Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/50—Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors
• • 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
  • H01Q3/44—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 electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element
  • H01Q3/46—Active lenses or reflecting arrays
• • 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
  • H01Q15/24—Polarising devices; Polarisation filters 
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
  • H01Q21/0006—Particular feeding systems
  • H01Q21/0018—Space- fed arrays
• • 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
  • H01Q3/24—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 orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• • 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
  • H01Q3/28—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 amplitude
• • 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
  • 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

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, relates to an antenna, an electronic device, and a communication base station.
• a phased array as a transmitting antenna, is generally adopted in a communication base station, for transmitting a wireless signal. All antenna elements in the phased array need to be coupled to a radio frequency link, and a phase of an electromagnetic signal transmitted out from an antenna element is manipulated by the radio frequency link, thereby achieving a directional transmission of the wireless signal; or, a manner of combining a radio frequency link with a phase shifter is adopted (i.e., a phase shifter is added between the radio frequency link and the antenna element) to control the phase of the antenna element, thereby achieving the directional transmission of the wireless signal.
• a manner of combining a radio frequency link with a phase shifter is adopted (i.e., a phase shifter is added between the radio frequency link and the antenna element) to control the phase of the antenna element, thereby achieving the directional transmission of the wireless signal.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an antenna, an electronic device and a communication base station.
• the antenna has a simple structure and low cost.
• an antenna where the antenna includes: a first functional device and a second functional device sequentially spaced apart in a first direction; the first functional device includes M feed sources; a feed source is used to transmit a first electromagnetic signal, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the second functional device includes N transmissive units; a transmissive unit is configured to change a physical state of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit; the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes one or more of: an amplitude, a phase and a polarization direction, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; and a distance between the first functional device and the second functional device is less than or equal to a preset multiple of a distance between two farthest-spaced transmissive units in the second functional device.
• an electronic device where the electronic device includes the antenna provided in the above first aspect.
• a communication device where the communication device includes the electronic device provided in the above second aspect.
• the antenna provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes: a first functional device and a second functional device.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device are arranged in an array (e.g., a one-dimensional array arrangement or a two-dimensional array arrangement), and the N transmissive units in the second functional device are arranged in an array (e.g., a one-dimensional array arrangement or a two-dimensional array arrangement).
• the antenna provided in the present disclosure can realize phase manipulation of an electromagnetic signal without a phase shifter, which may reduce design complexity for designing an antenna, reduce cost and reduce power consumption.
• Exemplary implementations are described herein with reference to cross-sectional views and/or plan views as idealized exemplary drawings.
• a thickness of a region is exaggerated for clarity. Therefore, it can be conceived of a change in a shape relative to the drawings due to, e.g., a manufacturing technology and/or a tolerance. Therefore, the exemplary implementations should not be construed as being limited to the shapes of the regions shown herein, but including a deviation in shape due to, e.g., manufacturing. Therefore, the regions shown in the drawings are schematic essentially and their shapes are not intended to show actual shapes of the regions of devices, and are not intended to limit the scope of the exemplary implementations.
• FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication base station provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
• the communication base station is located between a communication network and a communication device (e.g., a mobile communication device) and is used to complete a transmission of an electromagnetic signal between the communication network and the communication device.
• a communication device e.g., a mobile communication device
• the communication base station includes: a controller 100 and an antenna 200.
• the controller 100 is used to manage a wireless channel. For example, when the antenna 200 is used for wireless communication, the controller 100 may allocate a wireless channel for a voice service received by the antenna 200.
• the antenna 200 is used to transmit an electromagnetic signal and receive an electromagnetic signal.
• the antenna 200 extracts information (e.g., voice service information) carried in the electromagnetic signal, and the information is transmitted through the wireless channel allocated by the controller 100.
• information e.g., voice service information
• the antenna 200 provided in the related art may be a phased array, where the phased array is a two-dimensional array composed of a large quantity of antenna elements arranged in equal spacings.
• an overall direction of a transmission beam is controlled by controlling a phase of an electromagnetic signal transmitted from each antenna element on the phased array, thereby achieving a directional transmission of a wireless signal.
• each antenna element on the phased array is coupled to a radio frequency link, and a phase of an electromagnetic signal transmitted out from the antenna element is manipulated by the radio frequency link, thereby achieving a directional transmission of a wireless signal; or, a manner of combining a radio frequency link with a phase shifter is adopted (i.e., a phase shifter is added between the radio frequency link and the antenna element) to manipulate a phase of an electromagnetic signal transmitted out from the antenna element, thereby achieving a directional transmission of a wireless signal.
