WO2022100566A1 - 一种天线组件及通信设备 - Google Patents

一种天线组件及通信设备 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2022100566A1
WO2022100566A1 PCT/CN2021/129497 CN2021129497W WO2022100566A1 WO 2022100566 A1 WO2022100566 A1 WO 2022100566A1 CN 2021129497 W CN2021129497 W CN 2021129497W WO 2022100566 A1 WO2022100566 A1 WO 2022100566A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
lens
guide rail
antenna array
antenna assembly
antenna
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/CN2021/129497
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
佟有万
方任
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd filed Critical Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority to EP21891086.7A priority Critical patent/EP4231453B1/en
Priority to US18/252,820 priority patent/US12407095B2/en
Publication of WO2022100566A1 publication Critical patent/WO2022100566A1/zh
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
    • H01Q1/241—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM
    • H01Q1/246—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM specially adapted for base stations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array
    • H01Q3/32—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by mechanical means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/002—Protection against seismic waves, thermal radiation or other disturbances, e.g. nuclear explosion; Arrangements for improving the power handling capability of an antenna
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/2291—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles used in Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/24—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
    • H01Q1/241—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/02—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/02—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism
    • H01Q15/08—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism formed of solid dielectric material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q19/00—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic
    • H01Q19/06—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q19/00—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic
    • H01Q19/06—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens
    • H01Q19/062—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens for focusing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/06—Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
    • H01Q21/061—Two dimensional planar arrays
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/06—Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
    • H01Q21/061—Two dimensional planar arrays
    • H01Q21/062—Two dimensional planar arrays using dipole aerials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/24—Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/12—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system using mechanical relative movement between primary active elements and secondary devices of antennas or antenna systems
    • H01Q3/14—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system using mechanical relative movement between primary active elements and secondary devices of antennas or antenna systems for varying the relative position of primary active element and a refracting or diffracting device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array
    • H01Q3/34—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array
    • H01Q3/34—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means
    • H01Q3/36—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means with variable phase-shifters

Definitions

  • the present application relates to the technical field of terminal equipment, and in particular, to an antenna assembly and a communication device.
  • CPE Customer Premise Equipment
  • a wireless broadband access device can convert the signal sent by the base station into a common WiFi signal for mobile terminals such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops, and can support multiple WiFi signals at the same time. Internet access on mobile terminals.
  • some existing CPEs are designed to expand the performance of their antennas, so that the antennas can support beam scanning at a certain angle under the premise of limited receiving beam width.
  • Traditional antenna scanning usually adopts mechanical rotation scanning, phased array scanning, etc., and these scanning methods have certain defects. For example, mechanical rotation scanning will increase the section height of the antenna, resulting in the space occupied by the antenna in the CPE. It is not conducive to the miniaturization of CPE; for phased array scanning, the beam scanning range of CPE is relatively small due to constraints such as the number of radiation units and phase shifters.
  • the present application provides an antenna assembly and a communication device, so that the antenna assembly supports beam scanning in a wider range.
  • the present application provides an antenna assembly including a lens, a guide rail, an antenna array and a phase shifter.
  • the lens includes a first refraction surface and a second refraction surface.
  • the lens can be used to condense the signal beam from one side of the first refraction surface into a narrow beam that is emitted from the second refraction surface, or can be used to condense the signal beam from the side of the first refraction surface into a narrow beam that is emitted from the second refraction surface.
  • the signal beam of the lens is converged into a narrow beam and emitted from the first refraction surface;
  • the guide rail is a linear guide rail, and the guide rail can be arranged on one side of the first refraction surface of the lens.
  • the antenna array includes a plurality of radiating elements arranged in an array.
  • the antenna array is slidably connected on the guide rail, and as the antenna array moves on the guide rail, the beam pointing of the antenna assembly moves along the extension direction of the guide rail, so that in the extension direction of the guide rail, in the first Mechanical beam scanning is performed within a scanning range, so as to realize beam scanning in the extension direction of the guide rail;
  • the phase shifter is connected to a plurality of radiating elements, and is used to adjust the feeding phase of the plurality of radiating elements, so that the antenna array is on the guide rail.
  • the phase modulation scanning can be performed in the second scanning range by adjusting the feeding phases of the plurality of radiation elements, wherein the second scanning range is the phase modulation scanning of each scanning position in the first scanning range of the antenna array angle.
  • the mechanical scanning can be realized by moving the position of the antenna array, and the phase shifter can be controlled to adjust the feeding phase of each radiating element when the antenna array is in different positions, so as to realize Phase modulation scanning, so the overall scanning range of the antenna assembly can be increased, which is beneficial to obtain greater gain of the antenna assembly; in addition, because the guide rail is a linear structure, this solution can improve the gain of the antenna assembly.
  • the section height of the antenna assembly can be lowered, so that the space occupied by the antenna assembly in the communication device can be reduced, which is beneficial to reducing the overall volume of the communication device.
  • both ends of the guide rail exceed the corresponding end of the lens, and the length of one end of the guide rail beyond the corresponding end of the lens is l', and l' satisfies: l' ⁇ f*tan ⁇ .
  • f is the distance between the guide rail and the lens in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the guide rail; Scan angle.
  • the lens may specifically be a convex lens.
  • one of the convex surfaces of the convex lens may be formed as the first refractive surface, and the other convex surface of the convex lens may be formed as the second refractive surface.
  • the equivalent dielectric constant of the lens decreases from the middle to the two sides, so that the signal beams are converged when receiving or transmitting signals.
  • the lens may be a cylindrical lens in particular.
  • the lens includes a cylindrical surface and a flat surface that are connected in a circumferential direction.
  • the cylindrical surface of the lens can be formed as a first refractive surface
  • the flat surface of the lens can be formed as a second refractive surface; in another embodiment, the lens can be formed as a second refractive surface.
  • the plane of the lens may be formed as the first refractive surface
  • the cylindrical surface of the lens may be formed as the second refractive surface.
  • the extension direction of the guide rail is perpendicular to the length direction of the lens.
  • the equivalent dielectric constant of the lens decreases from the middle to the two sides, so that when receiving or sending signals, the The signal beams are converged.
  • the guide rails may be located in the focal plane of the lens to enable the antenna array to receive beams focused by the lens as it moves on the guide rails.
  • the guide rail intersects the main axis of the lens, and the included angle between the guide rail and the main axis of the lens may be between 80° and 100°. Specifically, when the guide rail is located in the focal plane, the guide rail and the main axis of the lens satisfy the vertical intersection, which is beneficial to improve the transmission quality of the signal.
  • the first scanning range and the second scanning range are parallel, and the first scanning range and the second scanning range may be approximately located in the same plane, that is, the mechanical scanning and the phase modulation scanning are in the same dimension
  • the scanning range of the antenna assembly in this plane can be generally improved through the cooperation of mechanical scanning and phase modulation scanning.
  • the first scanning range and the second scanning range can also intersect, that is, the mechanical scanning and the phase modulation scanning can also be performed in two intersecting dimensions, so that the scanning range of the antenna assembly can be improved .
  • the antenna assembly may further include a sliding piece.
  • the antenna array is fixedly arranged on the sliding piece, and the sliding piece is slidably assembled on the guide rail. In this way, the antenna array can be driven by sliding the sliding piece on the guide rail. 21 Synchronized sliding.
  • the guide rail intersects the main axis of the lens
  • the antenna assembly may further include a driving mechanism.
  • the driving mechanism is connected to the antenna array or a sliding member, and can be used to drive the antenna array to slide on the guide rail, thereby improving the working reliability of the antenna assembly. sex.
  • the driving mechanism may include a motor and a lead screw, wherein the lead screw includes a lead screw and a nut assembled on the lead screw, the lead screw is connected with the output shaft of the motor, and the nut is connected with the antenna array or the slider, so that the The rotary motion output by the motor is converted into a linear motion capable of driving the sliding element to move, and then the sliding element drives the antenna array to move synchronously.
  • the present application also provides a communication device, which includes a housing, a control unit disposed in the housing, and the antenna assembly in any of the foregoing possible embodiments.
  • the lens of the antenna assembly is arranged on the casing, and the second refracting surface of the lens is arranged towards the outside of the casing.
  • the control unit is respectively connected with the driving mechanism and the phase shifter to control the driving mechanism to drive the antenna array to move on the guide rail, so as to perform beam scanning in the extension direction of the guide rail; the control unit can also send the phase configuration when the antenna array moves to each position
  • the signal is sent to the phase shifter to control the phase shifter to adjust the feeding phase of each radiating element, thereby adjusting the beam direction of the antenna assembly.
  • the communication device can achieve a relatively large beam scanning range, and because the section height of the antenna assembly is small, it is also beneficial to the miniaturized design of the communication device.
  • the lens and the housing may be integrally formed, so as to simplify the assembly process and assembly difficulty of the communication device.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional CPE antenna assembly
  • FIG. 2 is a front view of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • Fig. 3 is the top view of the communication device in Fig. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a front view of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 5 is a top view of the communication device in FIG. 4;
  • FIG. 6 is a front view of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the beam scanning principle of the antenna array of the communication device in FIG. 4 at the X position;
  • Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the beam scanning principle of the antenna array of the communication device in Fig. 4 at the X' position;
  • Figure 9 is a side view of the communication device in Figure 5.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the orientation of the base station and the CPE
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic partial structural diagram of an antenna assembly provided in an embodiment of the application in a working state
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic partial structure diagram of the antenna assembly provided by an embodiment of the application in another working state
  • FIG. 13 is a schematic partial structural diagram of an antenna assembly provided in another embodiment of the present application in a working state
  • FIG. 14 is a schematic partial structure diagram of an antenna assembly provided in another embodiment of the present application in another working state
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic partial structure diagram of an antenna assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 16 is a top view of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the application.
  • FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a specific application scenario of the CPE provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • 01-lens 01-lens; 02-antenna array; 03-multiple selection switch.
  • 100-base station 200-CPE; 10-housing; 20-antenna assembly; 21-antenna array; 22-guide rail; 23-lens;
  • the terms “installed”, “connected” and “connected” should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed connection or a detachable connection Connection, or integral connection; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, can be internal communication between two elements.
