Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide an antenna unit and a base station antenna, which are used for solving the technical problems of high insertion loss and low consistency in the prior art.
In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: there is provided an antenna unit comprising:
a base including a reflection plate for reflecting electromagnetic waves to improve sensitivity of an antenna signal and isolation plates formed at opposite sides of the reflection plate; the surface of the reflecting plate is provided with a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction which are mutually perpendicular;
a feeding network for transmitting the electromagnetic wave, the feeding network being disposed on the reflecting plate;
a radiation unit for transmitting or receiving the electromagnetic wave;
a plurality of balun arranged between the radiating element and the feed network; the radiation unit is electrically connected with the feed network through the balun; the feed network, the base and the balun are integrally arranged.
Further, the feed network comprises two feed lines isolated from each other, the two feed lines being aligned on the longitudinal midline.
Further, each of the power feeding lines includes a frame body and a first partition board, the frame body is formed on the reflecting plate, the frame body and the reflecting plate enclose to form a groove, and the groove extends along the transverse direction; the first partition plate is arranged in the middle of the groove and divides the groove into two channels, a gap is formed between the first partition plate and the inner side wall of the frame body, and the two channels are communicated through the gap.
Further, the frame body and the first partition plate are plastic parts, the inner side wall of the frame body and the side wall of the first partition plate are plated with metal layers, and the top surfaces of the frame body and the first partition plate are plated with metal layers.
Further, a notch is formed on one side of each frame body in the longitudinal direction, each power supply circuit further comprises a second partition board, one end of each second partition board is connected with the first partition board, and the other end of each second partition board extends out of the frame body through the notch; a terminal used for being connected with a radio frequency circuit is formed on the bottom side of the reflecting plate, a first via hole is formed on the reflecting plate, and the terminal is electrically connected with the second partition board through the first via hole; the terminal and the second separator are electrically isolated from each other with the reflection plate.
Further, four balun are formed on two sides of the feed network in the transverse direction; four of the balun on the same side are electrically isolated from each other.
Further, each of the balun includes a hollow cylinder, a half-open cylinder, and a center post, the hollow cylinder, half-open cylinder, and center post being electrically isolated from each other; the semi-open cylinder body and the central column are coaxially arranged; each center column is electrically connected with the first partition board, and each semi-open cylinder is electrically connected with the corresponding frame body.
Further, protrusions are formed on the top surface of each hollow cylinder and the top surface of each semi-open cylinder, and a plurality of through holes into which the protrusions are inserted are formed on the radiation unit.
Further, the radiating element comprises an insulated flat plate, the top surface of the flat plate is provided with a radiating surface, the radiating surface is provided with four areas which are electrically isolated from each other, and each area is provided with an annular conductive layer; the four areas are divided into two first areas and two second areas, the two first areas are diagonally arranged, and the two second areas are diagonally arranged and respectively adjacent to the first areas; the conductive layers of the two first areas and the conductive layers of the two second areas are conducted through a connecting sheet; and each connecting piece is provided with a second via hole for inserting the central column.
A base station antenna comprising a plurality of the aforementioned antenna elements.
The antenna unit and the base station antenna provided by the invention have the beneficial effects that: compared with the prior art, the antenna unit and the base station antenna are designed by integrally forming the base, the feed network and the balun, and the functions of the antenna unit and the base station antenna are realized through a plastic electroplating process, so that the assembly flow is simplified, the insertion loss of the antenna is reduced, and the material consistency is high; meanwhile, the feed network adopts a channel type feed circuit, the mode of transmitting electromagnetic waves in a medium is changed into transmission in air, and the insertion loss is reduced.
Detailed Description
In order to make the technical problems, technical schemes and beneficial effects to be solved more clear, the invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "mounted" or "disposed" on another element, it can be directly on the other element or be indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or be indirectly connected to the other element.
It is to be understood that the terms "length," "width," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like indicate or are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, merely to facilitate describing the present invention and simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless explicitly defined otherwise.
Referring to fig. 1, an antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention will now be described. An antenna unit 5 including a base 1, a feed network 2, a plurality of balun 3, and a radiating unit 4, the base 1 including a reflecting plate 11 for reflecting electromagnetic waves to improve sensitivity of an antenna signal, and a separation plate 12 formed at opposite sides of the reflecting plate 11, the separation plate 12 being disposed perpendicularly to the reflecting plate 11; the feed network 2 is used for transmitting electromagnetic waves, and the feed network 2 is arranged on the reflecting plate 11; the radiation unit 4 is used for radiating or receiving electromagnetic waves, the radiation unit 4 is electrically connected with the feed network 2 through a plurality of balun 3, and the base 1, the feed network 2 and the balun 3 are integrally formed.
