WO2019195961A1 - Millimeter-wave multibeam lens antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a millimeter-wave multibeam lens antenna, comprising a lens body, a lens body support for supporting the lens body, and a lens feed assembly. The lens feed assembly is located at a side of the lens body and mounted on the lens body support. The lens feed assembly cooperates with the lens body to form the lens antenna. The lens body is composed of a plurality of lens balls nested at intervals, and the value of the permittivity of each lens ball decreases with the increase in the radius of the lens ball. In the antenna of the present application, the lens body is formed by the plurality of layers of nested medium balls and cooperates with a plurality of feed units distributed in an array, and the feed units are all arranged on a focal plane of the lens, so that the antenna has a wide frequency band and a high gain, and an agile switch of a plurality of beams can be created. Moreover, the antenna is lightweight and has a low cost and a large power capacity.

Description

Millimeter wave multi-beam lens antenna Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communication base station technologies, and in particular, to a millimeter wave multi-beam antenna.

Background technique

In order to solve the problem of high capacity and high data transmission rate in hotspot areas, 5G communication plans high frequency millimeter wave frequency bands. Compared to low-frequency Massive MIMO, millimeter-wave antennas focus on directional transmission scenarios and require narrow beam, high gain, and multi-beam scanning.

Millimeter wave multi-beam antennas have phased array antennas, reflective antennas, and dielectric lens antennas. The disadvantage of the phased array antenna is that the feed network is complicated, the feed system has a large loss, and the cost is high. The disadvantage of the reflector antenna is that it requires a bias structure and a servo mechanism, which is bulky and heavy.

The dielectric lens antenna is further divided into a constant dielectric constant lens antenna and a Longbo lens antenna. The dielectric constant of the constant dielectric constant lens antenna is a constant value, and the constant dielectric constant needs to be as large as possible in order to achieve high gain.

The Lombor lens is a dielectric lens with an uneven refractive index. The position on the entire spherical surface can be the focus. Multiple feed cells can be used, but the lens cost is high, resulting in high equipment cost.

Lens antennas have the following technical advantages:

Due to the spherical symmetry of the lens, multiple feeds can be placed on the surface of the lens, and multiple arbitrarily directed beams can be generated, and the gain of each beam is the same, which overcomes the problem of gain loss caused by the bias of the feed in the multi-beam parabolic antenna. It is suitable for applications in multiple-access communication, so reducing the cost of the lens becomes a major problem for difficult lens antennas.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna for solving the problem that the feeding network of the existing lens antenna is complicated, the loss of the feeding system is large, and the cost is high. In this solution, the lens body of the antenna adopts multiple layers of nesting. The medium ball is matched with a plurality of feeding element units arranged in an array, and the feeding element unit is placed on the focal plane of the lens so that the frequency bandwidth of the antenna has high gain, and agile switching of multiple beams can be formed, and the weight of the antenna is Light weight, low cost, and large power capacity. Because the dielectric constant of the dielectric material constituting the lens is insensitive to frequency changes, it is suitable for use in a large-capacity broadband communication system, and meets the requirements of 5G wide band and high capacity in the millimeter wave band.

The present invention is to solve the above technical problems, and the technical solution adopted is:

A millimeter wave multi-beam lens antenna comprising a lens body, a lens body support for supporting the lens body, and a lens feed element assembly, the lens feed element assembly being located on one side of the lens body and mounted on the lens body support, through the lens feed element assembly and The lens body cooperates to form a lens antenna, and the lens body is composed of a plurality of lens balls nested, and the dielectric constant value of each lens ball decreases as the radius of the lens sphere increases, defining the innermost layer of the lens body The corresponding spheres of the lens sphere to the outermost lens sphere are R1 to Ri, respectively, and the corresponding dielectric constants are ε1 to εi, where i=1, 2, . . . n, and the value of Ri increases with i. When increased, the value of εi decreases as i increases.

The lens feed element assembly includes a feed element support and a plurality of feed element units, and the feed element unit is mounted on the feed element support in an array of N rows×M columns, and the feed element support is fixed on the lens body support through the connection piece, The center of all the element units is equal to the center of the lens body.

The feeding element is supported by an arc-shaped plate-like structural member, and both ends of the feeding element support are fixed on the lens body support by a connecting member.

The connecting member is any one of a connecting bolt or a connecting screw.

The M and N are integers, and 1≤N≤3, M≥2.

The feeder unit adopts a polarization mode of ±45° dual-polarized antenna.

The lens body support comprises a base and a bracket fixed on the base, the lower card seat is mounted on the base, the upper card seat is mounted on the bracket, the upper card seat is clamped on the top of the lens body, and the lower card seat is clamped on the lens body At the bottom, the lens body is supported by the upper and lower decks, and the center lines of the upper and lower decks are combined and merged through the center of the lens body.

The base and the bracket cooperate with each other to form a snap ring structure for holding the lens body, and the center of the snap ring structure coincides with the center of the lens body.