  • installed should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed connection or a detachable connection Connection, or integral connection; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, can be internal communication between two elements.
  • the antenna provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to communication equipment such as a base station and a CPE, and is used to enable the communication equipment to implement a signal sending and receiving function.
  • CPE is a wireless broadband access device, which can convert the signal sent by the base station into a WiFi signal commonly used by mobile terminals such as smartphones, tablet computers, and notebook computers, and can support multiple mobile terminals surfing the Internet at the same time.
  • CPE can be installed indoors or outdoors. In the actual deployment process, considering the convenience of installation, the CPE is usually directly placed in a specific location and then fixed.
  • the CPE needs to receive the wireless signal of the base station, and the base station is required to cover multiple users in a certain area during deployment, the direction of arrival of the wireless signal is uncertain for a specific CPE user.
  • the traditional way is to match the direction of incoming waves by adjusting the placement angle of the CPE.
  • adjusting the placement angle of the CPE requires a large amount of work, and also leads to an increase in the installation cost.
  • some existing CPEs are designed to expand the performance of their antennas, so that the antennas can support large-angle beam scanning under the premise of limited receiving beam width, so that the placement position of the CPE and Under the condition of fixed placement angle, the beam direction can be adjusted so that CPE users can receive high-quality signals.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional CPE antenna assembly.
  • the antenna assembly includes a lens 01, a plurality of antenna arrays 02, and a multiplexing switch 03.
  • the antenna array 02 is distributed in an arc shape near the focal plane of the lens 01.
  • One end of the multiplexing switch 03 is connected to the radio frequency path of the CPE, and the other end is connected to the radio frequency path of the CPE. They are respectively connected to multiple antenna arrays 02 , and the radio frequency paths are connected to different antenna arrays 02 by switching between the respective antenna arrays 02 .
  • the dotted lines in FIG. 1 are used to represent the arrangement of multiple antenna arrays, and do not refer to the actual structure of the CPE.
  • each antenna array 02 Due to the difference in position of each antenna array 02, when switching the radio frequency channel to connect to each antenna array 02, the beam directions of different antenna arrays 02 are different, so that the beams output by different antenna arrays 02 can be realized after passing through the lens 01. The beam scans to the destination.
  • this solution also has obvious disadvantages.
  • the manufacturing cost of the CPE will increase; on the other hand, the arc-shaped distribution of multiple antenna arrays 02 will increase the antenna component Due to the height of the section, the antenna assembly occupies a large space in the CPE, which is not conducive to the miniaturization of the CPE.
  • phased array antenna adjusts the phase difference of each radiating element through a phase shifter, and changes the direction of the maximum value of the antenna pattern, so as to achieve the purpose of beam scanning.
  • the beam adjustment range of the antenna is relatively small, and the antenna gain is relatively low.
  • embodiments of the present application provide an antenna assembly and a communication device using the antenna assembly.
  • the antenna assembly is relatively small in size and can support beam scanning in a wide range, thereby improving the communication performance of the communication device.
  • the antenna assembly and the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
  • FIG. 2 is a front view of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application
  • FIG. 3 is a top view of the communication device in FIG. 2
  • the communication device includes a casing 10 , a circuit board (not shown in the figure) disposed in the casing 10 , and an antenna assembly 20 .
  • FIGS. 3 , 4 and the following related drawings only schematically show some components included in the communication device, and the actual shapes, actual sizes, actual positions and actual structures of these components are not affected by those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . and the limitations of the accompanying drawings below.
  • the width direction of the communication device 1 is defined as the x-axis
  • the length direction of the communication device 1 is defined as the y-axis
  • the thickness direction of the communication device is the z-axis. It can be understood that the coordinate system setting of the communication device 1 can be flexibly set according to specific actual needs. In practical applications, after the communication device 1 is installed and fixed, the width direction of the communication device 1 can be set along the horizontal direction, and the length direction of the communication device 1 can be set along the vertical direction. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, The x-axis direction is the horizontal direction, and the y-axis direction is the vertical direction.
  • the housing 10 is a cavity structure, which can be used to support and protect various components inside the communication device 1 .
  • the housing 10 can reduce the impact on the internal components of the communication device 1 and prevent the internal components from being displaced and affecting the communication device 1 . performance to ensure the normal use of the communication device 1.
  • the housing 10 can also reduce the direct contact between external dust, water vapor and other foreign objects and internal components, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the internal components.
  • the casing 10 is provided with an opening 11 , so that the signal beam emitted by the base station can propagate to the lens 23 through the opening 11 , and the signal beam refracted by the lens 23 can propagate to the base station through the opening 11 .
  • the lens 23 is disposed at the opening, and the lens 23 includes a first refraction surface 231 and a second refraction surface 232 , wherein the first refraction surface 231 is disposed toward the inside of the opening 11 , and the second refraction surface 231
  • the surface 232 is disposed toward the outside of the opening 11 .
  • the material of the lens 23 can be a dielectric material that allows electromagnetic waves to pass through.
  • the lens can be used to condense the signal beam from the side of the first refractive surface 231 (as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 ) into a narrow beam by the second refractive surface.
  • the signal beam from the side of the second refracting surface 232 can also be condensed into a narrow beam and emitted from the first refracting surface 231, thereby increasing the gain of the antenna assembly.
  • FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , and the following figures are all used to represent signal beams. It should be understood that the signal beams are only schematically shown in the drawings, and the actual waveform, actual propagation direction and actual propagation distance of the signal beams are not limited by FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 and the following drawings.
  • the lens 23 can be embedded in the opening 11, so on the one hand, the cross-sectional height of the communication device 1 (ie, the dimension in the z-axis direction) can be reduced, making the structure of the communication device 1 more compact, and on the other hand The difficulty of installing and fixing the lens 23 can also be reduced.
  • the lens 23 can be fixed in the opening 11 by means of bonding.
  • the lens can also be fixed in the casing 10 through structural components such as brackets.
  • a cover plate can be provided at the opening 11 to encapsulate the casing 10 to prevent external foreign objects from entering the casing 10 and prevent the communication device 1 from entering the casing 10. function has an adverse effect.
  • the lens and the housing can also adopt an integrated design, that is, the lens and the housing can be integrally formed, and in this case, there is no need to provide an opening on the housing, and the assembly of the lens and the housing can be omitted. Therefore, the assembly process and assembly difficulty of the communication device can be simplified.
  • the lens 23 may be a convex lens.
  • the first refractive surface 231 is one of the convex surfaces of the lens 23, and the second refractive surface 232 is the other convex surface of the lens 23.
  • the main axis of the lens 23 can be specifically along the z-axis direction setting.
  • the main axis of the lens 23 can be understood as the axis of the signal beam or the light beam whose propagation direction does not change after passing through the lens 23.
  • the main axis is the two convex spheres passing through the convex lens. straight line of heart.
  • FIG. 4 is a front view of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application
  • FIG. 5 is a top view of the communication device in FIG. 4
  • the lens 23 may be a cylindrical lens, and the length direction of the lens 23 is arranged along the y-axis direction.
  • the cylindrical surface of the lens 23 may be disposed toward the outside of the opening 11
  • the plane of the lens 23 may be disposed toward the inside of the opening 11 .
  • the first refractive surface 231 is the plane of the lens 23
  • the second refractive surface 232 is the cylindrical surface of the lens 23 .
  • the equivalent dielectric constant of the lens 23 decreases from the middle to the two sides along the horizontal dimension (x-axis direction).
  • the width direction of the lens 23 is arranged along the x-axis direction
  • the length direction of the lens 23 is arranged along the y-axis direction
  • the main axis of the lens 23 is arranged along the z-axis direction.
  • the principal axis may be understood as a straight line perpendicular to the plane of the cylindrical lens and passing through the center of the plane.
  • the cylindrical surface of the lens 23 may also be disposed toward the inside of the opening 11 , and the plane of the lens 23 may be disposed toward the outside of the opening 11 .
  • the first refractive surface 231 is the cylindrical surface of the lens 23
  • the second refractive surface 232 is the flat surface of the lens 23 .
  • the guide rail 22 is fixed in the housing 10 and is located on one side of the first refractive surface 231 of the lens 23 .
  • the guide rails 22 can be supported and fixed by structural members such as brackets, or the ends of the guide rails 22 can also be extended to contact the inner wall of the housing 10 , and then can be connected to the inner wall of the housing 10 by welding, bonding, or the like.
  • the antenna array 21 is slidably arranged on the guide rail 22. The antenna array 21 is connected to the radio frequency channel of the communication device, receives the radio frequency signal from the radio frequency channel and transmits it towards the first refraction surface 231 of the lens 23.
  • the signal beam After the signal beam is converged into a narrow beam through the lens 23 It is emitted from the second refracting surface 232, and then further propagates to other communication devices, so that the communication device 1 realizes the signal sending function.
  • the signal beams emitted by other communication devices can also be propagated to the second refraction surface 232 of the lens 23 , converged into a narrow beam by the lens 23 and then emitted from the first refraction surface 231 , and then further propagated to the antenna array 21 and propagated by the antenna array 21 . to the radio frequency path, so that the communication device 1 realizes the signal receiving function.
  • the antenna assembly 20 may further include a sliding member 25.
  • the antenna array 21 is fixedly arranged on the sliding member 25, and the sliding member 25 is slidably assembled on the guide rail 22. In this way, by sliding The element 25 slides on the guide rail 22 to drive the antenna array 21 to slide synchronously.
  • the guide rail 22 can be a linear structure, and extends in the horizontal direction (ie, the x-axis direction) in the housing 10, so that when the antenna array 21 slides on the guide rail 22, the beam of the antenna array 21 The direction also produces horizontal movement, which enables beam scanning in the horizontal dimension.
  • the guide rail 22 may be approximately located on the focal plane of the lens 23, and in specific settings, the guide rail 22 intersects the main axis o of the lens 23, and the included angle between the guide rail and the main axis o of the lens may be between 80° and 100° .
