high-frequency signal of a first radio module is modulated onto an antenna cable of a second radio module in order to minimize an influence of the control signal on the high-frequency signal.

The invention provides an antenna device for transmitting high-frequency signals, in particular signals in the range of 5 to 6 gigahertz, from or to a motor vehicle, for example for vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure services. The antenna arrangement comprises a first radio module and a second radio module, which are designed for transmitting high-frequency signals via an antenna. The first radio module may comprise a data transmission service, for example a service for vehicle-to-vehicle communication according to the 5G standard, and the second radio module may be provided for GPS communication, for example.

Furthermore, the antenna arrangement comprises an antenna module comprising a compensator and an antenna for transmitting high-frequency signals, wherein the antenna module is connected to the first radio module via a first antenna cable and to the second radio module via a second antenna cable, wherein the respective antenna cable is designed for passing high-frequency signals between the antenna module and the respective radio module and vice versa. The antenna cable connecting the respective radio module with the antenna module may preferably have a coaxial cable, in particular a coaxial cable having a length of more than or equal to one meter.

The compensator is designed to modify the signal strength of the high-frequency signal in dependence on a control signal, wherein the first radio module and the second radio module are further designed to generate a control signal for controlling the compensator, wherein the second radio module is designed to modulate the control signal for controlling the compensator for the first radio module onto the second antenna cable.

In other words, the antenna device for transmitting high-frequency signals may be provided with at least two radio modules which can transmit high-frequency signals to the antenna module via a respective antenna cable, wherein the high-frequency signals can be modified in the antenna module by the compensator in accordance with the control signal and the control signal is modulated onto the antenna cable of a respective further radio module to control the compensator. The control signal for controlling the compensator can be modulated onto the antenna cable of the respective further radio module, for example by means of known modulation methods, for example via amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation and/or pulse code modulation. The antenna module and the antenna may in particular have a multi-antenna system architecture which makes it possible to unify different radio modules in one antenna.

The invention has the advantage that the control signal required by the compensator can be modulated onto the antenna cable of the corresponding other radio module according to compatibility, but not onto the radio module generating the high-frequency signal, which can avoid the influence of the control signal on the high-frequency signal. In particular, a frequency difference between the high-frequency signal and the control signal may preferably be taken into account here. In other words, the advantage is the separation or decoupling of the control signal from the coaxial cable used for transmission. Another coaxial cable of another radio module is used for control. As a result, expensive coaxial cables and the expensive plug connection associated therewith can be saved. Furthermore, production time can be saved by a smaller number of coaxial plug connections.

The invention also includes embodiments that bring additional advantages.

Preferably, the first radio module is designed to modulate a control signal for the second radio module onto the first antenna cable. This has the advantage that the radio modules can mutually generate control signals for the respective other radio module.

The first radio module and the second radio module may comprise, inter alia: navigation services, such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), e.g. GPS, GLONAS, galileo or beidou; mobile radio communication services, such as GMS, UMTS or LTE; broadcast services, such as AM-FM, DAB; and/or data transfer services such as WLAN, BTLE, Car-to-Car (Car-to-Car), or Car-to-X (Car-to-X).

An embodiment provides that modifying the signal strength of the high frequency signal comprises amplifying and/or attenuating the signal amplitudeAn advantage of this embodiment is that high frequency signals transmitted via the antenna cable can be amplified by the compensator and/or the signal amplitude can be attenuated if the signal strength is too high.

A further embodiment provides that the antenna module further has a switching unit which is designed to switch between a transmission path and a reception path of the high-frequency signal of the respective radio module as a function of the control signal. The switching unit can, for example, actuate a switch depending on the control signal, which can switch the high-frequency signal either in the receiving path or in the transmitting path. An advantage of this embodiment is that the transmission and reception of the radio module can take place via the same antenna cable.

A further embodiment provides that at least one third radio module with a third antenna cable is also provided, which third radio module can also generate high-frequency signals and control signals, wherein the first and second radio modules are designed to modulate the control signals for the third radio module onto the first and/or second antenna cable. In other words, more than two radio modules may be provided, i.e. for example a further third radio module may be provided, wherein the control signals of the third radio module may be modulated onto the respective antenna cable by the first radio module and/or the second radio module. For example, it may be predetermined: which radio module of the radio modules modulates the control signal of the third radio module, but it may also be dynamically decided for each control signal: which radio module generates the control signal. An advantage of this embodiment is that a plurality of radio modules can be provided in the antenna device.

Another embodiment provides that the second radio module is also designed to bundle together the control signals of the first radio module and the control signals of the third radio module and to modulate onto the second antenna cable. Bundling means that the second radio module can obtain a request for transmitting control signals of the first radio module and control signals of the third radio module, which control signals can then be modulated onto the second antenna cable in a multiplexing process. A known multiplexing method such as a space division multiplexing method, a frequency division multiplexing method, or a wavelength division multiplexing method, a time division multiplexing method, or a code division multiplexing method may be used here. This embodiment has the advantage that multiple control signals can be transmitted simultaneously via one antenna cable, so that the transmission of multiple control signals over multiple antenna cables can be reduced.

Another embodiment provides that the antenna arrangement further has a signal path control device, wherein the signal path control device is designed to check: which radio module does not transmit a high frequency signal, and a control signal of the corresponding radio module is transmitted via an antenna cable of the radio module that does not transmit a high frequency signal. In other words, the signal path control means may check: which of the radio modules is not currently transmitting high frequency signals, that is to say, for example, which radio module is not operating, and then transmits control signals via this radio module. This has the advantage that adverse effects of high frequency signals on the control signal can be avoided.