• the antenna 200 provided in the related art needs to be equipped with numerous radio frequency links or phase shifters, which results in a complex structure and high cost of an antenna, and is not conducive to popularization and usage.
• FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of an antenna 200 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
• the antenna 200 includes: an antenna module 210, a signal processing module 220 and a feed source selecting module 230.
• the antenna module 210 is configured to transmit a first electromagnetic signal (the first electromagnetic signal is an electromagnetic signal generated by the signal processing module 220 and transmitted by a feed source in a first functional device) and to receive a second electromagnetic signal radiated from an external space.
• the signal processing module 220 is configured to generate the first electromagnetic signal, and to receive and process the second electromagnetic signal received by the antenna module 210.
• the feed source selecting module 230 is configured to select a target feed source, so that the target feed source transmits the first electromagnetic signal generated by the signal processing module 220.
• the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 are sequentially spaced apart in a first direction.
• the first direction may be any direction.
• the first direction may be a z-axis direction as shown in FIG. 3 .
• a distance between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 is less than or equal to a preset multiple of a distance between two farthest-spaced transmissive units in the second functional device 212.
• the preset multiple may be determined according to actual conditions, for example, the preset multiple may be 5 times or 8 times, etc.
• the distance between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 refers to a distance between center points of the two planes; in a case where both the surface where the first functional device 211 is located and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located are curved surfaces, the distance between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 refers to a distance between center points of the two curved surfaces; and in a case where one of the surfaces where the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 are located is a curved surface and the other of the surfaces where the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 are located is a plane, the distance between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 refers to a distance between a center point of the plane and a center point of the curved surface.
• the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 are disposed at least partially opposite to each other, that is, a projection of the first functional device 211 in the first direction is at least partially projected onto the second functional device 212.
• the first functional device 211 includes M feed sources, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
• the M feed sources are used to be coupled to the feed source selecting module 230, and the feed source selecting module 230 is coupled to the signal processing module 220.
• the signal processing module 220 is configured to generate the first electromagnetic signal and send the first electromagnetic signal to the feed source selecting module 230.
• the feed source selecting module 230 selects the target feed source from the M feed sources (the target feed source may be any one feed source of the M feed sources), so that the target feed source transmits the first electromagnetic signal.
• the feed source is further used to receive the second electromagnetic signal (the second electromagnetic signal is an electromagnetic signal radiated from an external space and received by a transmissive unit in the second functional device 212).
• the feed source may be a half-wave dipole, a monopole, a microstrip antenna, a slot antenna, a horn antenna or other antenna structures with a transmitting capability and a reception capability for an electromagnetic signal.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific form of the feed source.
• the feed source surface included in the first functional device 211 may be a plane or a curved surface.
• factors, such as manufacturing complexity, cost, weight, volume, and electromagnetic reflection interference, etc. may be comprehensively considered to determine an optimal shape of the first functional device 211.
• the second functional device 212 includes N transmissive units, where the N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.
• the transmissive unit is a passive transmissive unit, that is, the transmissive unit does not have the capability to transmit an electromagnetic signal independently.
• the transmissive unit is configured to change a physical state of the electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes one or more of: an amplitude, a phase, a frequency and a polarization direction.
• a phase of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit is different from a phase of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit (i.e., there is a phase difference between the two electromagnetic signals).
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes an amplitude
• an amplitude of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit is different from an amplitude of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes a polarization direction
• a polarization direction of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit is different from a polarization direction of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes a frequency
• a frequency of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit is different from a frequency of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the transmissive unit may be static, that is, a change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is fixed.
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes a phase
• an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is fixed.
• a phase of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit is 100°
• a phase of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit is 150°, that is, an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is a fixed value of 50°.
• the above amount of change in the phase refers to a difference between a phase of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit and a phase of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the transmissive unit may be dynamic, that is, a change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit can be dynamically adjusted.
• the physical state of the electromagnetic signal includes a phase
• an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit may be changed dynamically according to different incident directions of the electromagnetic signal. For example, an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit along a first incident direction is different from an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit along a second incident direction.
• the transmissive unit may be composed of R types of basic units, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
• the above basic unit may be a patch (e.g., a metal patch), a dielectric substrate, etc.