  • the guide rail 22 and the main axis o of the lens 23 satisfy the vertical intersection, which is beneficial to improve the transmission quality of the signal.
  • FIG. 6 is a front view of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the antenna array 21 includes a plurality of radiating elements 211, and the plurality of radiating elements 211 are arranged in a certain array form, for example, as shown in the figure, along the x-axis direction and the y-axis respectively The directions are arranged to form a rectangular array.
  • the antenna array 21 may further include a fixing frame 212 for supporting these radiating elements 211, and the radiating element 211 may be specifically mounted on the fixing frame 212 by means of gluing, clamping or the like.
  • the number of radiation units 211 shown in FIG. 4 is only for illustration. In practical applications, the number of radiation units 211 may be more or less than 4*4 in FIG. The specific application scenarios are set, and there is no need to describe them here.
  • the radiation unit 211 may include a subunit a and a subunit b, and the subunit a and the subunit b may be used to make the radiation unit 211 realize two polarized waves orthogonal to each other, so that the radiation unit 211 is formed as a dipole Therefore, the antenna assembly 20 can improve the integration degree of the antenna assembly 20 while having better radiation performance.
  • the phase shifters 24 are connected to the respective radiating elements 211 for adjusting the feeding phase of the radiating elements 211 .
  • the number of phase shifters 24 and the number of radiation elements 211 may be the same, that is, the two may be connected in a one-to-one correspondence.
  • each phase shifter 24 can be used to adjust the feeding of its corresponding radiation element 211 phase.
  • the direction of the signal beam is always perpendicular to the iso-phase plane, and the iso-phase plane is determined by the feed-phase relationship between the radiation elements 211, the direction of the signal beam can be adjusted by adjusting the feed phase of each radiation element 211, thereby realizing the beam purpose of scanning.
  • the phase of the radiation signal of each subunit a can be determined by the phase shifter 24 for adjustment, and the phase of the radiation signal of each subunit b can also be adjusted by the phase shifter 24 .
  • the magnitude of the phase difference output by the phase shifter 24 to the radiation units 211 in each row can be adjusted, thereby realizing beam scanning in the horizontal dimension.
  • FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are schematic diagrams of the beam scanning principle of the communication device in FIG. 4, respectively, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the scanning range of the signal beam when the antenna array 21 is at the m position on the guide rail 22, a, b, and c respectively represent the radiation The signal beams of the unit at different phase differences; Figure 8 shows the scanning range of the signal beam when the antenna array 21 is at the n position on the guide rail, a', b', c' respectively represent the radiation elements at different phase differences. signal beam.
  • the signal beam a and the signal beam a', the signal beam b and the signal beam b', and the signal beam c and the signal beam c' are the beams when each radiation unit is configured with the same phase difference. It can be seen from Figures 7 and 8 that when the antenna array 21 moves from the m position to the n position on the guide rail, the signal beam of the antenna array 21 also moves horizontally. For example, the signal beam a moves from the position in Figure 7 to the overall direction. The left side moves to the position of the signal beam a' in Fig. 8, so when the antenna array 21 moves from one end of the guide rail 22 to the other end, the signal beam also has a larger range in the horizontal direction with the movement of the antenna array 21.
  • the mechanical beam scanning can be realized in the first scanning range in the horizontal dimension.
  • the direction of the signal beam can also be adjusted within a certain modulation scanning angle range, for example Adjust the signal beam b to the signal beam a, or adjust the signal beam c, so as to perform phase modulation scanning in the second scanning range at this position.
  • the first scanning range is parallel to the second scanning range, and both the mechanical scanning and the phase modulation scanning are performed in the horizontal dimension. It is beneficial for the antenna assembly 20 to obtain greater gain.
  • the solution of the embodiment of the present application can also reduce the cross-sectional height of the antenna assembly 20 (that is, the dimension in the z-axis direction) on the premise that the gain of the antenna assembly 20 can be improved, thereby reducing the size of the antenna assembly 20.
  • the space occupied by the small antenna assembly 20 in the communication device is beneficial to reduce the overall volume of the communication device 1 .
  • FIG. 9 is a side view of the communication device of FIG. 4 . 6 and 9 together, similarly, for each column of radiation elements 211 arranged along the y-axis direction, along the y-axis direction, in the same column of radiation elements 211, the phase of the radiation signal of each sub-unit a can be phase-shifted
  • the phase shifter 24 can adjust the phase of the radiation signal of each subunit b. In this way, by controlling the magnitude of the phase difference output by the phase shifter 24 to the radiation units 211 in each column, the direction of the signal beam in the vertical dimension can be adjusted, thereby realizing beam scanning in the vertical dimension.
  • the first scanning range and the second scanning range intersect, and both the mechanical scanning and the phase modulation scanning are performed in the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension, respectively, so that the scanning range of the communication device can be increased.
  • the communication device is a CPE
  • the dotted line in the figure can be understood as the beam range of the signal sent by the base station 100 .
  • the horizontal distance L between the CPE 200 and the base station 100 is much larger than the height H of the antenna of the base station 100, and the angle ⁇ between the connection line S between the signal transmission port of the base station 100 and the CPE 200 and the horizontal direction is very small, and the connection line S Close to the horizontal setting, for the CPE 200, the signal transmitted by the base station 100 can be received without beam scanning in the vertical dimension, so it is only necessary to control the beam width and beam direction in the vertical dimension during design, so that the antenna obtains a relatively large gain can be.
  • the radiation signals of subunits a of adjacent radiation units 211 have a fixed value between them.
  • the communication device 1 has a fixed signal beam direction in the vertical dimension.
  • the specific value of the phase difference can be obtained through simulation when designing the beam shape of the antenna array 21 in the vertical dimension.
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic partial structure diagram of the antenna assembly provided by an embodiment of the application in one working state
  • FIG. 12 is a partial structural schematic diagram of the antenna assembly provided by an embodiment of the application in another working state. 11 and 12 together, when the antenna array 21 moves on the guide rail 22 , in order to improve the transmission quality of the signal, the signal beams emitted by the antenna array 21 can all enter the lens 23 through the first refraction surface 231 , and pass through the lens 23 After the convergence effect, it is emitted by the second refractive surface 232 . If the signal beam exceeds the range of the first refractive surface 231 when passing through the lens 23, or is completely emitted from the edge of the lens 23 to the outside of the housing 10, the quality of the signal will be greatly reduced.
  • the limit movement position of the antenna array 21 on the guide rail 22 can be set, and the limit movement position is The position of the antenna array 21 on the guide rail 22 is the farthest from the main axis o of the lens 23 .
  • the antenna array 21 has two extreme moving positions, and the two extreme moving positions are set to be position A and position B respectively. Axisymmetric settings. For the antenna array 21, if the antenna array 21 performs phase modulation scanning at position A or position B, the transmitted signal beams can all be incident into the lens 23, then the antenna array 21 is at any position between position A and position B.
  • the transmitted signal beams must also be able to all enter the lens 23. Therefore, the position A and the position B can be determined first in the design, and then the antenna array 21 can always be between the position A and the position B during the beam scanning process. can be moved between.
  • the phase shifter 24 is controlled to adjust the feeding phase of each radiating element 211, and phase modulation scanning is performed.
  • the horizontal distance d1 between the position A and the edge of the lens 23 satisfies:
  • f is the vertical distance between the lens 23 and the guide rail 22, when the guide rail 22 is located on the focal plane of the lens 23, f is the focal length of the lens 23; ⁇ is the maximum phase modulation scanning angle, and the phase modulation scanning angle is determined by the radiation unit.
  • the phase difference between the radiated signals of 211 is determined, and the adjustment range of the phase difference can be obtained through simulation during design, so that the value of ⁇ can be obtained.
  • the horizontal distance d2 between the position B and the edge of the lens 23 also satisfies:
  • the length l of the guide rail 22 satisfies l ⁇ D1+2*f*tan ⁇ , and when the lens 23 is a convex lens, D1 is the diameter of the lens 23 .
  • the horizontal distance between the two ends of the guide rail 22 and the main axis o of the lens 23 may be equal or unequal, which is not limited in this application, as long as the horizontal distance between either end of the guide rail 22 and the corresponding end of the lens 23 is not less than f *tan ⁇ is sufficient to prevent the antenna array 21 from slipping off on the guide rail 22 when the antenna array 21 moves to the position A or the position B.
  • the horizontal distance d1 between the position A and the edge of the lens 23, and the horizontal distance d2 between the position B and the edge of the lens 23 also satisfy:
  • the length l of the guide rail 22 satisfies l ⁇ D2+2*f*tan ⁇ .
  • D2 is specifically the width of the lens 23 .
  • the horizontal distance between the two ends of the guide rail 22 and the main axis o of the lens 23 may be equal or unequal, as long as the horizontal distance l' between either end of the guide rail 22 and the corresponding end of the lens 23 is not less than f*tan ⁇ .
  • the antenna assembly 20 may further include a driving mechanism, and the driving mechanism may be used to drive the antenna array 21 to slide on the guide rail 22 , thereby improving the working reliability of the antenna assembly 20 .
  • the driving structure may adopt various driving modes, such as electromagnetic driving or electrical driving.
  • the drive mechanism includes a motor and a transmission component, wherein the motor can be connected to the circuit board of the CPE to obtain the electrical energy required for operation; the transmission component is used to transmit the driving force output by the motor to the antenna. array 21 to drive the antenna array 21 to move.
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic partial structural diagram of an antenna assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the transmission component may specifically be a lead screw.
  • the lead screw includes a lead screw 261 and a nut 262 assembled on the lead screw 261 , wherein the lead screw 261 is connected to the output shaft of the motor, and the nut 262 is fixed to the sliding member 25 In this way, the rotary motion output by the motor can be converted into a linear motion capable of driving the sliding member 25 to move, and then the sliding member 25 drives the antenna array 21 to move synchronously.
  • the driving mechanism can also be a linear motor.
  • the output end of the linear motor can be directly connected to the sliding member 25 or the antenna array 21, and there is no need to provide intermediate conversion components such as a lead screw, which is conducive to simplifying The structural complexity of the antenna assembly 20 .