The antenna unit 5 and the base station antenna provided by the invention have the beneficial effects that: compared with the prior art, the antenna unit 5 and the base station antenna are designed by integrally forming the base 1, the feed network 2 and the balun 3, so that the assembly flow is simplified, the insertion loss of the antenna is reduced, and the material consistency is high; meanwhile, the feed network 2 adopts the feed line 21 of the channel 214 to form a three-dimensional air belt, the mode of transmitting electromagnetic waves in the medium is changed into the mode of transmitting the electromagnetic waves in the air, and the insertion loss is reduced.
Further, referring to fig. 1 and 2, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the reflecting plate 11 and the isolating plate 12 are made of plastic, and then copper is plated on the outer surface thereof by a plastic electroplating process. The functions of the antenna are realized through the plastic electroplating process, the material consistency is higher, and the consistency and the stability of the antenna are improved.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the surface of the reflecting plate 11 has a transverse direction (X direction in the figure) and a longitudinal direction (Y direction in the figure), and the feeding network 2 includes two feeding lines 21 insulated from each other, and the two feeding lines 21 are symmetrically arranged with a central line of the reflecting plate 11 in the longitudinal direction as a symmetry axis. Each of the feeder lines 21 includes a frame 211 and a first partition 212, the frame 211 is disposed on the reflecting plate 11, the frame 211 and the reflecting plate 11 enclose to form a groove 213, the first partition 212 is disposed in the middle of the groove 213, the groove 213 is divided into two channels 214 with equal widths, and two ends of the two channels 214 in the transverse direction are mutually communicated.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, a block diagram is a rectangular frame 211, a length direction of the frame 211 is transverse, a groove 213 formed by the frame 211 and the first partition 212 extends along the transverse direction, and two channels 214 with equal width are mutually connected at two transverse ends to form a channel 214 connected end to end. The distance between the top surface of the frame 211 and the top surface of the reflection plate 11 is greater than or equal to the distance between the top surface of the first barrier 212 and the top surface of the reflection plate 11. The inner sidewall of the frame 211, the top surface of the frame 211, the four side surfaces of the first spacer 212 and the top surface of the first spacer 212 are all plated with copper layers, and since the outer surface of the reflective plate 11 is plated with copper layers, the frame 211 and the reflective plate 11 are arranged in an insulating manner, and the first spacer 212 and the reflective plate 11 are arranged in an insulating manner to prevent short circuit, as shown in fig. 3, the region 44 with a cross-sectional line is an insulating region 44, and the region 44 without a cross-sectional line is a copper plated region 44. The electromagnetic wave is transmitted in the channel 214 formed by the frame 211 and the first partition 212 arranged in the frame 211, so that the loss of the electromagnetic wave in the medium is smaller than that in the traditional mode, the high-frequency high-precision requirement can be met, and the antenna has better stability and consistency.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3 together, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, a notch 215 is formed in the frame 211 of each feeding circuit 21 in the longitudinal direction, a second partition 210 is disposed in the middle of the notch 215, the second partition 210 is connected to the first partition 212 at one side in the longitudinal direction, and extends to the outside of the frame 211 through the notch 215 at the other side in the longitudinal direction. The second partition 210 is connected to the first partition 212 to partition the channel 214 of the feed network 2 to perform its function of power division.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, a baffle plate 216 is disposed at two sides of the second baffle plate 210 in the lateral direction, and the distance between the second baffle plate 210 and each baffle plate 216 is equal to the width of the channel 214 formed by the frame 211 and the first baffle plate 212.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, as well as the frame 211, the second partition 210 and the baffle 216 are made of plastic materials, copper is plated on the top surface and four sidewalls of the second partition 210 by a plastic electroplating process, and copper is plated on the top surface and the side surface facing the second partition 210 of the baffle 216, so as to be in communication with the feed network 2, thereby forming an output channel 214 of the feed network 2. The plastic is adopted as the medium of the antenna, so that the quality of the antenna can be greatly reduced, the cost can be reduced, the consistency of materials can be ensured by the plastic electroplating process, and the antenna can meet the requirement of high frequency on precision.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, a distance between a top surface of the baffle 216 and the radiation plate is greater than or equal to a distance between a top surface of the second partition 210 and the radiation plate, a distance between a top surface of the baffle 216 and the radiation plate is equal to a distance between a top surface of the frame 211 and the radiation plate, and a distance between a top surface of the second partition 210 and the radiation plate is equal to a distance between a top surface of the first partition 212 and the radiation plate. This ensures that the electromagnetic waves are transported within the channel 214 well.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the notch 215 of each frame 211 faces another frame 211, and the baffle 216 and the second partition 210 are disposed obliquely in the longitudinal direction, so that the structure is compact, which is beneficial to miniaturization of the device.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 3, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the top surface of each first partition 212 is formed with a protruding structure 217, and the protruding structure 217 has a stepped structure in the lateral direction. To match the transmitting antenna to the feed line, the input impedance of the antenna should be equal to the characteristic impedance of the feed line. I.e. to match the receiving antenna to the receiver, the input impedance of the antenna should be equal to the complex conjugate of the load impedance. The stepped structure forms sidewalls of the channel 214 having different heights on the first spacer 212, which can provide different impedances to the antenna, thereby increasing versatility of the antenna.
