WO2025190178A1 - Antenna system and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides an antenna system and a communication device. The antenna system comprises at least two antenna panels, and the at least two antenna panels comprise a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel. The first antenna panel comprises N1 antenna units, the N1 antenna units are connected to a first radio frequency channel by means of a first feed network and a first switch, and output ends of the first feed network correspond to the N1 antenna units. The first switch is used for controlling a connection relationship between the first radio frequency channel and a plurality of first feed points. The plurality of first feed points comprise a feed point provided at an input end of the first feed network and a feed point provided at an input end of a second feed network. The second feed network is used for connecting the second antenna panel to a second radio frequency channel, and N1 is a positive integer. The connection relationship between the first radio frequency channel and the feed points is switched by means of the first switch, so that the first radio frequency channel can feed the N1 antenna units and/or the second antenna panel.

Description

Antenna system and communication equipment

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202410306346.8 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 15, 2024, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “An antenna system and communication equipment”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to an antenna system and a communication device.

Background Art

As a key technology in next-generation radio access technology (NR), high frequency (HF) provides more spectrum resources, supports a greater number of antennas, and improves system capacity. Due to the high frequency, signals experience severe fading during spatial propagation, severely limiting signal coverage. Therefore, NR systems employ beamforming (BF) to achieve superior directional gain, thereby improving system performance.

Antenna panels are a core component in implementing beamforming technology. Beams can be sent or received through antenna panels. To ensure wide-area coverage, base stations and terminals utilize multiple antenna panels. For multi-panel antennas, each panel is typically connected to a fixed RF channel. This connection method can limit the digital freedom of the antenna panel and make it impossible to allocate resources according to the needs of the existing network. Therefore, how to rationally allocate RF channels in the antenna system and increase system capacity is a challenge that needs to be addressed.

Summary of the Invention

The present application provides an antenna system and communication equipment, which can reasonably allocate radio frequency channels in the antenna system and improve system capacity.

In a first aspect, an antenna system is provided, which includes at least two antenna panels, the at least two antenna panels including a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel, wherein the first antenna panel is provided with N1 antenna units, the N1 antenna units are connected to a first radio frequency channel through a first feeding network and a first switch, the output end of the first feeding network corresponds to the N1 antenna units, the first switch is used to control the connection relationship between the first radio frequency channel and a plurality of first feeding points, the plurality of first feeding points include a feeding point provided at an input end of the first feeding network, and a feeding point provided at an input end of the second feeding network, the second feeding network is used to connect the antenna units on the second antenna panel to the second radio frequency channel, and N1 is a positive integer.

Based on the above-mentioned multi-faceted antenna system, by controlling the connection relationship between the first RF channel and multiple first feeding points through the first switch, the first RF channel can be fed to the N1 antenna units and/or the antenna units on the second antenna panel, thereby realizing a reasonable allocation of RF channels in the multi-faceted antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, and the second feed network is provided with a second switch, and the second switch is used to control the on-off between the first feed sub-network and the second feed sub-network in the second feed network; wherein the input end of the first feed sub-network is the one input end of the second feed network, the output end of the first feed sub-network is connected to some antenna units in the N2 antenna units, and the output end of the second feed sub-network is connected to the antenna units in the N2 antenna units except the some antenna units, and N2 is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the input end of the second feeding sub-network is another input end of the second feeding network, and the other input end is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch. The third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and multiple second feeding points, and the multiple second feeding points include a feeding point located at the other input end of the first feeding network.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-stage bridge circuits, each stage of the K-stage bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the one input end of the first feeding network, the output end of the K-th-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the output end of the first feeding network, and K is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, each of the N1 antenna units is connected to the output end of the first feed network through a fourth switch, and the fourth switch is used to control the connection relationship between each antenna unit and a fourth feed point. The fourth feed point includes a feed point provided at the output end of the first feed network, and a feed point provided at one end of N1 lines. The N1 line includes a first line and a second line, wherein the first line is connected to the first RF channel through a fifth switch and the first switch, and the fifth switch is used to control the feeding point provided at the one input end of the first feed network to be switched to the other end of the first line, and the other end of the second line is connected to the second RF channel through the third switch.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the at least two antenna panels further include a third antenna panel, the multiple first feeding points further include a feeding point located at an input end of a third feeding network, and the third feeding network is used to connect the third antenna panel to a third RF channel.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the multiple first feeding points include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a first bridge circuit, the first input end of the first bridge circuit being used to feed a first output end and/or a second output end of the first bridge circuit, the first output end of the first bridge circuit being connected to the one input end of the first feeding network, and the second output end of the first bridge circuit being connected to the other input end of the first feeding network.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the multiple first feeding points also include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a second bridge circuit, the first input end of the second bridge circuit being used to feed a first output end and/or a second output end of the second bridge circuit, the first output end of the second bridge circuit being connected to an input end of the second feeding network, and the second output end of the second bridge circuit being connected to another input end of the second feeding network.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second input end of the first bridge circuit is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, the second input end of the first bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the first bridge circuit, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and a plurality of second feeding points, the plurality of second feeding points including a feeding point provided at the second input end of the first bridge circuit and a feeding point provided at the second input end of the second bridge circuit, and the second input end of the second bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the second bridge circuit.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, the first input end of the second feed network is connected to the third antenna unit among the N2 antenna units through the first feed sub-network in the second feed network, the third antenna unit is connected to the third RF channel through the third feed sub-network in the second feed network and a sixth switch, the sixth switch is used to control the connection relationship between the third RF channel and multiple third feed points, the multiple third feed points include a feed point provided at the input end of the third feed sub-network, and N2 is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the antenna system also includes a third antenna panel, which is provided with N3 antenna units, and the N3 antenna units are connected to the output end of the fourth bridge circuit through a third feeding network, and the input end of the fourth bridge circuit is provided with the third feeding point, and N3 is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the antenna system further includes a controller, which is configured to control on and off of switches in the feed network.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first antenna panel and the second antenna plane have different orientations.

In a second aspect, a channel allocation method is provided, which is applied to an antenna system, wherein the antenna system includes at least two antenna panels, the at least two antenna panels including a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel, wherein the first antenna panel is provided with N1 antenna units, the N1 antenna units are connected to a first RF channel through a first feeding network and a first switch, the output end of the first feeding network corresponds to the N1 antenna units, the first switch is used to control the connection relationship between the first RF channel and a plurality of first feeding points, the plurality of first feeding points include a feeding point provided at an input end of the first feeding network, and a feeding point provided at an input end of the second feeding network, the second feeding network is used to connect the antenna units on the second antenna panel to the second RF channel, and N1 is a positive integer; the method includes: switching the first switch to a feeding point provided at an input end of the first feeding network, or switching the first switch to a feeding point provided at an input end of the second feeding network.