  • FIG. 16 is a top view of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application.
  • the antenna assembly 20 further includes a control unit 27 , and the control unit 27 may be provided on the circuit board of the communication device 1 .
  • the control unit 27 is connected with the driving mechanism, and is used for controlling the driving mechanism to drive the antenna array 21 to move between the position A and the position B of the guide rail 22 .
  • the control unit 27 can also be connected with the phase shifter 24 to control the phase shifter 24 to adjust the feeding phase of each radiating element.
  • the control unit 27 can control the driving mechanism to drive the antenna array 21 to move between positions in sequence, and control the phase shifter 24 to adjust the feeding phase of each radiating element when the antenna array 21 reaches a position.
  • a phase modulation scan is performed, so that the position of the antenna array 21 when the antenna assembly 20 obtains the maximum gain and the phase output by each phase shifter 24 can be known.
  • an initial phase difference can be set first, and each phase shifter 24 is controlled to output an initial phase to the corresponding radiating element according to the initial phase difference, and then the antenna array 21 is gradually moved from position A to another position B, or gradually moved from position B to position A, to complete a round of mechanical scanning; according to the result of mechanical scanning, the antenna array 21 is moved to the position where the maximum gain is obtained, and the phase is carried out at this position Modulate the sweep and record the phase of each phase shifter output when maximum gain is achieved at that position.
  • control unit 27 can also detect the position information of the antenna array 21, and record the detected position information and the gain corresponding to each position information, so as to control the antenna array 21 to move to the obtained position after the mechanical scanning is completed.
  • the position of maximum gain can also detect the position information of the antenna array 21, and record the detected position information and the gain corresponding to each position information, so as to control the antenna array 21 to move to the obtained position after the mechanical scanning is completed. The position of maximum gain.
  • step 1 after the CPE is powered on, when the antenna array 21 is in position A, the control unit 27 controls the phase shifter 24 to output the initial phase to each radiation unit according to the set initial phase difference.
  • the position A when designing the CPE, the position A may be set as the initial position of the antenna array 21, so that after the CPE is powered on, the antenna array 21 is in the initial position.
  • the control unit 27 may issue an instruction to the driving mechanism after the power is turned on, and the driving mechanism may be controlled to move the antenna array 21 to the position A.
  • the position B can also be set as the initial position of the antenna array 21, or after the power is turned on, the driving mechanism is controlled to move the antenna array 21 to the position B, so that the antenna array 21 can be moved to the position B during the mechanical scanning process. The array is gradually moved from position B to position A.
  • the above-mentioned initial phase difference may be any value within the adjustable range of the phase difference, which is not limited in this application.
  • the initial phase difference between radiation signals of two adjacent radiation units may be 0°, that is, the initial phases of each radiation unit are the same.
  • Step 2 after receiving the wireless signal sent by the base station, the control unit 27 measures the reference signal received power of the wireless signal obtained at the current position (reference signal received power, referred to as RSRP, the parameter representing the strength of the wireless signal), and according to the current position
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • the control unit 27 controls the drive mechanism to drive the antenna array 21 to move in the direction of position B, and when moving to a position, measures the RSRP value of the wireless signal obtained at the position, and then compares the position information with the RSRP value.
  • the values are recorded accordingly until the antenna array 21 is moved to position B, so that the position information of each position and the corresponding RSRP value can be obtained.
  • Table 1 The recorded results are shown in Table 1.
  • X1 and Xn represent position A and position B, respectively, and X2 to Xn-1 represent each position between position A and position B in turn.
  • the distance between two adjacent positions is related to the accuracy of the stepping motor selected by the drive mechanism. The higher the accuracy of the stepping motor, the smaller the distance between two adjacent positions. , the beam scanning accuracy will be higher. In practical applications, on the premise of satisfying the beam scanning efficiency, a stepper motor with higher precision can be selected to achieve more accurate scanning.
  • Step 3 after completing one round of mechanical scanning, according to the information recorded in Table 1, the control unit 27 controls the driving structure to drive the antenna array 21 to return to the position with the largest RSRP value, and records the position as the optimal position.
  • Step 4 At the position where the RSRP value is the largest, the control unit 27 sends a phase configuration signal to each phase shifter 24, adjusts the phase difference between the radiation signals of each row of radiation units by the phase shifter 24, performs phase modulation scanning, and obtains different RSRP value at the time of phase difference, and record.
  • Table 2 The recorded results are shown in Table 2.
  • Phase combination RSRP/dBm (y11, y12, y13...y1m) P1’ (y21, y22, y23...y3m) P2’ (y31, y32, y33...y3m) P3’ ... ... (yn1, yn2, yn3...ynm) Pn’
  • ynm represents the phase value of the radiating element located in the nth row and the mth column in the antenna array 21 . It should be noted that, in order to ensure that during the phase modulation scanning process, the signal beam points to the normal direction of the antenna array, in the same row, the phase difference values between the radiated signals of adjacent radiating elements are equal.
  • Step 5 According to the information recorded in Table 2, determine the phase combination when the maximum RSRP value is obtained, and record the combination as the optimal phase combination. Record the optimal position of the antenna array 21, the optimal phase combination and the maximum RSRP value Pbest when the maximum RSRP value is obtained, and control the antenna array 21 to transmit and receive information at the optimal position and the optimal phase combination to ensure communication equipment. Complete the upstream and downstream business.
  • Step 6 when the antenna array 21 is operating at the optimal position and in the optimal phase combination, periodically obtains the RSRP value of the received wireless signal, and the RSRP value is recorded as P0.
  • the values of P0 and Pbest are equal, but if the channel environment changes, the value of P0 will also change, so that there will be a difference between P0 and Pbest.
  • P0 can be compared with Pbest, and when TH1 ⁇ Pbest-P0 ⁇ TH2, repeat steps 3 to 5 to re-obtain the optimal phase combination of the antenna array and Pbest; when Pbest-P0 ⁇ TH2, repeat From step 1 to step 5, the optimal position, optimal phase combination and Pbest of the antenna array are re-acquired.
  • TH1 and TH2 are respectively preset thresholds stored in the control unit 27, and both satisfy TH1 ⁇ TH2.
  • the specific values of TH1 and TH2 can be artificially set according to experience, or can also be obtained through experiments or simulations, which are not limited in this application.
  • Step 7 Repeat step 1 to step 5 at every set time interval to refresh the optimal position, optimal phase combination and corresponding Pbest of the antenna array 21, so that the antenna assembly 20 always maintains a better radiation performance and improves the performance of the wireless signal. transmission quality.
  • the CPE can efficiently and accurately complete beam scanning, determine the optimal position of the antenna array 21 on the guide rail 22, and the optimal phase combination of each radiating element, so that the antenna assembly 20 can obtain a larger gain;
  • the CPE can also update the above-mentioned optimal position and optimal phase combination in real time, so that the radiation performance of the antenna assembly can be further improved, so that the CPE can always transmit and receive signals in a better working state.
  • the CPE includes an outdoor unit 210 (outdoor unit, ODU for short) and an indoor unit 220 (indoor unit, IDU for short).
  • ODU outdoor unit
  • IDU indoor unit
  • the ODU 210 can be fixed outdoors by holding a pole or hanging on a wall.
  • the ODU 210 is fixed on a pole; the IDU 220 can also be fixed indoors by hanging on the wall, or placed on the indoor desktop.
  • the ODU 210 and the IDU 220 can be connected through a cable.
  • the ODU 210 can receive the signal sent by the base station, and transmit the signal to the IDU 220 through the cable.
  • the IDU 220 then mediates and digitizes the received signal and converts it into intelligent Universal WiFi signal for mobile terminals such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and laptops.
  • the ODU 210 has a built-in antenna array composed of 32 radiating elements. If only the existing phase modulation scanning method is used for beam scanning, for example, the scanning angle after beam forming can be approximately ⁇ 45°. The gain is positively increased by 3dB, but due to the converging effect of the lens, the scanning angle will be reduced, for example, from ⁇ 45° to ⁇ 30°.
  • the antenna array is slidably assembled on the guide rail, and the phase shifter of each radiation unit of the antenna array can be adjusted, so that the ODU 210 operates according to the aforementioned steps 1 to 7 to perform beam scanning.
  • the beam scanning angle can reach about ⁇ 70°
  • the antenna gain is basically the same as the antenna gain after beamforming by phase modulation scanning. That is to say, using the CPE and the beam scanning method provided by the embodiments of the present application, on the basis of realizing a wide range of beam scanning, a stable antenna gain can also be maintained, thereby helping to improve the radiation performance of the CPE.