• the transmissive unit may include: a first patch, a second patch, and a dielectric substrate; and the dielectric substrate is sandwiched between the first patch and the second patch. The above first patch and second patch are used to adjust the physical state of the electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• both the first patch and the second patch of the transmissive unit are annular patches, and a change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit may be changed by adjusting a direction of an opening of the two annular patches of the transmissive unit.
• a change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit may be changed by adjusting a direction of an opening of the two annular patches of the transmissive unit. For example, an amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is changed; and/or, an amount of change in the amplitude of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is changed; and/or, an amount of change in the polarization direction of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is changed; and/or, an amount of change in the frequency of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit is changed.
• the directions of the openings of the two annular patches, an upper annular patch and a lower annular patch, of the transmissive unit on the left side of FIG. 5 are the same as each other; and the directions of the openings of the two annular patches on the right side are different from each other by 45°.
• the above amount of change in the amplitude refers to a difference between an amplitude of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit and an amplitude of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the above amount of change in the polarization direction refers to an angular difference between a polarization direction of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit and a polarization direction of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the above amount of change in the frequency refers to a frequency difference between a frequency of an electromagnetic signal incident into the transmissive unit and a frequency of an electromagnetic signal passing through the transmissive unit.
• the manner shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure.
• the change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit may be changed, by changing a rotation angle, a scaling size, a width and a length, a size of an opening and the number of openings, of the first patch and the second patch, or a material of the dielectric substrate.
• the second functional device 212 may include a plane or a curved surface for supporting and fixing the transmissive unit.
• a surface where the second functional device 212 is located may be a plane or a curved surface.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array, e.g., in a linear array, in a curved line array, in a planar array, or in a curved surface array (i.e., the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface, and projections of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 on a first plane are arranged in an array, where the first plane is a plane perpendicular to the first direction), etc.
• the above array arrangement may be an array arrangement with equal spacings; or, an array arrangement with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner.
• the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern; for another example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6 , the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern; and for another example, as shown in (c) of FIG. 6 , the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of an annulus.
• a plurality of units e.g., feed sources or transmissive units constituting each circular ring are arranged in equal spacings.
• the array arrangement manner is a one-dimensional arrangement manner (e.g., a linear array or a curved line array)
• a one-dimensional beam scanning may be achieved
• a two-dimensional arrangement manner e.g., a planar array or a curved surface array
• the antenna module 210 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may achieve beam manipulation by changing the array arrangement manner.
• the structure of the antenna module 210 is relatively simple, easy to design and manufacture, and can reduce the size of the antenna module 210 in the first direction.
• the antenna module 210 follows the principle of equal optical path when both transmitting an electromagnetic signal and receiving an electromagnetic signal, so that the performance of the beam that is radiated out is improved and the received electromagnetic signal may be better focused on the feed source of the first functional device 211.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a curved surface array, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a planar array; or, the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a planar array, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a curved surface array.
• the arrangement manner of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 and the arrangement manner of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 may be flexibly selected according to requirements.
• a distance between two farthest-spaced feed sources in the first functional device 211 is smaller than the distance between the farthest-spaced two transmissive units in the second functional device 212.
• the distance between the two farthest-spaced feed sources in the first functional device 211 may be referred to as a maximum aperture of the first functional device 211, and the distance between the farthest-spaced two transmissive units in the second functional device 212 is referred to as a maximum aperture of the second functional device 212. Therefore, it may also be described that the maximum aperture of the first functional device 211 is smaller than the maximum aperture of the second functional device 212.
• the feed source since the feed source is used to transmit an electromagnetic signal and receive an electromagnetic signal, the feed source needs to be connected to multiple functional devices, e.g., the signal processing module 220 and the feed source selecting module 230, etc., and has a relatively complicated design.
• the transmissive unit is a passive transmissive unit and does not have the capability of independently transmitting an electromagnetic signal. Therefore, the transmissive unit has a relatively simple structure, and relatively low design cost and manufacturing cost.
• the maximum aperture of the first functional device 211 is smaller than the maximum aperture of the second functional device 212, so that the antenna module 210 has a large aperture and can transmit out a narrower beam, thereby improving the performance of the beam; and meanwhile, the hardware cost and power consumption of the antenna module 210 can also be reduced.
• the first functional device 211 intersects with the second functional device 212, and a cavity is formed between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 (e.g., the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 may extend toward each other and intersect with each other to form a cavity).
• the cavity formed between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 may be a closed cavity; or, the cavity formed between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 may be an open cavity.
• a filling material is further included between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212.