Further, referring to fig. 2, 3, 5 and 6 together, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, a cylindrical terminal 218 is disposed on the other surface of the reflecting plate 11 opposite to the surface on which the feeding network 2 is disposed, the terminal 218 is insulated from the reflecting plate 11, and a side of the second partition 210 outside the notch 215 is electrically connected to the terminal 218 through a first via 219 formed on the reflecting plate 11, as shown in fig. 5, the region 44 with a section line is not plated with copper, so that the terminal 218 and the first via 219 are insulated from the reflecting plate 11. The terminal 218 is used for connection of the feed network 2 to other networks, such as a calibration network or the like.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 4 together, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, two baluns 3 are respectively formed on two lateral sides of the feed network 2, each balun 3 includes a half-open cylinder 31, a central column 32 and a hollow cylinder 33, and the half-open cylinder 31 is formed on one lateral side of the top surface of the frame 211 and is integrally formed with the frame 211; the center post 32 is a cylinder formed at one side of the top surface of the first partition 212 in the lateral direction; the semi-open cylinder 31 and the central column 32 are coaxially arranged, which is beneficial to realizing integrated drawing.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 4 together, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the hollow cylinder 33 of the balun 3 may be designed as a solid cylinder, and the hollow cylinder 33 is disposed on the reflecting plate 11 and located near the semi-open cylinder 31; the balun 3 is arranged at equal height, and the balun 3 is arranged in a square shape to jointly support one radiating unit 4. In the present embodiment, the hollow cylinder 33-like arrangement is advantageous in reducing the mass of the antenna.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 4, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the balun 3 is made of plastic, and then copper layers are plated on the inner side wall, the outer side wall and the top wall of the hollow cylinder 33 to realize the functions of guiding and amplifying electromagnetic waves; plating copper metal on the sidewalls and top surface of the center pillar 32 to make it conductive with the first separator 212; the inner side wall, the outer side wall and the top surface of the semi-open tubular balun 3 are plated with metallic copper to realize the functions thereof. The balun 3 adopts plastic as a medium, so that the manufacturing cost of the antenna can be effectively reduced, the quality of the antenna can be reduced, and the weight and cost of the antenna can be reduced.
Further, referring to fig. 1 to 4, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, two cylindrical protrusions 34 are formed on the top surfaces of the semi-open cylinder 31 and the hollow cylinder 33, and 8 through holes 41 for inserting the protrusions 34 are formed on the radiation unit 4. The projections 34 do not need to have a conductive effect, and the balun 3 and the radiating element 4 are welded together by means of the projections 34 during mounting, and the projections 34 also have a function of positioning the radiating element 4 during mounting of the radiating element 4.
Further, referring to fig. 7 and 8, as an embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, the radiating unit 4 is used for radiating and receiving electromagnetic waves, and includes a flat plate 42 made of plastic, the top surface of the flat plate 42 has a square radiating surface 43, the radiating surface 43 is divided into four square areas 44, a ring-shaped conductive layer 47 is formed on each area 44 by copper plating, the four areas 44 are insulated from each other, the portion with a section line in the figure is an insulating surface, and the rest is a copper plated surface. The two diagonal areas 44 are conducted through a connecting piece 45, the connecting pieces 45 are also formed in a copper plating mode, a second through hole 46 is formed in each connecting piece 45, and the central column 32 of the balun 3 is conducted with the connecting piece 45 through the second through hole 46 and then conducted with the corresponding conductive layer 47.
Further, referring to fig. 7 and 8, as a specific embodiment of the antenna unit 5 provided by the present invention, one connection board is connected to two opposite angles of the conductive layer 47 via the top surface of the flat plate 42, and the other connection board is connected to the back surface of the flat plate 42 via one third via 48, and then connected to the conductive layer 47 corresponding to the opposite angles via the other third via 48. Such an arrangement makes the structure very compact, which is advantageous for miniaturization of the antenna. Of course, the shape of each region 44 is not limited to square, and the shape of each conductive layer 47 is not limited to the shape adopted in the present embodiment.
Referring to fig. 9, a base station antenna provided by the present invention will now be described. The base station antenna comprises a plurality of the antenna units 5, and the plurality of antenna units 5 can be arranged in a staggered manner or can be arranged in a non-staggered manner. As a base station antenna, the invention is not only suitable for 5G dense arrays, but also suitable for TD dual-channel or eight-channel antennas, can be used as a fixed tilt angle antenna, can also be used as an electrically tunable tilt angle antenna, and can also work in the form of only binary vibrators, and in addition, the novel base station antenna is not limited to 5G frequency bands, and is also suitable for 2G, 3G and 4G frequency bands.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is not intended to be limiting, but rather is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and principles of the invention.