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Abstract

本申请提供了一种天线组件及通信设备，用以使天线组件支持较大范围的波束扫描。天线组件包括透镜、导轨、天线阵列以及移相器，透镜具有第一折射面和第二折射面；导轨为直线型导轨，导轨位于透镜的第一折射面的一侧；天线阵列包括多个辐射单元，天线阵列滑动连接在导轨上，随天线阵列在导轨上移动，天线组件的波束指向沿导轨的延伸方向移动，以在导轨的延伸方向，在第一扫描范围内进行机械式波束扫描；移相器与多个辐射单元连接，用于调节多个辐射单元的馈电相位，以在天线阵列处于导轨上的不同位置时，通过调节辐射单元的馈电相位在第二扫描范围内进行相位调制扫描。

Description

一种天线组件及通信设备
相关申请的交叉引用
本申请要求在2020年11月13日提交中国专利局、申请号为202011267799.2、申请名称为“一种天线组件及通信设备”的中国专利申请的优先权，其全部内容通过引用结合在本申请中。
技术领域
本申请涉及终端设备技术领域，尤其涉及到一种天线组件及通信设备。
背景技术
客户终端设备(customer premise equipment，简称CPE)作为一种无线宽带接入设备，可以将基站发出的信号转换成智能手机、平板电脑、笔记本电脑等移动终端通用的WiFi信号，并可以同时支持多个移动终端上网。为了使用户能够接收到高质量的信号，现有的一些CPE在设计时通过对其天线的性能进行拓展，使天线在能够在接收波束宽度有限的前提下，支持一定角度的波束扫描。传统的天线扫描通常采用机械式旋转扫描、相控阵扫描等方式，而这些扫描方式均存在一定的缺陷，例如，机械旋转式扫描会拉高天线的剖面高度，致使天线在CPE内占用的空间较大，不利于CPE的小型化；相控阵扫描则由于辐射单元和移相器的数量等制约因素，导致CPE的波束扫描范围相对较小。
发明内容
本申请提供了一种天线组件及通信设备，用以使天线组件支持较大范围的波束扫描。
第一方面，本申请提供了一种天线组件，该天线组件包括透镜、导轨、天线阵列及移相器。其中，透镜包括第一折射面和第二折射面，透镜可用于将来自第一折射面一侧的信号波束，会聚成窄波束由第二折射面射出，也可以将来自第二折射面一侧的信号波束，会聚成窄波束由第一折射面射出；导轨为直线型导轨，导轨可设置在透镜的第一折射面的一侧。天线阵列包括阵列排布的多个辐射单元，天线阵列滑动连接在导轨上，随天线阵列在导轨上移动，天线组件的波束指向沿导轨的延伸方向移动，从而可以在导轨的延伸方向，在第一扫描范围内进行机械式波束扫描，从而实现在导轨的延伸方向的波束扫描；移相器与多个辐射单元连接，用于调节多个辐射单元的馈电相位，以在天线阵列处于导轨上的不同位置时，能够通过调节多个辐射单元的馈电相位在第二扫描范围内进行相位调制扫描，其中，第二扫面范围为天线阵列第一扫描范围内的各个扫描位置的相位调制扫描角度。
上述方案中，通过将天线阵列滑动连接在导轨上，既可以通过移动天线阵列的位置实现机械扫描，又可以在天线阵列处于不同位置时，控制移相器调节各个辐射单元的馈电相位，实现相位调制扫描，因此总体上可以提升天线组件的扫描范围，有利于使天线组件获得更大的增益；另外，由于导轨为直线型结构，因此本方案在能够提高天线组件的增益的前提下，还可以拉低天线组件的剖面高度，从而可以减小天线组件在通信设备内的占用空间，有利于减小通信设备的整体体积。
具体设置时，沿导轨的延伸方向，导轨的两端均超出透镜的对应端，设导轨的一端超出透镜的对应端的长度为l’，l’满足：l’≥f*tanθ。其中，其中，f为导轨与透镜在与导轨的延伸方向相垂直的方向上的距离；θ为采用移相器调节各个辐射单元的馈电相位进行相位调制扫描时，所能实现的最大相位调制扫描角度。该方案可以增大天线阵列在导轨上移动时的扫描范围，还可以减小天线阵列在导轨上滑脱的风险。
在一些可能的实施方案中，透镜具体可以为凸透镜。这时，凸透镜的其中一个凸面可形成为第一折射面，凸透镜的另一个凸面可形成为第二折射面。沿导轨的延伸方向，透镜的等效介电常数从中间向两边减小，从而在接收或者发送信号时将信号波束进行会聚。
在一些可能的实施方案中，透镜具体可以为柱面透镜。透镜包括沿周向相接的柱面和平面，在一种实施方式中，透镜的柱面可形成为第一折射面，透镜的平面可形成为第二折射面；在另一种实施方式中，透镜的平面可形成为第一折射面，透镜的柱面可形成为第二折射面。
当透镜为柱面透镜时，导轨的延伸方向与透镜的长度方向相垂直，这时，沿导轨的方向，透镜的等效介电常数从中间向两边减小，从而在接收或者发送信号时将信号波束进行会聚。
在一些可能的实施方案中，导轨可以位于透镜的焦平面内，以使天线阵列在导轨上移动时能够接收由透镜会聚的波束。
在一些可能的实施方案中，导轨与透镜的主轴相交，且导轨与透镜的主轴之间的夹角可以在80°～100°之间。具体地，当导轨位于焦平面内时，导轨与透镜的主轴满足垂直相交，从而有利于提高信号的传输质量。
在一些可能的实施方案中，第一扫描范围与第二扫描范围平行，此时第一扫面范围与第二扫描范围可以近似位于同一平面内，也即机械式扫描与相位调制扫描在同一维度内进行，通过机械扫描与相位调制扫描的配合，总体上可以提升天线组件在该平面内的扫描范围。
在一些可能的实施方案中，第一扫描范围与第二扫描范围还可以相交，也即机械式扫描与相位调制扫面还可以在相交的两个维度内进行，从而可以提升天线组件的扫描范围。
为了便于将天线阵列与导轨滑动连接，天线组件还可以包括滑动件，天线阵列固定设置在滑动件上，滑动件则滑动装配在导轨上，这样，通过滑动件在导轨上滑动即可带动天线阵列21同步滑动。
在一些可能的实施方案中，导轨与透镜的主轴相交，天线组件还可以包括驱动机构，驱动机构与天线阵列或者滑动件连接，可用于驱动天线阵列在导轨上滑动，从而提高天线组件的工作可靠性。
具体设置时，驱动机构可以包括马达和丝杠，其中，丝杠包括丝杆以及装配在丝杆上的螺母，丝杆与马达的输出轴连接，螺母与天线阵列或者滑动件连接，这样就可以将马达输出的旋转运动转化为能够驱动滑动件移动的直线运动，进而由滑动件带动天线阵列同步移动。
第二方面，本申请还提供了一种通信设备，该通信设备包括壳体以及设置在壳体内的控制单元以及前述任一可能的实施方案中的天线组件。其中，天线组件的透镜设置在壳体上，且透镜的第二折射面朝向壳体的外侧设置。控制单元分别与驱动机构和移相器连接，以控制驱动机构驱动天线阵列在导轨上移动，从而在导轨的延伸方向进行波束扫描；控制 单元还可在天线阵列移动至各个位置时，发送相位配置信号给移相器，以控制移相器调节各个辐射单元的馈电相位，从而调整天线组件的波束指向。该通信设备可以实现相对较大的波束扫描范围，并且由于天线组件的剖面高度较小，也有利于通信设备的小型化设计。
在一些可能的实施方案中，透镜与壳体可以为一体成型结构，以简化通信设备的组装工序及组装难度。
附图说明
图1为现有的一种CPE天线组件的结构示意图；
图2为本申请一实施例提供的通信设备的主视图；
图3为图2中的通信设备的俯视图；
图4为本申请另一实施例提供的通信设备的主视图；
图5为图4中的通信设备的俯视图；
图6为本申请实施例提供的天线阵列的主视图；
图7为图4中的通信设备的天线阵列在X位置的波束扫描原理示意图；
图8为图4中的通信设备的天线阵列在X’位置的波束扫描原理示意图；
图9为图5中的通信设备的侧视图；
图10为基站与CPE的方位示意图；
图11为本申请一实施例提供的天线组件在一种工作状态的局部结构示意图；
图12为本申请一实施例提供的天线组件在另一种工作状态的局部结构示意图；
图13为本申请另一实施例提供的天线组件在一种工作状态的局部结构示意图；
图14为本申请另一实施例提供的天线组件在另一种工作状态的局部结构示意图；
图15为本申请实施例提供的天线组件的局部结构示意图；
图16为本申请又一实施例提供的通信设备的俯视图；
图17本申请实施例提供的CPE的一种具体应用场景示意图；
附图标记：
现有技术部分：
01-透镜；02-天线阵列；03-多路选择开关。
本申请实施例部分：
100-基站；200-CPE；10-壳体；20-天线组件；21-天线阵列；22-导轨；23-透镜；
24-移相器；11-开孔；231-第一折射面；232-第二折射面；25-滑动件；211-辐射单元；
261-丝杠；262-螺母；27-控制单元；210-室外单元；220-室内单元。
具体实施方式
为了使本申请的目的、技术方案和优点更加清楚，下面将结合附图对本申请作进一步地详细描述。
应注意的是，在本说明书中，相似的标号和字母在下面的附图中表示类似项，因此，一旦某一项在一个附图中被定义，则在随后的附图中不需要对其进行进一步定义和解释。
在本申请的描述中，需要说明的是，术语“中”、“上”、“下”、“左”、“右”、“竖直”、“水平”、“内”、“外”等指示的方位或位置关系为基于附图所示的方位或位置关系，仅是为了便 于描述本申请和简化描述，而不是指示或暗示所指的装置或元件必须具有特定的方位、以特定的方位构造和操作，因此不能理解为对本申请的限制。此外，术语“第一”、“第二”仅用于描述目的，而不能理解为指示或暗示相对重要性。
在本申请的描述中，需要说明的是，除非另有明确的规定和限定，术语“安装”、“相连”、“连接”应做广义理解，例如，可以是固定连接，也可以是可拆卸连接，或一体地连接；可以是机械连接，也可以是电连接；可以是直接相连，也可以通过中间媒介间接相连，可以是两个元件内部的连通。对于本领域的普通技术人员而言，可以具体情况理解上述术语在本申请中的具体含义。