• the filling material may be air, and in this way, the weight and cost of the antenna module 210 can be reduced.
• the filling material may be a dielectric material, and in this way, a size of the antenna module 210 may be reduced in the first direction.
• the dielectric material may be a material having a dielectric constant greater than a preset threshold.
• the preset threshold may be determined according to the dielectric constant of the dielectric material and an absorbent capacity of the dielectric material to the electromagnetic signal. It can be understood that, the larger the dielectric constant of the dielectric material is, the more the size of the antenna module 210 may be reduced in the first direction. Therefore, the larger the dielectric constant of the dielectric material is, the better is.
• the dielectric material may be FR-4 material.
• the dielectric constant of the FR-4 material is relatively high, about 4.5, and the absorbent capacity of the FR-4 material to the electromagnetic signal is relatively weak.
• the signal processing module 220 is configured to generate a first electromagnetic signal and receive a second electromagnetic signal received by the antenna module 210.
• the signal processing module 220 includes a radio frequency link, where the radio frequency link is used to convert a received digital signal into an electromagnetic signal, and convert a received electromagnetic signal into a digital signal.
• the radio frequency link includes: a transmitting link and a receiving link.
• the transmitting link includes: a digital-to-analog converter, a mixer, a local oscillator and a power amplifier.
• the digital-to-analog converter is used to receive a digital signal, convert the digital signal into an analog signal, and send the analog signal to the mixer.
• the mixer is used to perform frequency conversion processing on the analog signal and a high-frequency carrier provided by the local oscillator to obtain a radio frequency modulated signal.
• the power amplifier is used to amplify the radio frequency modulated signal to obtain a first electromagnetic signal that may be transmitted by the antenna module 210.
• the above target feed source may be determined by the signal processing module 220.
• the signal processing module 220 determines the target feed source and sends an identifier of the target feed source to the feed source selecting module 230.
• the feed source selecting module 230 selects the target feed source from the M feed sources according to the identifier of the target feed source and controls the target feed source to be turned on, so that the target feed source transmits the first electromagnetic signal generated by the signal processing module 220.
• the antenna 200 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure one or more feed sources in the first functional device 211 of the antenna module 210 are selected by the feed source selecting module 230 to transmit the first electromagnetic signal, and then one or more directional beams are formed by radiation of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to the external space. It can be seen that the antenna provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not need to adopt complicated devices, such as a phase shifter, etc., and has a relatively simple structure and low cost.
• the antenna 200 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes: an antenna module 210, a signal processing module 220 and a feed source selecting module 230.
• the signal processing module 220 is configured to generate a first electromagnetic signal and receive a second electromagnetic signal.
• the feed source selecting module 230 is configured to select a target feed source to transmit the first electromagnetic signal.
• the antenna module 210 includes a first functional device 211 and a second functional device 212. M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array (e.g., a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array), and N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in an array (e.g., a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array).
• the structure of the antenna module 210 in the antenna 200 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is explained below in the form of an example.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface
• the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface
• the projections of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 on the first plane are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the projections of the N transmissive units in the first functional device 211 on the first plane are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the N transmissive units.
• the projections of the N transmissive units on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the projections of the N transmissive units on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211.
• the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 is a one-dimensional arrangement manner (e.g., a linear array or a curved line array)
• a one-dimensional beam scanning may be achieved
• the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 is a two-dimensional arrangement (e.g., a planar array or a curved surface array)
• a two-dimensional beam scanning may be achieved.
• the antenna module 210 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can achieve beam manipulation by changing the array arrangement manner.
• an optical path of an electromagnetic signal transmitted from any feed source in the first functional device 211 and propagating through any transmissive unit of the second functional device 212 is the same as an optical path of an electromagnetic signal propagating through the transmissive unit at a center point of the second functional device 212
• the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211, the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212, and a change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units are determined, so as to achieve that a first electromagnetic signal passing through a feed source in the first functional device 211 can radiate out through the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to form a directional beam.
• the first functional device 211 in the antenna module 210 shown in FIG. 3 includes two perfect focuses: a first focus and a second focus, that is, second electromagnetic signals incident on the second functional device 212 from two specified directions may be focused on the two perfect focuses, respectively.
• the first focus refers to a point on the first functional device 211 where the second electromagnetic signal incident on the second functional device 212 from a first specified direction is focused
• the second focus refers to a point on the first functional device 211 where the second electromagnetic signal incident on the second functional device 212 from the second specified direction is focused.