Based on the above scheme, by switching the first switch to a feeding point located at an input end of the first feeding network, or switching the first switch to a feeding point located at an input end of the second feeding network, the first RF channel can be used to feed the N1 antenna units, or to feed the antenna units on the second antenna panel, thereby reasonably allocating RF channels in the multi-surface antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, and the second feed network is provided with a second switch, and the second switch is used to control the on-off between the first feed sub-network and the second feed sub-network in the second feed network; wherein the input end of the first feed sub-network is the one input end of the second feed network, the output end of the first feed sub-network is connected to some antenna units of the N2 antenna units, and the output end of the second feed sub-network is connected to the antenna units of the N2 antenna units other than the some antenna units, and N2 is a positive integer; when the first switch is switched to a feeding point provided at one input end of the second feed network, the method further includes: controlling the second switch to be in an off state.

Based on the above solution, by controlling the second switch to be in an off state, the first RF channel can feed some of the N2 antenna units, thereby reasonably allocating RF channels in the multi-surface antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-stage bridge circuits, each stage of the K-stage bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the one input end of the first feeding network, the output end of the K-th-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the output end of the first feeding network, and K is a positive integer; the method specifically includes: switching the first switch to a feeding point located at the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuit.

Based on the above scheme, by switching the first switch to the feeding point at the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuit, or switching the first switch to the feeding point at an input end of the second feeding network, the first RF channel can be fed to the N1 antenna units, or to the antenna units on the second antenna panel, thereby realizing the reasonable allocation of RF channels in the multi-surface antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the other input end of the second feed network is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and multiple second feeding points, where the multiple second feeding points include a feeding point located at the other input end of the first feed network; the method includes: when the first switch is switched to the feeding point located at one input end of the first feed network, switching the third switch to the feeding point located at the other input end of the first feed network.

Based on the above scheme, when the first switch is switched to a feeding point located at one input end of the first feeding network, the third switch is switched to a feeding point located at another input end of the first feeding network, so that the first RF channel and the second RF channel can feed the N1 antenna units, thereby realizing a reasonable allocation of RF channels in the multi-faceted antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, each of the N1 antenna units is connected to the output end of the first feed network through a fourth switch, and the fourth switch is used to control the connection relationship between each antenna unit and a fourth feed point. The fourth feed point includes a feed point provided at the output end of the first feed network and a feed point provided at one end of N1 lines. The N1 line includes a first line and a second line, wherein the first line is connected to the first RF channel through a fifth switch and the first switch, and the other end of the second line is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and multiple second feed points, and the multiple second feed points include a feed point provided at another input end of the second line. The method also includes: switching the feed point provided at the one input end of the first feed network to the other end of the first line by controlling the fifth switch; and switching the third switch to the feed point provided at the other end of the second line.

Based on the above scheme, by controlling the fifth switch to switch the feeding point located at the one input end of the first feeding network to the other end of the first line; and switching the third switch to the feeding point located at the other end of the second line, the first RF channel and the second RF channel can be fed to the N1 antenna units, thereby realizing a reasonable allocation of RF channels in the multi-faceted antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the at least two antenna panels further include a third antenna panel, the multiple first feed points further include a feed point located at an input end of a third feed network, and the third feed network is used to connect the N3 antenna units to a third RF channel; the method further includes: switching the first switch to the feed point located at an input end of the third feed network.

Based on the above scheme, by switching the first switch to the feeding point located at an input end of the third feeding network, the first RF channel can be used to feed the antenna unit on the third antenna panel, thereby reasonably allocating the RF channels in the multi-surface antenna system.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the multiple first feeding points include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a first bridge circuit, the first input end of the first bridge circuit being used to feed a first output end and/or a second output end of the first bridge circuit, the first output end of the first bridge circuit being connected to the one input end of the first feeding network, and the second output end of the first bridge circuit being connected to the other input end of the first feeding network; the method specifically includes: switching the first switch to the feeding point of the first input end of the first bridge circuit.

Based on the above solution, by switching the first switch to the feeding point of the first input end of the first bridge circuit, the first RF channel can feed all or part of the N1 antenna units.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the multiple first feeding points also include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a second bridge circuit, the first input end of the second bridge circuit being used to feed a first output end and/or a second output end of the second bridge circuit, the first output end of the second bridge circuit being connected to an input end of the second feeding network, and the second output end of the second bridge circuit being connected to another input end of the second feeding network; the method specifically includes: switching the first switch to the feeding point provided at the first input end of the second bridge circuit.

Based on the above solution, the first switch is switched to the feeding point provided at the first input end of the second bridge circuit, so that the first RF channel can feed all or part of the antenna units connected to the second feeding network.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the second input end of the first bridge circuit is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, the second input end of the first bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the first bridge circuit, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and a plurality of second feeding points, the plurality of second feeding points including a feeding point provided at the second input end of the first bridge circuit and a feeding point provided at the second input end of the second bridge circuit, the second input end of the second bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the second bridge circuit; the method also includes: switching the third switch to the feeding point provided at the second input end of the first bridge circuit.

Based on the above solution, by switching the third switch to the feeding point provided at the second input end of the first bridge circuit, the third switch can feed all or part of the N1 antenna units.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, the first input end of the second feed network is connected to the third antenna unit among the N2 antenna units through the first feed sub-network in the second feed network, the third antenna unit is connected to the third RF channel through the third feed sub-network in the second feed network and a sixth switch, the sixth switch is used to control the connection relationship between the third RF channel and multiple third feeding points, the multiple third feeding points include a feeding point provided at the input end of the third feed sub-network, and N2 is a positive integer; the method also includes: switching the sixth switch to the feeding point provided at the input end of the third feed sub-network.

Based on the above solution, by switching the sixth switch to a feeding point provided at the input end of the third feeding sub-network, the third radio frequency channel can be made to feed the third antenna unit.

In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the antenna system further includes a third antenna panel, the third panel being provided with N3 antenna units, the N3 antenna units being connected to the output end of a fourth bridge circuit via a third feeding network, the input end of the fourth bridge circuit being provided with the third feeding point, and N3 being a positive integer; the method further includes: switching the sixth switch to the third feeding point provided at the input end of the fourth bridge circuit.

Based on the above solution, by switching the sixth switch to the third feeding point provided at the input end of the fourth bridge circuit, the third RF channel can be used to feed the antenna unit on the third antenna panel.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the antenna system further includes a controller, which is configured to control on and off of switches in the feeding network.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first antenna panel and the second antenna plane have different orientations.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising the antenna system as described in the first aspect above, or a device capable of executing the method of any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

Exemplarily, the above-mentioned communication device may be a base station, or may be other communication devices having the same or similar functions as a base station, etc., and this application is not limited to this.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a base station applicable to the present application.

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an example antenna system.

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an antenna system provided in this application.

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another antenna system provided in this application.

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another antenna system provided in the present application.

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another antenna system provided in this application.

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another antenna system provided in this application.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another antenna system provided in this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the application scenarios of the antenna unit provided in this application are briefly described in conjunction with Figure 1. Figure 1 shows several possible schematic architecture diagrams of base stations applicable to the antenna unit provided in this application. Figure 1 shows the evolution of base station architecture by illustrating several architectures in the order of (a) to (c).