为了方便理解本申请实施例提供的天线，下面首先说明一下其应用场景。本申请实施例提供的天线可应用于基站、CPE等通信设备，用于使通信设备实现信号收发功能。以CPE为例，CPE是一种无线宽带接入设备，其可以将基站发出的信号转换成智能手机、平板电脑、笔记本电脑等移动终端通用的WiFi信号，并可以同时支持多个移动终端上网。CPE可以安装在室内，也可以安装在室外。在实际部署的过程中，考虑到安装的便利性，通常会直接将CPE放置在特定位置后进行固定。由于CPE需要接收基站的无线信号，而基站在部署时又要求覆盖某一区域的多个用户，因此对于特定的CPE用户来说，无线信号的来波方向并不确定。为了使用户能够接收到高质量的信号，传统的方式是通过调整CPE的放置角度来将其与来波方向相匹配。但是在CPE的安装过程中，尤其是在将CPE固定之后，对其放置的角度进行调整需要耗费较大的工作量，并且也会导致安装费用提升。
为了解决该问题，现有的一些CPE在设计时通过对其天线的性能进行拓展，使天线在能够在接收波束宽度有限的前提下，支持大角度的波束扫描，从而可以在CPE的放置位置和放置角度固定的条件下，实现波束方向的调整，进而使CPE用户能够接收到高质量的信号。
参考图1所示，图1为现有的一种CPE天线组件的结构示意图。该天线组件包括透镜01、多个天线阵列02以及多路选择开关03，天线阵列02在透镜01的焦平面附近呈弧形分布，多路选择开关03的一端与CPE的射频通路连接，另一端分别与多个天线阵列02连接，通过在各个天线阵列02之间进行开关切换，使射频通路连接到不同的天线阵列02。需要说明的是，图1中的虚线用于表示多个天线阵列的排布方式，并不指代CPE的实际结构。由于各个天线阵列02的位置差异，在切换射频通路与各个天线阵列02连接时，不同的天线阵列02的波束方向有所不同，这样不同的天线阵列02输出的波束在经过透镜01后就可以实现波束扫描到目的。然而，这种方案也存在明显的缺点，一方面，由于需要设置多个天线阵列02，因此会增加CPE的制作成本；另一方面，多个天线阵列02按照弧形分布会拉高天线组件的剖面高度，致使天线组件在CPE内占用的空间较大，不利于CPE的小型化。
另外一种较为常见的可实现波束扫描的天线为相控阵天线，相控阵天线通过移相器调整各个辐射单元的相位差，改变天线方向图最大值的指向，从而达到波束扫描的目的。然而，由于辐射单元的布局，相位调整精度，以及成本对辐射单元和移相器的数量的制约等因素，导致天线的波束调整范围比较小，且天线的增益相对较低。
基于此，本申请实施例提供了一种天线组件以及应用该天线组件的通信设备，该天线组件的体积相对较小，并且可以支持较大范围的波束扫描，从而可以提高通信设备的通信性能。下面结合附图对本申请实施例提供的天线组件及通信设备进行具体说明。
图2为本申请一实施例提供的通信设备的主视图，图3为图2中的通信设备的俯视图。该通信设备包括壳体10以及设置在壳体10内的电路板(图中未示出)与天线组件20，天线组件20可包括天线阵列21、导轨22、透镜23以及移相器24。需要说明的是，图3、图4以及下文相关附图仅示意性地示出了通信设备包括的一些部件，这些部件的实际形状、实际大小、实际位置和实际构造不受图3、图4以及下文各附图的限定。
为了便于描述，定义通信设备1的宽度方向为x轴，通信设备1的长度方向为y轴。通信设备的厚度方向为z轴。可以理解的是，通信设备1的坐标系设置可以根据具体实际需要灵活设置。在实际应用中，在将通信设备1安装固定后，通信设备1的宽度方向可沿水平方向设置，通信设备1的长度方向可沿竖直方向设置，也就是说，在本申请实施例中，x轴方向即为水平方向，y轴方向即为竖直方向。
其中，壳体10为空腔结构，可用于支撑及保护通信设备1内部的各个元件，例如，壳体10可以减少通信设备1的内部元件受到冲击，避免内部元件产生移位而影响通信设备1的性能，保障通信设备1的正常使用。又如，壳体10还可以减少外部的灰尘、水汽等异物与内部元件直接接触，从而减小内部元件损坏的风险。
另外，壳体10上设置有开孔11，以使基站发射的信号波束能够通过开孔11传播到透镜23上，以及使透镜23折射出的信号波束能够通过开孔11传播到基站。
请继续参考图3和图4，透镜23设置在开孔处，透镜23包括第一折射面231和第二折射面232，其中，第一折射面231朝向开孔11的内侧设置，第二折射面232朝向开孔11的外侧设置。透镜23材质可以为允许电磁波通过的介质材料，透镜可用于将来自第一折射面231一侧的信号波束(如图3和图4中的虚线所示)，会聚成窄波束由第二折射面232射出，也可以将来自第二折射面232一侧的信号波束，会聚成窄波束由第一折射面231射出，从而提升天线组件的增益。
本实施例中，如无特殊说明，图3、图4及下文各附图中的虚线均用于表示信号波束。应当理解的是，各附图中只是示意性地示出了信号波束，信号波束的实际波形、实际传播方向以及实际传播距离不受图3、图4及下文各附图的限定。
在一些实施方式中，透镜23可嵌设在开孔11内，这样一方面可以减小通信设备1的剖面高度(即z轴方向的尺寸)，使通信设备1的结构更加紧凑，另外一方面还可以降低透镜23的安装及固定难度。具体实施时，透镜23可通过粘接的方式固定在开孔11内。或者，透镜还可以通过支架等结构件固定在壳体10内，这时，开孔11处可设置盖板，以将壳体10封装，避免外部的异物进入壳体10内，对通信设备1的功能产生不良影响。
在其它一些实施方式中，透镜与壳体还可以采用一体化设计，即透镜与壳体可以为一体成型结构，这时壳体上无需设置开孔，并且可以省去将透镜与壳体组装的步骤，因此可以简化通信设备的组装工序及组装难度。
透镜23的类型不限，例如，在图3所示的实施例中，透镜23具体可以为凸透镜。这时，第一折射面231即为透镜23的其中一个凸面，第二折射面232则为透镜23的另一个凸面，在将透镜23固定在开孔11内时，透镜23的主轴具体可沿z轴方向设置。需要说明的是，在本申请实施例中，透镜23的主轴可以理解为信号波束或者光线在经过透镜23后传播方向未发生变化的轴线，对于凸透镜来说，主轴即为通过凸透镜两个凸面球心的直线。
图4为本申请另一实施例提供的通信设备的主视图，图5为图4中的通信设备的俯视图。一并参考图4和图5，在该实施例中，透镜23具体可以为柱面透镜，透镜23的长度 方向沿y轴方向设置。另外，沿透镜23的周向，透镜23的柱面可以朝向开孔11的外侧设置，透镜23的平面可以朝向开孔11的内侧设置。这时，第一折射面231即为透镜23的平面，第二折射面232则为透镜23的柱面。
在将透镜23固定在开孔11内时，透镜23的等效介电常数沿水平维度(x轴方向)从中间向两边减小。具体实施时，透镜23的宽度方向沿x轴方向设置，透镜23的长度方向沿y轴方向设置，透镜23的主轴沿z轴方向设置。需要说明的是，在本申请实施例中，对于柱面透镜来说，主轴可以理解为垂直于柱面透镜的平面、且经过平面的中心的直线。
在其它一些实施方式中，沿透镜23的周向，透镜23的柱面也可以朝向开孔11的内侧设置，透镜23的平面则朝向开孔11的外侧设置。这时，第一折射面231为透镜23的柱面，第二折射面232为透镜23的平面。
继续参考图4，导轨22固定在壳体10内，且位于透镜23的第一折射面231的一侧。具体实施时，导轨22可通过支架等结构件支撑固定，或者导轨22的端部也可以延伸到与壳体10的内壁接触，进而可以通过焊接、粘接等方式与壳体10的内壁连接。天线阵列21滑动设置在导轨22上，天线阵列21与通信设备的射频通路连接，接收来自射频通路的射频信号并朝向透镜23的第一折射面231发射，信号波束通过透镜23会聚成窄波束后由第二折射面232射出，然后进一步向其它通信设备传播，使通信设备1实现信号发送功能。其它通信设备发射的信号波束也可传播到透镜23的第二折射面232，通过透镜23会聚成窄波束后由第一折射面231射出，然后进一步向天线阵列21传播，并由天线阵列21传播至射频通路，使通信设备1实现信号接收功能。
另外，为了便于将天线阵列21与导轨22滑动连接，天线组件20还可以包括滑动件25，天线阵列21固定设置在滑动件25上，滑动件25则滑动装配在导轨22上，这样，通过滑动件25在导轨22上滑动即可带动天线阵列21同步滑动。
在具体设置导轨22时，导轨22可以为直线型结构，且在壳体10内沿水平方向(即x轴方向)延伸，这样，当天线阵列21在导轨22上滑动时，天线阵列21的波束方向也会产生水平方向的移动，从而可以实现在水平维度的波束扫描。另外，导轨22可大致位于透镜23的焦平面上，并且在具体设置时，导轨22与透镜23的主轴o相交，导轨与透镜的主轴o之间的夹角可以在80°到100°之间。当导轨位于透镜23的焦平面内时，导轨22与透镜23的主轴o则满足垂直相交，从而有利于提高信号的传输质量。
图6为本申请实施例提供的天线阵列的主视图。参考一并参考图5和图6所示，天线阵列21包括多个辐射单元211，该多个辐射单元211以一定的阵列形式排布，例如图中所示的分别沿x轴方向与y轴方向排列形成矩形阵列。为了便于将各个辐射单元211的位置进行固定，天线阵列21还可以包括用于支撑这些辐射单元211的固定架212，辐射单元211具体可通过粘接、卡接等方式安装在固定架212上。另外，图4中所示的辐射单元211的数量仅为示意，在实际应用中，辐射单元211的数量也可以多于或者少于图5中的4*4个，具体可以根据通信设备1的具体应用场景进行设置，此处不过多描述。
在一些实施方式中，辐射单元211可包括子单元a和子单元b，子单元a和子单元b可用于使辐射单元211实现相互正交的两个极化波，从而使辐射单元211形成为双极化天线，进而可以使得天线组件20在具有较佳的辐射性能的同时，提高天线组件20的集成度。
继续参考图5和图6，在本申请实施例中，移相器24与分别各个辐射单元211连接，用于调节辐射单元211的馈电相位。具体实施时，移相器24的数量与辐射单元211的数量 可以相同，即两者可以一一对应地连接，这时，每个移相器24可用于调节与其对应的辐射单元211的馈电相位。由于信号波束的指向始终与等相位面垂直，而等相位面由辐射单元211之间的馈相关系决定，因此通过调节各个辐射单元211的馈电相位就可以调整信号波束的方向，进而实现波束扫描的目的。