The bracket is fixed to the base by a fastener.

The fastener is any one of a fastening bolt or a fastening screw.

The invention has the beneficial effects that the lens body of the antenna of the present application adopts a plurality of nested dielectric balls, and cooperates with a plurality of feed element units arranged in an array, and the feed element units are placed on the focal plane of the lens such that the frequency bandwidth of the antenna The gain is high, and agile switching of multiple beams can be formed, and the antenna is light in weight, low in cost, and large in power capacity.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the overall structure of the present application.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of Figure 1 of the present application.

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1 of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of the lens body removed in FIG. 1 in the present application.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of Figure 4 of the present application.

Figure 6 is a plan view of Figure 4 of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of a lens body in the present application.

Figure 8 is a simplified diagram of the structure of a ±45° dual-polarized microstrip antenna.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a metal waveguide dual-polarized antenna.

Figure 10 is a standing wave diagram of a dual-polarized microstrip antenna.

Figure 11 is a lens antenna pattern (dual-polarized microstrip antenna feed).

Figure 12 is a standing wave diagram of a metal waveguide dual polarized antenna.

Figure 13 is a lens antenna pattern (metal waveguide dual polarized antenna feed).

Marked by: 1, lens body support, 101, base, 102, fastening screw, 103, bracket, 2, lens feed component, 201, feed support, 202, feed unit, 203, connection screw, 3, Lower deck, 4, lens body, 5, upper deck.

detailed description

As shown in the figure, the specific implementation is as follows:

Embodiment 1:

A millimeter wave multi-beam lens antenna comprising a lens body 4, a lens body support 1 for supporting a lens body, and a lens feed element assembly 2, the lens feed element assembly 2 being located on one side of the lens body and mounted on the lens body support 1 The lens element assembly 2 cooperates with the lens body 4 to form a lens antenna. The lens body 2 is composed of two lens balls nested. The radius R1 of the inner layer sphere is 37 mm, and the corresponding dielectric constant is ε1=2.1. Fluoroethylene material; the outer sphere has a radius R2 of 55 mm, and the corresponding dielectric constant is ε1 = 1.15, and a foam material is selected.

The lens feed unit 2 includes a feed support 201 and a plurality of feed units 202. The feed unit 202 is mounted on the feed support 201 in an array of 2 rows by 8 columns. The feed support 201 is an arc. The plate-like structural member is fixed at both ends of the feed element support 201 to the lens body support 1 by a joint screw 203, and the center of all the feed element units 202 is equal to the center distance of the lens body 4.

The lens body support 1 includes a base 101 and a bracket 103 fixed to the base by a fastening screw 102. The base 101 and the bracket 103 cooperate to form a snap ring structure for holding the lens body 4, and the center of the snap ring structure The bottom of the lens body 4 is overlapped with a lower card holder 3, and the upper card holder 5 is mounted on the bracket 103. The upper card holder 5 is mounted on the top of the lens body 4, and the lower card holder 3 is mounted on the lens body 4. At the bottom, the lens body 4 is supported by the upper deck 5 and the lower deck 3, and the center lines of the upper deck 5 and the lower deck 3 are combined and merged through the center of the lens body 4.

The ±45° dual-polarized microstrip antenna processed by the laser element direct-forming technology (LDS) is shown in FIG. 8 .

Both the lens body support 1 and the feed element support 201 are processed by a FRP material to reduce the influence on the radiation performance of the antenna.

Embodiment 2:

A millimeter wave multi-beam lens antenna comprising a lens body 4, a lens body support 1 for supporting a lens body, and a lens feed element assembly 2, the lens feed element assembly 2 being located on one side of the lens body and mounted on the lens body support 1 The lens element assembly 2 cooperates with the lens body 4 to form a lens antenna. The lens body 2 is composed of two lens balls nested. The radius R1 of the inner layer sphere is 37 mm, and the corresponding dielectric constant is ε1=2.1. Fluoroethylene material; the outer sphere has a radius R2 of 55 mm, and the corresponding dielectric constant is ε1 = 1.15, and a foam material is selected.

The lens feed unit 2 includes a feed support 201 and a plurality of feed units 202. The feed unit 202 is mounted on the feed support 201 in an array of 2 rows by 8 columns. The feed support 201 is curved. In the plate-like structural member, both ends of the feed element support 201 are fixed to the lens body support 1 by the connection screws 203, and the center of all the element units 202 is equal to the center distance of the lens body 4.

The lens body support 1 includes a base 101 and a bracket 103 fixed to the base by a fastening screw 102. The base 101 and the bracket 103 cooperate to form a snap ring structure for holding the lens body 4, and the center of the snap ring structure The bottom of the lens body 4 is overlapped with a lower card holder 3, and the upper card holder 5 is mounted on the bracket 103. The upper card holder 5 is mounted on the top of the lens body 4, and the lower card holder 3 is mounted on the lens body 4. At the bottom, the lens body 4 is supported by the upper deck 5 and the lower deck 3, and the center lines of the upper deck 5 and the lower deck 3 are combined and merged through the center of the lens body 4.