As shown in Figure 1, the architecture of the base station can be a macro base station + antenna architecture, as shown in (a) in Figure 1; it can also be a separate base station + antenna architecture, as shown in (b) in Figure 1; it can also be an active antenna unit (AAU) + baseband unit (BBU) architecture, as shown in (c) in Figure 1, and this application does not limit this.

Among them, the macro base station shown in (a) in the figure may include a built-in radio frequency unit (RFU) and BBU.

The distributed base station shown in Figure 1(b) can include a built-in baseband unit (BBU) and a remote radio unit (RRU). The BBU can be connected to the RRU via a common public radio interface (CPRI) or enhanced CPRI (eCPRI), and the RRU can be connected to the antenna via a feeder. The antenna shown in Figure 1 can be a passive antenna, separate from the RRU, and connected via a cable.

The BBU performs baseband signal processing, such as channel encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation. A BBU can include multiple baseband boards. The RRU performs functions such as intermediate frequency (IF) signal processing, RF processing, and duplexing. IF processing includes upconversion, downconversion, digital-to-analog conversion, and analog-to-digital conversion. RF processing includes power amplification for transmitted and received RF signals. In some scenarios, such as zero-IF systems, the RRU may not include IF processing.

It should be understood that the architecture of the base station shown in FIG1 is merely an example and should not constitute a limitation to this application.

In another possible design, the base station may include an active antenna system (AAS), in which the antenna and RF module are integrated.

In another possible design, the base station may also include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The DU may be used to transmit and receive RF signals, convert RF signals to baseband signals, and perform partial baseband processing. The CU may be used to perform baseband processing, control the base station, etc. The DU may include at least one antenna. For example, at least one antenna in the DU may employ the antenna array provided in the present application. The CU and DU may be physically arranged together or separately, and this application does not limit this.

It should be understood that the architecture of the base station can refer to various possible base station architectures in the prior art, and is not limited to the base station architectures listed above.

Although not shown in Figure 1, those skilled in the art will understand that the above-mentioned antenna may specifically include a radiation unit (or antenna element, vibrator, etc.), a reflector (or base plate), a power distribution network (or feeding network) and a antenna cover.

The oscillators may be deployed on an antenna panel. Specifically, multiple antenna units may be deployed on the antenna panel, and each antenna unit may include one or more oscillators. The multiple antenna units may form an antenna system in the form of an array. The antenna system may be referred to as an antenna array, or an antenna array.

Each antenna unit may include one or more oscillators. Optionally, each oscillator may correspond to a radio frequency channel (RF channel) and be driven by the corresponding RF channel. Optionally, multiple oscillators may correspond to one RF channel and be driven by the corresponding RF channel.

For ease of understanding, FIG1(d) shows an example of an antenna array. The antenna array shown in FIG1(d) can be deployed on an antenna panel, for example, a portion or the entirety of the antenna panel. This application does not limit this.

The antenna array shown in FIG1(d) is an antenna array with 8 rows and 8 columns, which can be referred to as an 8×8 antenna array. In other words, the dimensions of the antenna array are 8×8. In other words, the antenna array can include 8×8 (i.e., 64) antenna elements.

Each antenna unit is a cross-polarized antenna unit, or a dual-polarized antenna unit. Each cross-polarized antenna unit may include one or more cross-polarized antennas. Each cross-polarized antenna may be in a cross-shaped configuration, and the two cross-polarized antennas may be arranged (or placed) to form dual-polarized radiation with an angle of ±45°.

For ease of understanding, each "×" in Figure 2 is used to represent a cross-polarization antenna unit. Since each cross-polarization antenna unit may include one or more cross-polarization antennas, and each cross-polarization antenna may include two elements with different polarization directions, or two elements that are orthogonal to each other, each cross-polarization antenna unit may correspond to two polarization directions, as shown in Figure 1 (d), "╲" may represent the first polarization direction, and "╱" represents the second polarization direction.

Exemplarily, the first polarization direction may be a horizontal polarization direction, and the second polarization direction may be a vertical polarization direction; or, the first polarization direction may be a vertical polarization direction, and the second polarization direction may be a horizontal polarization direction; or, the first polarization direction may be a +45° polarization direction, and the second polarization direction may be a -45° polarization direction; or, the first polarization direction may be a -45° polarization direction, and the second polarization direction may be a +45° polarization direction.

Optionally, each antenna unit comprises a cross-polarized antenna. In this case, each antenna unit may include two oscillators with different polarization directions, such as one oscillator with the first polarization direction and one oscillator with the second polarization direction. Each oscillator may be driven by an independent RF channel.

Optionally, each antenna unit includes multiple cross-polarized antennas. In this case, each antenna unit can include two groups of elements with different polarization directions, such as a group of elements with a first polarization direction and a group of elements with a second polarization direction. Each group of elements can include multiple elements, and the multiple elements can be driven by an independent RF channel.

In another possible design, a group of elements driven by the same independent RF channel is called a subarray. That is, each subarray can correspond to one RF channel. In this case, each antenna unit can be composed of multiple subarrays. For ease of explanation below, each antenna unit includes two elements with different polarization directions, such as one element with the first polarization direction and one element with the second polarization direction mentioned above. A group of antenna units can be driven by an independent RF channel, that is, one element with one polarization direction in each antenna unit in a group is driven by an independent RF channel.

With the development of mobile communications, the form of base station equipment has also diversified. For example, a multi-sided antenna system architecture is composed of two radiating surfaces (two-sided), three radiating surfaces (three-sided) or multiple radiating surfaces (multi-sided). Figures 2 (a) and (b) are schematic diagrams of a two-sided antenna system and a three-sided antenna system, respectively. In Figure 2 (a), a two-sided antenna system is composed of two radiating surfaces 211 and a radiating surface 212. In the two-sided antenna system, both sides of the system architecture are antenna radiating surfaces, which transmit electromagnetic signals. In Figure 2 (b), a three-sided antenna system (three cells and one base station) is composed of three radiating surfaces 221, 222, and 223. In the three-sided antenna system, the front, left and right sides of the system architecture are all antenna radiating surfaces. All three sides can transmit electromagnetic signals, which is equivalent to expanding the antenna aperture.

The multi-surface antenna system provided in this application is not limited in the number of radiating surfaces included. For example, the multi-surface antenna system provided in this application can be a two-surface antenna system, a three-surface antenna system, a four-surface antenna system, etc. It should also be noted that the multi-surface antenna system provided in this application can be composed of active antenna units or passive antenna units, etc. This application does not limit this. For ease of description, the term "antenna" is used in this application for description.

It should be understood that Figure 2 is only one of the antenna forms of the multi-faceted antenna system architecture proposed in this application. The array size, array structure, arrangement, etc. used by the forward and side radiating antennas of the antenna system in Figure 2 are only examples, and this application does not limit this.

Figure 2(c) shows a schematic diagram of the radiation pattern of a three-sided antenna system. As shown, for a three-sided antenna system, each radiating surface (each antenna element) independently covers the corresponding cell (or sector). For example, radiating surface 231 covers cell 1 (or, in other words, the radiation range of radiating surface 231 is cell 1); radiating surface 232 covers cell 2 (or, in other words, the radiation range of radiating surface 320 is cell 2); and radiating surface 233 covers cell 3 (or, in other words, the radiation range of radiating surface 233 is cell 3).