基于以上原理，在具体设计时，对于沿x轴方向(水平维度)设置的各行辐射单元211，沿x轴方向，同一行辐射单元211中，各个子单元a的辐射信号的相位可由移相器24进行调节，各个子单元b的辐射信号的相位也可由移相器24进行调节。这样，通过控制移相器24输出给各行辐射单元211的相位差值的大小，即可调整信号波束在水平维度的指向，进而实现在水平维度的波束扫描。
图7和图8分别为图4中的通信设备的波束扫描原理示意图，图7示意出了天线阵列21在导轨22上的m位置时信号波束的扫描范围，a、b、c分别表示各辐射单元在不同相位差时的信号波束；图8示意出了天线阵列21在导轨上的n位置时信号波束的扫描范围，a’、b’、c’分别表示各辐射单元在不同相位差时的信号波束。需要说明的是，信号波束a与信号波束a’，信号波束b与信号波束b’，以及信号波束c与信号波束c’分别为各辐射单元在被配置为相同相位差时的波束。由图7和图8可以看出，当天线阵列21在导轨上由m位置移动到n位置时，天线阵列21的信号波束也发生了水平移动，例如信号波束a由图7中的位置整体向左侧移动到了图8中信号波束a’所在的位置，因此当天线阵列21由导轨22的其中一端移动到另外一端时，信号波束也随天线阵列21的移动而在水平方向发生了较大范围的移动，从而可以在水平维度内，在第一扫描范围内实现机械式波束扫描。另外，在天线阵列21处于不同位置时，以m位置为例，通过控制移相器24调节各辐射单元211的馈电相位，还可以在一定的调制扫描角度范围内调节信号波束的指向，例如将信号波束b调整至信号波束a，或者调整信号波束c，从而在该位置在第二扫面范围内进行相位调制扫描。此时，第一扫描范围与第二扫描范围相平行，机械式扫描与相位调制扫描均在水平维度内进行，通过机械扫描与电调扫描的配合，总体上可以提升通信设备1的扫描范围，有利于使天线组件20获得更大的增益。并且，由于导轨22为直线型结构，因此本申请实施例方案在能够提高天线组件20的增益的前提下，还可以拉低天线组件20的剖面高度(即z轴方向的尺寸)，从而可以减小天线组件20在通信设备内的占用空间，有利于减小通信设备1的整体体积。
图9为图4中的通信设备的侧视图。一并参考图6和9所示，类似地，对于沿y轴方向设置的各列辐射单元211，沿y轴方向，同一列辐射单元211中，各个子单元a的辐射信号的相位可由移相器24进行调节，各个子单元b的辐射信号的相位也可由移相器24进行调节。这样，通过控制移相器24输出给各列辐射单元211的相位差的大小，即可调整信号波束在垂直维度的指向，进而实现在垂直维度的波束扫描。此时，第一扫描范围与第二扫描范围相交，机械式扫描与相位调制扫描均分别在水平维度与垂直维度内进行，因此可以提升通信设备的扫描范围。
需要说明的是，当通信设备为CPE时，参考图10所示的基站与CPE的方位示意图，图中的虚线可理解为基站100发出的信号的波束范围。可以看出，CPE 200与基站100的水平距离L远大于基站100天线的高度H，基站100的信号发射端口与CPE 200之间的连线S与水平方向的夹角α非常小，连线S接近水平设置，对于CPE 200来说，在垂直维度上无需进行波束扫描就能够接收到基站100发射的信号，因此在设计时只要控制垂直维度 的波束宽度以及波束方向，以使天线获得相对较大的增益即可。
基于此，请再次参考图6和图9，在本申请另外的一些实施例中，沿y轴方向，同一列辐射单元211中，相邻辐射单元211的子单元a的辐射信号之间具有固定的相位差，相邻辐射单元211的子单元b的辐射信号之间也具有固定的相位差，即通信设备1在垂直维度具有固定的信号波束方向。其中，相位差的具体数值可在设计天线阵列21在垂直维度的波束形状时通过仿真获得，以在垂直维度上尽量压窄信号波束的宽度为原则进行取值。采用这样的设计，由于可以不用对沿y轴方向设置的辐射单元211的相位进行调节，因此可以在不影响通信设备1的辐射性能的前提下，简化天线组件的设计难度以及结构复杂度。
图11为本申请一实施例提供的天线组件在一种工作状态的局部结构示意图，图12为本申请一实施例提供的天线组件在另一种工作状态的局部结构示意图。一并参考图11和图12，天线阵列21在导轨22上移动时，为了提高信号的传输质量，天线阵列21发射的信号波束可全部由第一折射面231射入透镜23内，经过透镜23的会聚作用后由第二折射面232射出。若信号波束在经过透镜23时超出第一折射面231的范围，或者完全由透镜23的边缘射出至壳体10外部，则会导致信号的质量大打折扣。
因此，在具体实施时，为了使天线阵列21发射的信号波束能够全部由第一折射面231射入透镜23内，可以设定天线阵列21在导轨22上的极限移动位置，该极限移动位置为天线阵列21在导轨22上距离透镜23的主轴o最远的位置。应当理解的是，天线阵列21具有两个极限移动位置，设该两个极限移动位置分别为位置A和位置B，位置A与位置B以透镜23的主轴o为对称轴，在导轨22上呈轴对称设置。对于天线阵列21来说，如果天线阵列21在位置A或者位置B进行相位调制扫描时，发射的信号波束能够全部射入透镜23内，那么天线阵列21在位置A和位置B之间的任何位置时，所发射的信号波束也必然能够全部射入透镜23内，因此在设计时可先确定位置A和位置B，然后使天线阵列21在进行波束扫描的过程中始终在位置A与位置B之间移动即可。
参考图11所示，当天线阵列21在位置A时，控制移相器24调节各辐射单元211的馈电相位，进行相位调制扫描，这时，为了使天线阵列21发射的信号波束不超出第一折射面231的范围，位置A与透镜23边缘的水平距离d1满足：
d1≤f*tanθ
其中，f为透镜23与导轨22之间的垂直距离，当导轨22位于透镜23的焦平面上时，f即为透镜23的焦距；θ为最大相位调制扫描角度，相位调制扫描角度由辐射单元211的辐射信号之间的相位差决定，而相位差的调节范围可在设计时通过仿真获得，由此即可获得θ的取值。
类似地，参考图12所示，当天线阵列21在位置B时，为了使天线阵列21发射的信号波束不超出第一折射面231的范围，位置B与透镜23边缘的水平距离d2也满足：
d2≤f*tanθ
可以理解的，在上述条件下，导轨22的长度l满足l≥D1+2*f*tanθ，当透镜23为凸透镜时，D1即为透镜23的直径。具体设计时，导轨22的两端与透镜23的主轴o的水平距离可以相等也可以不等，本申请对此不做限制，只要使导轨22的任一端与透镜23对应端的水平距离不小于f*tanθ即可，以避免天线阵列21在移动到位置A或者位置B时在导轨22上滑脱。
当透镜23为柱面透镜时，一并参考图13和图14所示，位置A与透镜23边缘的水平 距离d1，以及位置B与透镜23边缘的水平距离d2同样满足：
d1≤f*tanθ，d2≤f*tanθ
在上述条件下，导轨22的长度l满足l≥D2+2*f*tanθ，此时，D2具体为透镜23的宽度。类似地，导轨22的两端与透镜23的主轴o的水平距离可以相等也可以不等，只要使导轨22的任一端与透镜23对应端的水平距离l’不小于f*tanθ即可。
另外，在本申请实施例中，天线组件20还可包括驱动机构，驱动机构可用于驱动天线阵列21在导轨22上滑动，从而提高天线组件20的工作可靠性。具体实施时，驱动结构可以采用多种驱动方式，例如电磁驱动或者电气驱动等。以电气驱动为例，驱动机构包括马达和传动部件，其中，马达可以与CPE的电路板连接，以获取工作时所需的电能；传动部件则用于将马达工作时输出的驱动力传递给天线阵列21，以驱动天线阵列21移动。
图15为本申请实施例提供的天线组件的局部结构示意图。参考图13所示，传动部件具体可以为丝杠，丝杠包括丝杆261以及装配在丝杆261上的螺母262，其中，丝杆261与马达的输出轴连接，螺母262与滑动件25固定连接，这样就可以将马达输出的旋转运动转化为能够驱动滑动件25移动的直线运动，进而由滑动件25带动天线阵列21同步移动。
在本申请的其它实施例中，驱动机构也可以为直线马达，此时，直线马达的输出端可直接与滑动件25或者天线阵列21连接，无需设置丝杠等中间转换部件，因此有利于简化天线组件20的结构复杂度。
图16为本申请另一实施例提供的通信设备的俯视图。在该实施例中，天线组件20还包括控制单元27，控制单元27可以设置在通信设备1的电路板上。控制单元27与驱动机构连接，用于控制驱动机构驱动天线阵列21在导轨22的位置A与位置B之间移动。以及，控制单元27还可以与移相器24连接，以控制移相器24调节各辐射单元的馈电相位。在进行波束扫描时，控制单元27可控制驱动机构驱动天线阵列21依次在各个位置之间移动，并在天线阵列21每到达一个位置时，控制移相器24调节各辐射单元的馈电相位，进行一次相位调制扫描，这样即可获知天线组件20获得最大增益时天线阵列21的所在位置、以及各个移相器24输出的相位。
当然，为了简化波束扫描的过程，在其它一些实施方式中，还可以先设定初始相位差，根据该初始相位差控制各个移相器24输出一个初始相位给对应的辐射单元，然后将天线阵列21由位置A逐渐移动至另一个位置B，或者由位置B逐渐移动至位置A，完成一轮机械扫描；根据机械扫描的结果将天线阵列21移动至取得最大增益的位置，在该位置进行相位调制扫描，并记录下在该位置取得最大增益时各个移相器输出的相位。
另外需要说明的是，控制单元27还可以对天线阵列21的位置信息进行检测，并将检测的位置信息以及对应各个位置信息的增益进行记录，以便于完成机械扫描后控制天线阵列21移动至取得最大增益的位置。
下面结合图14，以通信设备1为CPE为例，对上述波束扫描过程进行具体说明。
步骤一，CPE开机后，在天线阵列21处于位置A时，控制单元27根据设定的初始相位差，控制移相器24输出初始相位给各辐射单元。
上述步骤中，在对CPE进行设计时，可以将位置A设置为天线阵列21的初始位置，这样，在CPE开机后，天线阵列21即处于初始位置。或者，在其他一些实施方式中，也可以在开机后，通过控制单元27给驱动机构下发指令，控制驱动机构将天线阵列21移动 至位置A。当然，在另外一些实施例中，也可以将位置B设置为天线阵列21的初始位置，或者在开机后，控制驱动机构将天线阵列21移动至位置B，从而在机械扫描的过程中，使天线阵列由位置B向位置A逐渐移动。