• the positions of the above first focus and second focus are determined by two focal axes (a first focal axis and a second focal axis) and two focal axis azimuths (( ⁇ 1, ⁇ 1) and ( ⁇ 2, ⁇ 2)).
• the two focal axis azimuths are determined by connection lines between the two perfect focuses and a target reference point (e.g., a center point of the second functional device 212).
• the two perfect focuses may be located on intersection lines of the first functional device 211 with a third plane and a fourth plane, respectively.
• the first focus is located on the intersection line of the first functional device 211 with the third plane; and the second focus is located on the intersection line of the first functional device 211 with the fourth plane.
• the third plane is a plane parallel to the first direction
• the fourth plane is a plane intersecting with the third plane.
• an angle between the third plane and the fourth plane may be 90°.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 may be determined according to the position of the first focus and the position of the second focus.
• the M feed sources may be disposed at the first focus and the second focus; and/or, the M feed sources may be divided into two groups, one group is located on the intersection line of the first functional device 211 with the third plane, and the other group is located on the intersection line of the first functional device 211 with the fourth plane.
• the second functional device 212 includes 32*32 transmissive units therein, the spacing between adjacent transmissive units in the x-axis direction and in the y-axis direction is 5 mm, the center coordinates of each transmissive unit satisfy the above Formula (1), and the amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by each transmissive unit (the physical state of the transmissive unit includes the phase) satisfies the above Formula (2), the phase response of the transmissive unit in the second functional device 212 (i.e., the amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the transmissive unit) may be in the form shown in FIG. 11 .
• a beam scanning within a range of ⁇ 30° may be achieved by switching the feed source in the first functional device 211 by the feed source selecting module 230.
• the feed source selecting module 230 by switching 19 feed sources in the first functional device 211 by the feed source selecting module 230, the direction and the gain of the beam radiated outward, through the transmissive unit in the second functional device 212, of the electromagnetic signal transmitted from each feed source are in the form shown in FIG. 12 .
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface, and the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a curved surface array or a curved line array; and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a curved surface array.
• the antenna module 210 follows the principle of equal optical path when both transmitting an electromagnetic signal and receiving an electromagnetic signal, so that the performance of the beam that is radiated out is improved.
• the phase shifter may be replaced with a feed source selecting module to achieve beam manipulation, which can reduce design complexity, reduce cost, and reduce power consumption.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a plane
• the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a plane
• the first functional device 211 is parallel to the second functional device 212.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array
• the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in an array.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources.
• the M feed sources may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the M feed sources may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of an annulus.
• the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the N transmissive units in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the N transmissive units.
• the N transmissive units may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the N transmissive units may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of an annulus.
• the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211, the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212, and the change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units are determined according to the principle of equal optical path, so that a first electromagnetic signal transmitted out from a feed source in the first functional device 211 may be radiated outward through the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to form a directional beam.
• the structure of the antenna module 210 shown in FIG. 13 is taken as an example.
• the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a plane, and the center point of the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is the coordinate origin, and the N transmissive units may be arranged with equal spacings along the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction.
• the above Formula (4) is a constraint-solving method, that is, by solving Formula (4), the position of the n t -th feed source that satisfies the constraint condition may be obtained, where the constraint condition may be that: the electromagnetic signal transmitted from the n t -th feed source in the first functional device 211 radiates out a maximum power beam outward through the transmissive unit in the second functional device 212.
• artificial intelligence algorithms such as deep learning, etc., may also be adopted to perform solving.
• a carrier center frequency is 30 GHz.
• the first functional device 211 includes 64 feed sources (e.g., the triangular dot matrix shown in FIG. 13 ), and each of the feed sources may generate a directional beam (i.e., the electromagnetic signal transmitted from each feed source radiates outward through the transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to form a directional beam).
• the 64 feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with unequal spacings. Specifically, the positions of the 64 feed sources in the first functional device 211 may be obtained by solving the above Formula (4).
• the coordinates of the positions of the 64 feed sources are shown in the following Table 1, and the z-axis coordinates are omitted in Table 1 because all feed sources are located in the same plane and all the z-axis coordinates have a value of -53.03 mm.
• the feed sources in the first functional device 211 may also be arranged in an array with equal spacings, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
• a beam in a specified direction may be generated by an electromagnetic signal transmitted from a part or all of the feed sources in the first functional device 211; and multiple beams in specified directions may be generated by electromagnetic signals transmitted from a part or all of the feed sources in the first functional device that is connected to the multiple radio frequency links simultaneously.