In existing solutions, a fixed number of RF channels feed the antennas on different radiating surfaces (antenna panels). For example, in the three-surface antenna system shown in Figure 2(c), each radiating surface is connected to a fixed number of RF channels to provide service for the cell it is responsible for. However, connecting antennas on radiating surfaces to a fixed number of RF channels may limit the digital freedom of the antenna panel, making it impossible to allocate resources according to the needs of the existing network (for example, an increase or decrease in the number of users in a certain area). Therefore, how to reasonably allocate RF channels in the antenna system and improve system capacity is a problem that needs to be solved.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an antenna system provided by the present application, wherein the antenna system can also be referred to as a multi-surface antenna system, which can be understood as an antenna system having multiple antenna panels.

Exemplarily, the antenna system includes a first antenna panel (eg, the antenna panel 310 shown in FIG. 3( a )) and a second antenna panel (eg, the antenna panel 320 shown in FIG. 3( a )).

The first antenna panel is provided with N1 antenna units, and the N1 antenna units are connected to the first radio frequency channel through the first feeding network and switch #1 (an example of the first switch).

The output end of the first feed network corresponds to the N1 antenna units (for example, each output end is connected to an antenna unit); the switch #1 is used to switch (or control) the connection relationship (or also called coupling relationship) between the first RF channel and multiple first feed points. Exemplarily, the multiple first feed points include a feed point provided at an input end of the first feed network and a feed point provided at an input end of the second feed network.

The second feeding network is used to connect the second antenna panel to the second radio frequency channel. For details, please refer to the following description.

Based on the structure of the above-mentioned antenna system, by controlling the switch #1 to change the connection relationship between the first RF channel and the multiple first feeding points, the first RF channel can be used to feed the N1 antenna units, or the antenna units on the second antenna panel can be fed through the second feeding network.

It can be understood that the first antenna panel may further include other antenna units, and the connection relationship between the other antenna units and the radio frequency channels may refer to the connection relationship between the first antenna unit and the first radio frequency channel.

For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 3, the value of N1 can be 6, and the six antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the dotted box) are arranged on the antenna panel 310; the RF channel 1 (an example of the first RF channel) is connected to the six antenna units through the first feeding network and the switch 301 (an example of the first switch); the switch 301 is used to switch the connection relationship between the RF channel 1 and multiple first feeding points; the multiple first feeding points include a feeding point provided at the input end #1 of the first feeding network (an example of an input end of the first feeding network), and a feeding point provided at the input end #4 (an example of an input end of the second feeding network).

For another example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8, the value of N1 can be 12, and the 12 antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the dotted box on the left in Figure 8) are arranged on the first antenna panel; the RF channel 1 (abbreviated as Trx1, an example of the first RF channel) is connected to the 12 antenna units through the first bridge circuit, the first feeding network and the switch 801 (an example of the first switch); the switch 801 is used to switch the connection relationship between Trx1 and multiple first feeding points; the multiple first feeding points include a feeding point arranged at the first input end of the first bridge circuit, and a feeding point arranged at the first input end of the second bridge circuit. The first input of the first bridge circuit is used to feed power to the first and/or second output of the first bridge circuit. The first and second outputs of the first bridge circuit are connected to input #1 and input #2 of the first feed network, respectively. The first input of the second bridge circuit is used to feed power to the first and/or second output of the second bridge circuit. The first and second outputs of the second bridge circuit are connected to input #3 and input #4 of the second feed network, respectively. The bridge circuits can be described with reference to FIG4 .

It should be understood that this application does not limit the number of antenna units (diopters with the same polarization direction) driven by the same RF channel in each antenna panel, and each RF channel can drive other numbers of antenna units (for example, 8, 16, etc.).

Optionally, the first feeding network further includes an input terminal #2 (an example of another input terminal of the first feeding network), which can be connected to part or all of the output terminals of the first feeding network, or in other words, all or part of the N1 antenna units can be fed through the input terminal #2.

In a possible design, the input terminal #2 feeds some of the N1 antenna units.

As shown in FIG3 , the first feed network may include feed sub-network #1, feed sub-network #2, and switch 303 (an example of a second switch). The output of feed sub-network #1 is connected to some of the N1 antenna units, and the input of feed sub-network #1 is input #1. The output of feed sub-network #2 is connected to the remaining antenna units, and the input of feed sub-network #2 may be input #2. Switch 303 is used to control the connection between feed sub-network #1 and feed sub-network #2.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned first feeding network is only an example, and the first feeding network may also be connected in other ways, for example, as shown in FIG3 (d), and the first feeding network may also be provided with other switches (for example, switch 305). For another example, the first feeding network is connected in the way shown in FIG3 (e).

In another possible design, the input terminal #2 feeds some of the N1 antenna units.

The first feeding network may include feeding sub-network #1 and feeding sub-network #2. The output of feeding sub-network #1 is connected to some of the N1 antenna units, and the input of feeding sub-network #1 is input terminal #1, which is connected to the first output terminal of the first bridge circuit, as shown in FIG8 . The output of feeding sub-network #2 is connected to the remaining antenna units of the N1 antenna units, and the input of feeding sub-network #2 may be input terminal #2, which is connected to the second output terminal of the first bridge circuit.

In another possible design, the input terminal #2 can feed all the antenna units in the N1 antenna units.

In which, the first feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-level bridge circuits, each level of the K-level bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits can serve as the input end #1 of the first feeding network; the input end of the K1-th level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits can serve as the input end #2 of the first feeding network, 1<K1<K; the output end of the K-th level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits is the output end of the first feeding network, and K is a positive integer.

The bridge circuit or the cascade of bridge circuits can be used to implement feeding of the radio frequency channel from I1 input ports to J1 output ports, where I1 and J1 are positive integers and J1 is greater than or equal to I1.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a bridge circuit. The bridge circuit can be used to control a radio frequency channel to feed power to output terminals 3 and/or 4 via input terminals 1 and/or 2. The specific implementation is shown in Figures 4 (a) to (c). In FIG4(a), switches 401 to 403 are open, and power is fed to input terminal 1, enabling input from input terminal 1 and output from output terminal 3, or output from output terminal 3 and output terminal 4. Power is fed to input terminal 2, enabling input from input terminal 2 and output from output terminal 4, or output from output terminal 3 and output terminal 4. Power is fed to input terminals 1 and 2, enabling input from input terminal 1 and input terminal 2, and output from output terminal 3 and output terminal 4. In FIG4(b), switches 401 and 402 are closed, and switch 403 is open, enabling input from input terminal 1 and output from output terminal 4. In FIG4(c), switches 401 and 403 are closed, and switch 402 is open, enabling input from input terminal 2 and output from output terminal 3. The implementation principle of switching from different input terminals to different output terminals in FIG4 can be referred to the existing relevant description.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna system. Input port #2 can feed all of the N1 antenna units. As shown in Figure 5, the first feed network includes at least one bridge circuit, which, through a cascade connection, feeds power from two input ports to eight (one example of a value for N1) output ports. For example, the at least one bridge circuit includes a first-stage bridge circuit 501, a second-stage bridge circuit 502, and a third-stage bridge circuit 503, wherein the first-stage bridge circuit 501 includes two input terminals (an example of input terminal #1); the two output terminals of the first-stage bridge circuit are respectively connected to one input terminal of each bridge circuit in the second-stage bridge circuit, and the other two input terminals of the second-stage bridge circuit can serve as the input terminal #2; similarly, the output terminal of the second-stage bridge circuit is connected to part of the input terminals of the third-stage bridge circuit, and optionally, the other input terminals of the third-stage bridge circuit can also serve as the input terminals of the first feeding network (for example, input terminal #3); the output terminal of the third-stage bridge circuit is connected to N1=8 antenna units.