Another embodiment provides that the signal path control means are designed to check which radio module is switched over to the transmission path and to transmit the control signal via the antenna cable of the radio module switched over to the transmission path. In other words, the control signal is transmitted via the antenna cable or the radio module already in the transmit setting, i.e. switched over to the transmit path, i.e. in the direction from the radio module to the antenna module. An advantage of this embodiment is that the transmission of the control signal can be avoided from being adversely affected by the received high frequency signal.

According to the invention, there is also provided a motor vehicle having an antenna device according to one of the preceding embodiments. This results in the same advantages and possible variants as in the case of the antenna arrangement. The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a car or truck, or as a passenger car or motorcycle.

The invention also comprises a combination of features of the described embodiments.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention are described below. The sole figures show:

the figures show schematic views of a motor vehicle according to exemplary embodiments.

Detailed Description

The examples explained below are preferred embodiments of the present invention. In the examples, the described components of the embodiments each represent a separate feature of the invention which can be considered independently of one another, which features also improve the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to include other combinations besides the combinations of features of the illustrated embodiments. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by other features of the invention which have been described.

The sole figure shows a schematic view of a motor vehicle 10 with an antenna arrangement 12 according to an exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the motor vehicle 10 may be a passenger car. The antenna arrangement 12 may have an antenna module 14, which may include an antenna 16, which may be, for example, a roof antenna of a motor vehicle. However, the antenna 16 may also be a front antenna of a motor vehicle. The antenna 16 may preferably be designed for transmitting high frequency signals of a plurality of high frequency services.

For example, each of the high frequency services may have its own radio module, and in particular, the first radio module 18, the second radio module 20, and the third radio module 22 may be provided. The first radio module 18 may for example comprise a data transmission service such as WLAN, the second radio module may for example comprise a navigation service such as GPS and the third radio module may for example comprise a mobile radio communication service such as LTE. However, alternatively or additionally, alternative or other services may also be provided. In particular, the first to third radio modules 18, 20, 22 may be designed to provide high frequency signals for transmission via the antenna 16. In this embodiment, the radio modules 18, 20, 22 may be located in a vehicle computer of an infotainment system, for example.

For transmitting high-frequency signals, the first radio module 18 may have a first antenna cable 24, the second radio module 20 has a second antenna cable 26, and the third radio module 22 has a third antenna cable 28. The respective antenna cables 24, 26, 28 may preferably be coaxial cables, which may transmit high frequency signals over a distance of, for example, more than one meter. However, in particular for high-frequency signals in the frequency range of 5 to 6 gigahertz, attenuation occurs in the antenna cables 24, 26, 28, which attenuation can be compensated in the antenna module 14 by the compensator 30, i.e. the signal strength of the high-frequency signals can be modified. In particular, modifying the signal strength of the high frequency signal may comprise amplifying and/or attenuating the signal amplitude.

In order that the compensator 30 may modify the high frequency signal of the radio modules 18, 20, 22 accordingly, the compensator 30 may receive a control signal that may be generated by one of the radio modules 18, 20, 22. In particular, it can be provided that, when high-frequency signals are transmitted from the first radio module 18 via the first antenna cable 24, the first radio module 18 actuates the second radio module 20, so that the second radio module 20 generates a control signal for controlling the compensator of the first radio module 18 and modulates this control signal onto the second antenna cable 26. An advantage is that possible damage to the high frequency signals of the first radio module can be reduced. In particular, a transmission table may be provided in which it is determined which radio module generates a corresponding control signal for the further radio module.

The modulation of the control signal onto the respective antenna cable may be performed by means of known modulation methods, for example, and in particular each radio module may have a pair of duplexers 32 which may modulate the control signal onto the antenna cable together with the high frequency signal or separate the control signal from the high frequency signal. The antenna module 14 may also have a switching unit 34 that can switch between the transmission path and the reception path of the high-frequency signal of the respective radio module in accordance with a control signal. In particular, the switching unit 34 together with the compensator 30 may amplify the signal strength of the high frequency signal according to the reception situation or attenuate it before transmission.

As an alternative or in addition to the transmission table, a signal path control device 36 may be provided which can check which radio module does not transmit a high-frequency signal and can then transmit a control signal via the radio module which currently does not transmit a high-frequency signal, whereby the adverse effect of the control signal on the high-frequency signal can be reduced.

In an exemplary case, for example, the first radio module 18 and the third radio module 22 may transmit high frequency signals. A check by the signal path control device 36 then indicates that the second radio module 20 is not currently transmitting high-frequency signals, so that the second radio module 20 can generate a control signal and transmit it via the second antenna cable 26 to the compensator 30 and/or the switching unit 34. In this example, the second radio module 20 may also preferably bundle the control signals for the first radio module 18 and the third radio module 22 together by means of a multiplexing method before modulating the control signals onto the second antenna cable. Control signals for a plurality of radio modules can thus be modulated onto one antenna cable to actuate the compensator 30.

Furthermore, the signal path control means 36 may check: which radio module is already in the transmit setting, that is to say which radio module is switched over to the transmit path, and then preferably transmits the control signal via the antenna cable of the radio module in the transmit setting. For example, the first radio module 18 can again transmit or receive high-frequency signals, for which purpose control signals for the compensator 30 are generated. The signal path control means 36 may then check: the second radio module 20 or the third radio module 22 is already in a transmit setting. In this exemplary case, it may be that the second radio module 20 is transmitting high frequency signals and the third radio module 22 happens to receive high frequency signals. Thus, the second radio module 20 is in a transmit setting, i.e. it has been switched to the transmit direction, and the signal path control means 36 can trigger the second radio module 20 to generate a control signal for the radio module 18.

In general, these examples show how the control of the compensator is provided by the invention via the high frequency antenna cable of any service (radio module) in the antenna module.