另外，上述初始相位差可以为相位差的可调节范围内的任意值，本申请对此不做限制。例如在一个具体的实施方式中，同一行辐射单元中，相邻的两个辐射单元的辐射信号之间的初始相位差可以为0°，即各个辐射单元的初始相位相同。
步骤二，在接收基站发送的无线信号之后，控制单元27测量在当前位置所得到的无线信号的参考信号接收功率(reference signal received power，简称RSRP，表征无线信号强度的参数)，并根据当前位置进行记录；之后，控制单元27控制驱动机构驱动天线阵列21向位置B的方向移动，并在每移动至一个位置时，测量在该位置所得到的无线信号的RSRP值，然后将位置信息与RSRP值对应地进行记录，直至将天线阵列21移动至位置B，这样即可获得各个位置的位置信息与相对应的RSRP值。记录结果如表1所示。
表1
位置信息 RSRP/dBm
X1 P1
X2 P2
X3 P3
… …
Xn-1 Pn-1
Xn Pn
在表1中，X1与Xn分别代表位置A和位置B，X2～Xn-1依次代表位置A与位置B之间的各个位置。需要说明的是，相邻的两个位置之间的距离与驱动机构所选用的步进电机的精度相关，步进电机的精度越高，相邻的两个位置之间的距离也就越小，波束扫描精度也就越高。在实际应用中，可以在满足波束扫描效率的前提下，选用精度较高的步进电机，以实现更加精准的扫描。
步骤三，在完成一轮机械扫描后，根据表1中所记录的信息，控制单元27控制驱动结构驱动天线阵列21返回到RSRP值最大的位置，记录该位置为最优位置。
步骤四、在RSRP值最大的位置，控制单元27发送相位配置信号给各个移相器24，通过移相器24调节各行辐射单元的辐射信号之间的相位差，进行相位调制扫描，获取在不同相位差时的RSRP值，并进行记录。记录结果如表2所示。
表2
相位组合 RSRP/dBm
(y11，y12，y13…y1m) P1’
(y21，y22，y23…y3m) P2’
(y31，y32，y33…y3m) P3’
… …
(yn1，yn2，yn3…ynm) Pn’
在表2中，ynm表示天线阵列21中位于第n行、第m列的辐射单元的相位值。需要 说明的是，为了保障在相位调制扫描的过程中，信号波束指向天线阵列的法线方向，在同一行内，相邻辐射单元的辐射信号之间的相位差值相等。
步骤五，根据表2中所记录的信息，确定取得最大RSRP值时的相位组合，记录该组合为最优相位组合。将取得最大RSRP值时天线阵列21的最优位置、最优相位组合以及该最大RSRP值Pbest进行记录，并控制天线阵列21在最优位置、以最优相位组合发送和接收信息，保障通信设备完成上下行业务。
步骤六，天线阵列21在最优位置、以最优相位组合工作时，周期性地获取所接收的无线信号的RSRP值，该RSRP值记为P0。理论上来说，P0与Pbest的值是相等的，但是若信道环境发生变化，P0的值也会随之变化，这样P0与Pbest之间就会产生差异。基于此，可将P0与Pbest进行比较，并在TH1≤Pbest-P0<TH2时，重复步骤三至步骤五，重新获取天线阵列的最优相位组合以及Pbest；在Pbest-P0≥TH2时，重复步骤一至步骤五，重新获取天线阵列的最优位置、最优相位组合以及Pbest。
其中，TH1与TH2分别为预存在控制单元27中的设定阈值，两者满足TH1<TH2。TH1与TH2的具体数值可以根据经验人为设定，或者也可以通过试验或者仿真获得，本申请对此不做限制。
步骤七，每间隔设定时间，重复执行步骤一至步骤五，刷新天线阵列21的最优位置、最优相位组合以及对应的Pbest，使天线组件20始终保持较佳的辐射性能，提高无线信号的传输质量。
采用以上步骤，CPE可以高效且精确地完成波束扫描，确定天线阵列21在导轨22上的最优位置、以及各辐射单元的最优相位组合，使天线组件20能够获得较大的增益；另外该CPE还能够对上述最优位置以及最优相位组合进行实时更新，从而可以进一步提高天线组件的辐射性能，使CPE可以始终以较佳的工作状态进行信号收发。
下面结合图17所示的一种CPE的具体应用场景，对上述波束扫描方式的效果进行具体说明。该CPE包括室外单元210(outdoor unit，简称ODU)和室内单元220(indoor unit，简称IDU)，具体设置时，ODU 210可以通过抱杆、挂墙等方式固定在室外，例如在图12中，ODU 210具体以抱杆方式固定；IDU 220也可以通过挂墙方式固定在室内，或者放置在室内的桌面上。ODU 210与IDU 220之间可通过线缆连接，ODU 210可接收基站发送的信号，并将信号通过线缆传送给IDU 220，IDU 220再把接收到的信号进行调解和数字化处理，转换成智能手机、平板电脑、笔记本电脑等移动终端通用的WiFi信号。
其中，ODU 210内置32个辐射单元组成的天线阵列。若单采用现有的相位调制扫描的方式进行波束扫描，示例性地，波束成型后扫描角度大致可以达到为±45°左右，天线阵列发射的信号波束经过透镜射出ODU 210的壳体后，天线增益正向增加3dB，但由于透镜的会聚作用，扫描角度会降低，例如会由±45°降低至±30°左右。
而采用本申请实施例方案，通过将天线阵列滑动装配在导轨上，并设置可调节天线阵列的各辐射单元的移相器，使ODU 210按照前述的步骤一至步骤七运行进行波束扫描，示例性地，波束扫描角度可达到±70°左右，且天线增益与上述通过相位调制扫描波束成型后的天线增益基本相同。也就是说，采用本申请实施例提供的CPE及波束扫描方法，在实现大范围的波束扫描的基础上，还可以保持稳定的天线增益，从而有利于提升CPE的辐射性能。
以上，仅为本申请的具体实施方式，但本申请的保护范围并不局限于此，任何熟悉本 技术领域的技术人员在本申请揭露的技术范围内，可轻易想到变化或替换，都应涵盖在本申请的保护范围之内。因此，本申请的保护范围应以权利要求的保护范围为准。

Claims (13)

  1. 一种天线组件，其特征在于，包括透镜、导轨、天线阵列以及移相器，其中：
    所述透镜具有第一折射面和第二折射面；
    所述导轨为直线型导轨，所述导轨位于所述透镜的所述第一折射面的一侧；
    所述天线阵列包括阵列排布的多个辐射单元，所述天线阵列滑动连接在所述导轨上，随所述天线阵列在所述导轨上移动，所述天线组件的波束指向沿所述导轨的延伸方向移动，以在所述导轨的延伸方向，在第一扫描范围内进行机械式波束扫描；
    所述移相器与所述辐射单元连接，用于调节所述辐射单元的馈电相位，以在所述天线阵列处于所述导轨上的不同位置时，通过调节所述辐射单元的馈电相位在第二扫描范围内进行相位调制扫描。
  2. 如权利要求1所述的天线组件，其特征在于，沿所述导轨的延伸方向，所述导轨的任一端超出所述透镜的对应端的长度为l’，l’满足：
    l’≥f*tanθ
    其中，f为所述导轨与所述透镜在与所述导轨的延伸方向相垂直的方向上的距离；θ为最大相位调制扫描角度。
  3. 如权利要求1或2所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述透镜为凸透镜，所述凸透镜的其中一个凸面为所述第一折射面，所述透镜的另一个凸面为所述第二折射面。
  4. 如权利要求1或2所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述透镜为柱面透镜，所述透镜包括沿周向相接的柱面和平面；
    所述柱面为所述第一折射面，所述平面为所述第二折射面；或者，所述平面为所述第一折射面，所述柱面为所述第二折射面。
  5. 如权利要求4所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述导轨的延伸方向与所述透镜的长度方向垂直。
  6. 如权利要求1～5任一项所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述导轨位于所述透镜的焦平面内，以使所述天线阵列在所述导轨上移动时能够接收由所述透镜会聚的信号波束。
  7. 如权利要求6所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述导轨与所述透镜的主轴相交，且所述导轨与所述透镜的主轴之间的夹角为80°～100°。
  8. 如权利要求7所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述导轨与所述透镜垂直相交。
  9. 如权利要求1～8任一项所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述第一扫描范围与所述第二扫描范围平行。
  10. 如权利要求1～8任一项所述的天线组件，其特征在于，所述第一扫面范围与所述第二扫描范围相交。
  11. 如权利要求1～10任一项所述的天线组件，其特征在于，还包括驱动机构，所述驱动机构与所述天线阵列连接，用于驱动所述天线阵列在所述导轨上滑动。
  12. 一种通信设备，其特征在于，包括壳体、设置在所述壳体内的控制单元以及如权利要求1～11任一项所述的天线组件，其中，所述天线组件的透镜设置在所述壳体上，且所述透镜的第二折射面朝向所述壳体的外侧设置；
    所述控制单元分别与所述驱动机构和所述移相器连接，用于控制所述驱动机构驱动所述天线阵列在所述导轨上移动，并可在所述天线阵列移动至各个位置时，发送相位配置信 号给所述移相器，控制所述移相器调节各个所述辐射单元的馈电相位。
  13. 如权利要求12所述的通信设备，其特征在于，所述透镜与所述壳体为一体成型结构。
PCT/CN2021/129497 2020-11-13 2021-11-09 一种天线组件及通信设备 Ceased WO2022100566A1 (zh)

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