Exemplarily, the number of bridge circuits L can be determined by the number of antenna units N1, for example, L = log ₂ N1; the number of bridge circuits in each stage can be determined according to the stage in which the bridge circuit is located, for example, the number of first-stage bridge circuits n1 = 2 ⁰ ; the number of second-stage bridge circuits n2 = 2 ¹ , etc.

Optionally, each of the N1 antenna units can be connected to the output end of the first feed network through switch #5 (an example of a fourth switch). The switch #5 can be used to control the coupling connection relationship between each antenna unit and the fourth feed point. The fourth feed point includes a feed point provided at the output end of the first feed network and a feed point provided at one end of the N1 lines. That is, by switching the connection relationship between each antenna unit and the fourth feed point through the switch #5, the N1 antenna units can be connected to the output end of the first feed network, or to one end of the N1 lines.

Among them, the N1-th line may include a first line and a second line. The first line is connected to the first RF channel through switch #6 (an example of a fifth switch) and the switch #1. The switch #6 is used to switch the first feeding point provided at the first input end of the first feeding network to the other end of the first line, that is, through the switching of the switch #6, the first RF channel can feed the N1 antenna units through the input end #1 of the first feeding network, or feed the N1 antenna units through the other end of the first line; the other end of the second line is provided with a second feeding point (the second feeding point can be referred to the description below), or in other words, the multiple second feeding points also include a feeding point provided at the other end of the second line.

Based on the structure of the above antenna system, by switching the connection relationship between switch #5 and switch #2 (an example of the third switch), the second RF channel can feed the antenna unit connected to the second line through the second line.

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna system. As shown in FIG6 , each of the N1 (N1=8) antenna units can be connected to the output of the first feed network (the 2-to-8 feed network shown in FIG6 , which can refer to the first feed network shown in FIG5 ) via a switch 601 (an example of a fourth switch); the switch 601 is used to control the connection relationship between each of the N1 antenna units and the fourth feed point. The fourth feed point includes a feed point located at the output of the 2-to-8 feed network and a feed point located at one end of N1 lines. The N1 line includes line #1 (an example of a first line) and line #2 (an example of a second line); a switch 602 (an example of a fifth switch) is provided on line #1; a feed point (an example of a second feed point) is provided at the other end of line #2; and a switch 605 (or switch 606, an example of a third switch) is used to switch the connection relationship between RF channel 2 (an example of a second RF channel) and the second feed point.

Optionally, the N1th line also includes line #6. A third feeding point is provided at the other end of line #6, or in other words, the multiple third feeding points also include a feeding point provided at the other end of line #6. By switching the connection relationship between the third RF channel (see description below) and the third feeding point through switch #3 (an example of the sixth switch, such as switch 609 and/or switch 610), the third RF channel can be fed to the antenna unit connected to line #6 through line #6.

The above is the connection relationship between the N1 antenna units on the first antenna panel and the first feed network in this application. Optionally, the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, and the N2 antenna units are connected to the second RF channel through the second feed network and switch #2 (an example of a third switch).

The output end of the second feed network corresponds to the N2 antenna elements; the switch #2 is used to switch the connection between the second RF channel and multiple second feed points. The multiple second feed points include a feed point located at another input end of the second feed network and a feed point located at input end #2 (an example of another input end of the first feed network).

Based on the structure of the above antenna system, by switching the connection relationship between the second RF channel and multiple second feeding points through switch #2, the second RF channel can feed the N2 antenna units, or feed the antenna units connected to the first feeding network.

For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 3, the value of N2 can be 6, and the six antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the dotted box) are arranged on the antenna panel 320; the RF channel 2 (an example of the second RF channel) is connected to the six antenna units through the second feeding network and the switch 302 (an example of the third switch); the switch 302 is used to switch the connection relationship between the RF channel 2 and multiple second feeding points; the multiple second feeding points include a feeding point provided at the input end #3 of the second feeding network (an example of another input end of the second feeding network) and a feeding point provided at the input end #2 (an example of another input end of the first feeding network).

For another example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8, the value of N2 can be 12, and the 12 antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the middle dotted box in Figure 8) are arranged on the second antenna panel; the RF channel 2 (abbreviated as Trx2, an example of the second RF channel) is connected to the 12 antenna units through the second bridge circuit, the second feeding network and the switch 802 (an example of the third switch); the switch 802 is used to switch the connection relationship between Trx2 and multiple second feeding points; the multiple second feeding points include a feeding point arranged at the first input end of the second bridge circuit, and a feeding point arranged at the second input end of the first bridge circuit. The first input of the second bridge circuit is used to feed power to the first and/or second output of the second bridge circuit. The first and second outputs of the second bridge circuit are connected to input #3 and input #4 of the second feed network, respectively. The second input of the first bridge circuit is used to feed power to the first and/or second output of the first bridge circuit. The first and second outputs of the first bridge circuit are connected to input #1 and input #2 of the first feed network, respectively. The bridge circuits can be described with reference to FIG4 .

In one possible design, the input terminal #4 feeds some of the N2 antenna units.

In this design, the second feed network may include feed sub-network #3, feed sub-network #4, and switch 304 (an example of a second switch). The output of feed sub-network #3 is connected to some of the N2 antenna elements, and the input of feed sub-network #3 is input terminal #3. The output of feed sub-network #4 is connected to the remaining antenna elements of the N2 antenna elements, and the input of feed sub-network #4 can be input terminal #4. Switch 304 is used to control the connection between feed sub-network #3 and feed sub-network #4.

In another possible design, the input terminal #4 feeds some of the N2 antenna units.

The second feeding network may include feeding sub-network #3 and feeding sub-network #4. The output of feeding sub-network #3 is connected to some of the N2 antenna elements, and the input of feeding sub-network #3 is input terminal #3, which is connected to the first output terminal of the second bridge circuit. As shown in FIG8 , the output of feeding sub-network #3 is connected to the third antenna element among the N2 antenna elements; the output of feeding sub-network #4 is connected to the remaining antenna elements among the N2 antenna elements, and the input of feeding sub-network #4 may be input terminal #4, which is connected to the second output terminal of the second bridge circuit. The output of feeding sub-network #4 is connected to the fourth antenna element among the N2 antenna elements.