• the transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a 16*16 array with equal spacings (e.g., a square dot matrix as shown in FIG. 13 ), and the spacing between adjacent transmissive units in the x-axis direction and in the y-axis direction is 5 mm.
• the distance between the first functional device 211 and the second functional device 212 is 53.05 mm.
• the center coordinates of respective transmissive units in the second functional device 212 satisfy the above Formula (3), and the amount of change in the phase of respective transmissive units may satisfy the above Formula (2), the phase response of the transmissive unit in the second functional device 212 may be in the form shown in FIG. 14 .
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a plane, and the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a planar array; and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a planar array.
• the antenna module 210 has a relatively simple structure and is easy to design and manufacture.
• Implementation three the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface, and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a plane.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface
• the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a plane. Projections of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 on a first plane are arranged in an array, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in an array, where the first plane is a plane perpendicular to the first direction.
• the projections of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 on the first plane are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the projections of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 on the first plane are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources.
• the projections of the M feed sources on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the projections of the M feed sources on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211, the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212, and the change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units are determined, so that a first electromagnetic signal transmitted out from a feed source in the first functional device 211 may be radiated outward through the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to form a directional beam.
• the manner for determining the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 may refer to the above implementation one; the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 may refer to the Formula (1) in the above implementation one; and the amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 may refer to the above Formula (2), which will not be repeated here.
• the antenna module 210 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be in other forms.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a curved surface, and the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a curved surface array or a curved line array; and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a plane, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a planar array.
• the structure is relatively simple and easy to design and manufacture.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a curved surface array or a curve line array, and can follow the the principle of equal optical path when transmitting an electromagnetic signal and receiving an electromagnetic signal, thereby improving the performance of the beam that is radiated out.
• Implementation four the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a plane, and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a plane
• the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array
• the projections of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 on a first plane are arranged in an array, where the first plane is a plane perpendicular to the first direction.
• the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the M feed sources.
• the M feed sources may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the M feed sources may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the array arrangement manner may be an array arrangement manner of an annulus.
• the projections of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 on the first plane are arranged in an array with equal spacings; or, the projections of the N transmissive units in the first functional device 211 on the first plane are arranged in an array with unequal spacings.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the array arrangement manner of the N transmissive units.
• the projections of the N transmissive units on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a checkerboard pattern.
• the projections of the N transmissive units on the first plane may have an array arrangement manner of a radial pattern.
• the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211, the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212, and the change in the physical state of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units are determined, so that a first electromagnetic signal transmitted out from a feed source in the first functional device 211 may be radiated outward through the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 to form a directional beam.
• the manner for determining the positions of the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 may refer to the above implementation two; the positions of the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 may refer to the Formula (3) in the above implementation one; the amount of change in the phase of the electromagnetic signal by the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 may refer to the Formula (2) in the above implementation one, which will not be repeated here.
• the surface where the first functional device 211 is located is a plane, and the M feed sources in the first functional device 211 are arranged in a planar array; and the surface where the second functional device 212 is located is a curved surface, and the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a curved surface array.
• the structure is relatively simple and easy to design and manufacture.
• the N transmissive units in the second functional device 212 are arranged in a curved surface array, and can follow the the principle of equal optical path when transmitting an electromagnetic signal and receiving an electromagnetic signal, thereby improving the performance of the beam that is radiated out.
• the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an electronic device, where the electronic device includes the antenna 200 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
• the electronic device may be used for wireless communication, or the electronic device may be used for wireless positioning.
• the electronic device may be used for wireless communication.
• the electronic device may transmit outward a first electromagnetic signal by the antenna 200, and receive a second electromagnetic signal radiated from an external space.
• the electromagnetic signal may carry communication data therein, e.g., a call request, etc.
• the electronic device may be used for wireless positioning.
• the electronic device may transmit by the antenna 200 a first electromagnetic signal for positioning, and receive a second electromagnetic signal that is transmitted back, and then determine information of objects in the environment, e.g., location information of an object, a moving speed of an object, etc., according to the second electromagnetic signal that is transmitted back.

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• Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)

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• 2023
  • 2023-02-03 CN CN202310106637.8A patent/CN118448863A/zh active Pending
  • 2023-12-11 WO PCT/CN2023/137842 patent/WO2024159928A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2023-12-11 EP EP23919491.3A patent/EP4607703A1/fr active Pending

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