The feeder unit metal waveguide dual-polarized antenna is as shown in FIG.

Both the lens body support 1 and the feed element support 201 are processed by a FRP material to reduce the influence on the radiation performance of the antenna.

The standing wave diagram corresponding to the first embodiment of FIG. 10 adopts the antenna structure in the present application, and the standing wave ratio is generally lower than 1.5 for 24.5-28 GHz, and the standing wave ratio of lower than 1.4, 25-27 GHz for 24.5-27.5 GHz. The standing wave ratio is lower than 1.1, and the standing wave ratio is lower than 1.1. The standing wave pattern corresponding to the second embodiment of Fig. 12 adopts the antenna structure in the present application. The standing wave ratio is generally lower than 1.5 for 24-27.8 GHz, for 24.5-27.5. The standing wave ratio of GHz is lower than 1.4, the standing wave ratio of 25-27GHz is lower than 1.2, the standing wave ratio of 26-26.5GHz is close to 1.1, and the standing wave ratio (SWR) is called voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). In radio communication, the impedance of the antenna does not match the impedance of the feeder or the impedance of the antenna does not match with the impedance of the transmitter. The high-frequency energy generates a reflected wave at the antenna, and the reflected wave and the incident wave merge in the antenna feeder system to generate a standing wave. In order to characterize and measure the standing wave characteristics in the antenna feeder system, that is, the forward wave and the reflected wave in the antenna, the concept of "standing wave ratio" is established. The calculation formula of the living wave ratio is SWR=R/r= (1+K)/(1-K), where the reflection coefficient K=(Rr)/(R+r), when K is negative, the phase is opposite, and R and r are the output impedance and the input impedance, respectively. When the two impedance values are the same, a perfect match is reached, the reflection coefficient K is equal to 0, and the standing wave ratio is 1. This is an ideal situation, in fact there is always a reflection, so the standing wave ratio is always greater than one. If the voltage standing wave ratio is too large, the communication distance will be shortened, and the reflected power will return to the power amplifier part of the transmitter, which will easily burn out the power amplifier tube and affect the normal operation of the communication system. With a conventional lens antenna, the standing wave ratio is usually 1.4. In the antenna structure of the present application, the standing wave ratio of most frequency segments is lower than 1.2, which is superior to the conventional antenna. Thus, the frequency bandwidth of the antenna structure in the present application can be seen. Agile switching of multiple beams can be formed, and the antenna is light in weight, low in cost, and large in power capacity.

As shown in the corresponding lens antenna pattern in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11, it can be seen that the lens antenna gain is 18.5 dB and the beam width is greater than 8°, as shown in FIG. 13 corresponding lens antenna pattern in the second embodiment. It can be seen that the lens antenna gain is 21.5 dB and the beam width is greater than 8°. It can be seen that the lens structure gain in the present application is high.

The technical solutions and embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and the same or equivalent effects as those exemplified in the present invention are within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

A millimeter wave multi-beam lens antenna comprising a lens body, a lens body support for supporting the lens body, and a lens feed element assembly, the lens feed element assembly being located on one side of the lens body and mounted on the lens body support, through the lens feed element assembly and The lens body cooperates to form a lens antenna, wherein the lens body is composed of a plurality of lens balls nested, and the dielectric constant value of each lens ball decreases as the lens sphere radius increases. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 1, wherein said lens feed element assembly comprises a feed element support and a plurality of feed element units, and the feed element unit is mounted in an array of N rows x M columns. On the feed element support, the feed element support is fixed to the lens body support by a connecting member, and the center of all the feed element units is equal to the center distance of the lens body. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 2, wherein said feed element is supported by a curved plate-like structural member, and both ends of the feed element support are fixed to the lens body support by a connecting member. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said connecting member is any one of a connecting bolt or a connecting screw. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 2, wherein said M and N are integers, and 1 ≤ N ≤ 3, and M ≥ 2. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 2, wherein said feed element unit is a polarization-mode ±45° dual-polarized antenna. The millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 1, wherein the lens body support comprises a base and a bracket fixed on the base, the lower card seat is mounted on the base, and the upper card seat is mounted on the bracket. The upper card holder is disposed at the top of the lens body, and the lower card holder is disposed at the bottom of the lens body. The upper card holder and the lower card holder cooperate to support the lens body, and the center lines of the upper card holder and the lower card holder are combined and merged through the lens body. Heart of the ball. The millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 7, wherein the base and the bracket cooperate with each other to form a snap ring structure for holding the lens body, and a center of the snap ring structure coincides with a center of the lens body. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said bracket is fixed to the base by a fastener. A millimeter-wave multi-beam lens antenna according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the fastener is any one of a fastening bolt or a fastening screw.

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