In another possible design, the input terminal #4 can feed all the N2 antenna units.

The second feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-stage bridge circuits, each stage of the K-stage bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits can serve as the input end #3 of the second feeding network; the input end of the K1-th-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits can serve as the input end #4 of the second feeding network, 1<K1<K; the output end of the K-th-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the output end of the second feeding network, and K is a positive integer.

The bridge circuit or cascade of bridge circuits in the second feeding network can be used to implement feeding of the RF channel from I2 input ports to J2 output ports, where I2 and J2 are positive integers, and J2 is greater than or equal to I2. This application does not limit the relationship between I1 and I2 and between J1 and J2. In one possible implementation, I1 = I2 and/or J1 = J2. The structure of the bridge circuit is described with reference to FIG4.

In this design, the structure of the second feeding network can refer to the structure of the first feeding network, and the connection relationship between the second RF channel and the second feeding network and the N2 antenna units can refer to the connection relationship between the first RF channel, the first feeding network and the N1 antenna units.

Optionally, the antenna system further includes a third antenna panel.

The third antenna panel is provided with N3 antenna units. The N3 antenna units are connected to the third RF channel via a third feed network and switch #3 (an example of a sixth switch). The output end of the third feed network corresponds to the N3 antenna units, or in other words, the output end of the third feed network is respectively connected to the N3 antenna units. Switch #3 is used to switch the coupling connection relationship between the third RF channel and a plurality of third feed points, wherein the plurality of third feed points include a feed point provided at an input end of the third feed network, and a feed point provided at the third input end of the first feed network and/or the third input end of the second feed network. N3 is a positive integer.

Based on the structure of the above antenna system, by switching the connection relationship between the third RF channel and multiple third feeding points through switch #3, the third RF channel can be used to feed the N3 antenna units, or the antenna units connected to the first feeding network and/or the second feeding network can be fed through the third input end of the first feeding network and/or the third input end of the second feeding network.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna system. For example, as shown in Figure 7(a), N3 can be 6. The six antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the dashed box) are provided on antenna panel 710 (an example of a third antenna panel); RF channel 3 (an example of a third RF channel) is connected to the six antenna units via the first feed network and switch 703 (an example of a sixth switch); switch 703 is used to switch the connection relationship between RF channel 3 and multiple third feed points; the multiple third feed points include a feed point provided at input terminal #5 (an example of an input terminal of the third feed network), a feed point provided at input terminal #8 (an example of a third input terminal of the second feed network), and a feed point provided at input terminal #9 (an example of a third input terminal of the second feed network).

For another example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8, the value of N3 can be 12, and the 12 antenna units (such as the antenna units shown in the dotted box on the right in Figure 8) are arranged on the third antenna panel; the RF channel 3 (abbreviated as Trx3, an example of the third RF channel) is connected to the 12 antenna units through the third bridge circuit, the third feeding network and the switch 803 (an example of the sixth switch); the switch 803 is used to switch the connection relationship between Trx3 and multiple third feeding points; the multiple third feeding points include a feeding point arranged at the first input end of the third bridge circuit, and a feeding point arranged at the first input end of the fourth bridge circuit.

The first input of the third bridge circuit is used to feed the first and/or second output of the third bridge circuit, and the first and second outputs of the third bridge circuit are connected to input #5 and input #6 of the third feed network, respectively. The first input of the fourth bridge circuit is used to feed the first and/or second output of the fourth bridge circuit, and the first and second outputs of the fourth bridge circuit are connected to input #10 and input #11 of the second feed network, respectively. Exemplarily, input #11 of the second feed network is used to feed the third antenna unit among the N2 antenna units, and input #10 of the second feed network is used to feed the fourth antenna unit among the N2 antenna units. The bridge circuits can be described with reference to FIG. 4 .

Optionally, the fourth bridge circuit is further provided with a second input end, and the second input end of the fourth bridge circuit can feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the fourth bridge circuit. The second input end of the fourth bridge circuit is connected to the fourth RF channel (Trx4 in Figure 8) through switch #8 (such as switch 804 in Figure 8), and the switch #8 is used to switch the connection relationship between the switch #4 (an example of the second switch) and a plurality of sixth feeding points, wherein the plurality of sixth feeding points include a feeding point provided at the second input end of the fourth bridge circuit and a feeding point provided at the second input end of the third bridge circuit. The second input end of the third bridge circuit can feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the third bridge circuit.

Optionally, a switch #9 (such as switches 805 to 808 shown in FIG8 ) is provided in the feed subnetwork connecting the N2 antenna elements. By controlling the on/off state of switch #9, the RF channel can be controlled to feed power to all or part of the third antenna element and/or the fourth antenna element.

Optionally, as shown in FIG7(a), the third feeding network further includes input terminal #6 (another input terminal of the third feeding network) and input terminal #7 (a third input terminal of the third feeding network). Input terminal #6 and input terminal #7 can respectively feed all or part of the N3 antenna units.

In one possible design, the input end #6 and the input end #7 can be part of the N3 antenna units, respectively. The third feeding network can include a feeding network #5, a feeding network #6, a feeding network #7, a switch 704 (an example of a second switch), and a switch 705. The output end of the feeding network #5 is connected to part of the N3 antenna units, and the input end of the feeding network #5 can be the second input end of the third feeding network; the output end of the feeding network #6 is connected to part of the N3 antenna units, and the input end of the feeding network #6 can be the first input end of the third feeding network; the output end of the feeding network #7 is connected to the remaining antenna units of the N3 antenna units, and the input end of the feeding network #7 can be the third input end of the third feeding network; the switch 704 is used to control the on-off between the feeding network #5 and the feeding network #6; and the switch 705 is used to control the on-off between the feeding network #6 and the feeding network #7.

Optionally, the first feeding point also includes a feeding point located at the input end #6, so that the connection relationship between the first RF channel and multiple first feeding points is switched by the switch #1, so that the first RF channel can feed the antenna unit connected to the third feeding network.

Optionally, the second feeding point also includes a feeding point located at the input end #7, so that the connection relationship between the second RF channel and multiple second feeding points is switched by the switch #2, so that the second RF channel can feed the antenna unit connected to the third feeding network.

In another possible design, the input terminal #6 (or input terminal #7) can feed all the N3 antenna units.

In which, the third feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-level bridge circuits, each level of the K-level bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits can serve as the input end #5 of the third feeding network; the input end of the K1-th level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits can serve as the input end #7 and input end #6 of the third feeding network, 1<K1<K; the output end of the K-th level bridge circuit in the K-level bridge circuits is the output end of the third feeding network, and K is a positive integer.

The bridge circuit or cascade of bridge circuits in the third feeding network can be used to feed RF channel 3 from I3 input ports to J3 output ports, where I3 and J3 are positive integers, and J3 is greater than or equal to I3. This application does not limit the relationship between I1, I2, and I3. In one possible implementation, I1=I2=I3, and/or J1=J2=J3.

In this design, the third feed network can refer to the first feed network; the connection relationship between the third RF channel, the third feed network, and the N3 antenna units can refer to the connection relationship between the first RF channel, the first feed network, and the N1 antenna units. The third feed network is shown in Figure 5.

Optionally, each of the N3 antenna units is connected to the output of the third feed network via switch #5 (an example of a fourth switch), and switch #5 is used to control the coupling connection relationship between each of the N3 antenna units and a fifth feed point. The fifth feed point includes a feed point provided at the output of the third feed network and a feed point provided at one end of the N3 lines. That is, by switching the connection relationship between the N3 antenna units and the fifth feed point through switch #5, the N3 antenna units can be connected to the output of the third feed network or to one end of the N3 lines.

The N3th line includes a third line and a fourth line. The third line is connected to the third RF channel via switch #7 and switch #3. Switch #7 is used to switch the feeding point located at input terminal #5 of the third feeding network to the other end of the third line. The other end of the fourth line is provided with a second feeding point, or in other words, the plurality of second feeding points also includes a feeding point located at the other end of the fourth line.

As shown in FIG6 , each of the N3 (N3=8) antenna units can be connected to the output of the third feed network (such as the 2-for-8 feed network shown in FIG6 , which can be referred to as the first feed network shown in FIG5 ) via switch 601 (an example of a fourth switch). Switch 601 is used to control the connection between each of the N3 antenna units and a fifth feed point. The fifth feed point includes a feed point located at the output of the 2-for-8 feed network and a feed point located at one end of the N3 lines.

Among them, the N3th line includes line #3 (an example of the third line) and line #4 (an example of the fourth line); a switch 603 (an example of switch #7) is provided on line #3; a feeding point (an example of the second feeding point) is provided at the other end of line #4; and switch 605 (or switch 606, an example of the third switch) is used to switch the connection relationship between RF channel 2 (an example of the second RF channel) and the second feeding point.

Optionally, the N3th line also includes line #5. A first feeding point is provided at the other end of line #5, or in other words, the multiple first feeding points also include a feeding point provided at the other end of line #5. By switching the connection relationship between the first RF channel and the first feeding point through switch #1 (e.g., switch 604), the first RF channel can feed the antenna unit connected to line #5 through line #5.

It should be understood that in the present application, the orientations of the first antenna panel, the second antenna panel, and the third antenna panel may be different, so that the antenna system can provide services to users in different directions.

Optionally, the antenna system further includes a controller, which is used to control the switch to switch the coupling connection relationship and/or to control the on and off of the switch, so that the radio frequency channel feeds the antenna units on different antenna panels.

It should be understood that in the present application, the orientations of the first antenna panel, the second antenna panel, and the third antenna panel may be different, so that the multi-faceted antenna system can provide services to users in different directions.

Optionally, the antenna system further includes a controller, which is used to control the switch to switch the coupling connection relationship and/or to control the on and off of the switch, so that the radio frequency channel feeds the antenna units on different antenna panels.

The present application provides a channel allocation method. The switching method can be applied to the above antenna system.

In the initial state, switch #1 can connect to a first feed point at input #1 of the first feed network; switch #2 can connect to a second feed point at input #3 of the second feed network. Alternatively, switch #3 can connect to a third feed point at input #5 of the third feed network. It should be understood that in this switching method, if the switch state is not changed, each switch can remain in its initial state.

For example, the initial state of the antenna system is shown in FIG3(a).

The method may include the following steps:

Step 1: switch the switch #2 to a second feeding point located at the input end #2 of the first feeding network.

By switching the switch #2 to the second feeding point provided at the input end #2 of the first feeding network, the second RF channel can feed the N1 antenna units through the input end #2.

Optionally, in step 2, switch #4 in the first feeding network is controlled to be in an open state.

By controlling switch #4 in the first feeding network to be in an off state, the first RF channel can feed some of the N1 antenna units, and the second RF channel can feed the remaining antenna units.

For example, as shown in FIG3( b ), by controlling the switch 303 to be in an off state, the switch 302 (an example of a third switch) is switched to the input end # 2 of the first feeding network, so that the second RF channel can feed part of the N1 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in (b) of FIG7 , by controlling the switch 708 and the switch 709 (an example of the second switch in the first feeding network) to be in the off state, the switch 702 (an example of the third switch) is switched to the input end #2 of the first feeding network, so that the second RF channel can feed some of the N1 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG5( b ), by controlling switch 505 (an example of a third switch) to switch to input terminal #2 of the first feeding network, RF channel 2 can be used to feed the N1 antenna units. In this example, all of the N1 antenna units are fed through input terminal #2 of the first feeding network.

Alternatively, as shown in (b) of Figure 6, the switch 601 is controlled to switch to one end of the N1 lines, the switch 602 is connected to one end of the first line, and the switch 605 (an example of the third switch) is controlled to switch to the input end #2 of the first feeding network, so that the second RF channel can feed the N1 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG8( b ), by controlling the switch 802 (an example of the third switch) to switch to the input terminal # 2 of the first feeding network, the second RF channel can be used to feed some or all of the N1 antenna units.

Optionally, when the antenna system includes the third antenna surface, the method further includes:

Step three: switch the switch #3 to a third feeding point located at the input terminal #9 of the first feeding network.

By switching the switch #3 to the third feeding point provided at the input end #9 of the first feeding network, the third RF channel can feed the N1 antenna units or some of the N1 antenna units through the input end #9 of the first feeding network.

For example, as shown in FIG7( b ), controlling switch 703 (an example of the sixth switch) to switch to input terminal # 9 of the first feeding network may enable the RF channel 3 to feed some of the N1 antenna units.

For example, as shown in FIG5(b), the control switch 506 (an example of the sixth switch) is switched to the input terminal #9 of the first feeding network, so that the RF channel 3 feeds the N1 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG6( b ), the control switch 606 (an example of the sixth switch) is switched to the input terminal # 9 of the first feeding network, so that the third RF channel feeds the N1 antenna units.

Optionally, the method may include:

Step 4: switch the switch #1 to the first feeding point located at the input terminal #4 of the second feeding network.

By switching the switch #1 to the first feeding point provided at the input end #4 of the second feeding network, the first RF channel can feed the N2 antenna units through the second feeding network.

Optionally, the switch #4 in the second feeding network is controlled to be in an open state.

By controlling switch #4 in the second feeding network to be in an off state, the second RF channel can feed some of the N2 antenna units, and the first RF channel can feed the remaining antenna units in the N2 antenna units.

For example, as shown in (c) of FIG3 , by controlling the switch 301 to switch to the input terminal #4 of the second feeding network and controlling the switch 304 to be in an open state, the first RF channel and the second RF channel can be fed to the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in (c) of FIG7 , by controlling switch 701 (an example of a first switch) to switch to input terminal #4 of the second feeding network, and controlling switch 706 and switch 707 (an example of a second switch in the second feeding network) to be in an off state, the first RF channel can be used to feed some of the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG5(c), by controlling the switch 504 (an example of the first switch) to switch to the input terminal #4 of the second feeding network, the RF channel 1 can be made to feed the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG6(c), by controlling the switch 604 (an example of the first switch) to switch to the input terminal #4 of the second feeding network, the first RF channel can be made to feed the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in (c) of FIG8 , by controlling switch 801 (an example of a first switch) to switch to the second input end of the second bridge circuit, the second input end is connected to input end #4 of the second feeding network, so that the first RF channel can feed some or all of the N2 antenna units.

Optionally, when the antenna system includes the third antenna surface:

If the second feeding network includes a third input terminal (for example, input terminal #8), the method may further include:

Step 5: Switch the switch #3 to the third feeding point located at the input terminal #8 of the second feeding network.

By switching the switch #3 to the third feeding point provided at the third input end of the second feeding network, the third RF channel can be fed to the N2 antenna units or an antenna unit among the N2 antenna units through the third input end of the second feeding network.

For example, as shown in (c) of FIG7 , by controlling switch 703 (an example of the sixth switch) to switch to input terminal #8 of the second feeding network, the RF channel 3 can be made to feed some of the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG5(c), by controlling the switch 506 (an example of the sixth switch) to switch to the input terminal #8 of the second feeding network, the RF channel 3 can be made to feed the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG6(c), by controlling the switch 606 (an example of the sixth switch) to switch to the input terminal #8 of the second feeding network, the third RF channel can be made to feed the N2 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG8(c), by controlling switch 803 (an example of the sixth switch) to switch to input terminal #10 of the second feeding network, Trx3 can be configured to feed some of the N2 antenna elements. Optionally, in this example, switches 805 to 808 are controlled to be in an open state.

Optionally, when the first feeding network includes a third input terminal (for example, input terminal #9), the switch #3 can also be switched to a feeding point located at the third input terminal of the first feeding network, so that the third feeding network feeds some or all of the N1 antenna units.

Optionally, in step six, the switch #1 is switched to a feeding point located at the input terminal #6 of the third feeding network; and/or the switch #2 is switched to a feeding point located at the third input terminal of the third feeding network.

By switching the switch #1 to the first feeding point located at the input end #6 of the third feeding network; and/or switching the switch #2 to the second feeding point located at the third input end of the third feeding network, the first RF channel can be fed to the N3 antenna units or some of the N3 antenna units through the third feeding network, and/or the second RF channel can be fed to the N3 antenna units or some of the N3 antenna units through the third feeding network.

Optionally, in step seven, switch #4 in the third feeding network is controlled to be in an open state.

For example, as shown in (d) of Figure 7, by controlling switch 701 (an example of the first switch) to switch to input end #6 of the third feeding network, controlling switch 702 (an example of the third switch) to switch to input end #7 of the third feeding network, and switches 704 and 705 are in the disconnected state, the RF channel 1 can be used to feed some of the N3 antenna units, and the RF channel 2 can be used to feed some of the N3 antenna units.

For example, as shown in (d) of Figure 5, by controlling switch 504 (an example of the first switch) to switch to input terminal #6 of the third feeding network and controlling switch 505 (an example of the third switch) to switch to input terminal #7 of the third feeding network, RF channel 1 and RF channel 2 can be fed to the N3 antenna units.

Alternatively, as shown in (d) of Figure 6 , the switch 601 connected to the N3 antenna units is controlled to switch to one end of the N3 lines, the switch 603 is connected to one end of line #3, and the switch 604 (an example of the first switch) is controlled to switch to one end of the line #5, and the switch 605 (an example of the third switch) is controlled to switch to the second input end of the third feeding network, so that the second RF channel can feed the N3 antenna units.

Optionally, the switch #8 (for example, the switch 804 in FIG8 ) can also be controlled to switch to the feeding point provided at the input end of the third feeding network, so that the fourth RF channel feeds some of the N3 antenna units, as shown in FIG8 (d).

In the above figure, the antenna unit in the dotted box on the left corresponds to the first antenna panel, the antenna unit in the middle dotted box corresponds to the second antenna panel, and the antenna unit in the dotted box on the right corresponds to the third antenna panel. The connection relationship between the feed network and the antenna unit in (b) to (d) of the figure, as well as the reference numerals of each component, refer to (a) of the figure. It should be understood that the above figure is only a schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna system. The antenna system may also include other components, for example, other switches, and this application does not limit this.

It should be understood that the antenna system shown in Figures 3 to 8 above can be a base station, or other communication equipment with the same or similar functions as a base station, etc., and this application is not limited to this.

Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program codes.

The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims (14)

An antenna system, characterized by comprising: at least two antenna panels, wherein the at least two antenna panels include a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel, The first antenna panel is provided with N1 antenna units, and the N1 antenna units are connected to the first RF channel through a first feeding network and a first switch. The output end of the first feeding network corresponds to the N1 antenna units. The first switch is used to control the connection relationship between the first RF channel and multiple first feeding points. The multiple first feeding points include a feeding point provided at an input end of the first feeding network and a feeding point provided at an input end of the second feeding network. The second feeding network is used to connect the second antenna panel to the second RF channel, wherein N1 is a positive integer. The antenna system according to claim 1, wherein the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units. A second switch is provided in the second feeding network, and the second switch is used to control the on-off between the first feeding sub-network and the second feeding sub-network in the second feeding network; The input end of the first feed sub-network is the one input end of the second feed network, the output end of the first feed sub-network is connected to some of the N2 antenna units, and the output end of the second feed sub-network is connected to the antenna units of the N2 antenna units except the some output ends, and N2 is a positive integer. The antenna system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first feeding network is composed of a cascade of K-stage bridge circuits, each stage of the K-stage bridge circuits includes at least one bridge circuit, the input end of the first-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the one input end of the first feeding network, and the output end of the K-th-stage bridge circuit in the K-stage bridge circuits is the output end of the first feeding network, where K is a positive integer. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the other input end of the second feeding network is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and a plurality of second feeding points, wherein the plurality of second feeding points include a feeding point provided at the other input end of the first feeding network. The antenna system according to claim 4 is characterized in that each of the N1 antenna units is connected to the output end of the first feeding network through a fourth switch, and the fourth switch is used to control the connection relationship between each antenna unit and the fourth feeding point, and the fourth feeding point includes a feeding point provided at the output end of the first feeding network and a feeding point provided at one end of N1 lines, and the N1-th line includes a first line and a second line, wherein the first line is connected to the first RF channel through a fifth switch and the first switch, and the fifth switch is used to control the feeding point provided at the one input end of the first feeding network to be switched to the other end of the first line, and the other end of the second line is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least two antenna panels further include a third antenna panel, the plurality of first feeding points further include a feeding point provided at an input end of a third feeding network, and the third feeding network is used to connect the third antenna panel to a third RF channel. The antenna system according to claim 1, characterized in that the multiple first feeding points include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a first bridge circuit, the first input end of the first bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the first bridge circuit, the first output end of the first bridge circuit is connected to the one input end of the first feeding network, and the second output end of the first bridge circuit is connected to the other input end of the first feeding network. The antenna system according to claim 7, characterized in that the multiple first feeding points also include a feeding point provided at a first input end of a second bridge circuit, the first input end of the second bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the second bridge circuit, the first output end of the second bridge circuit is connected to an input end of the second feeding network, and the second output end of the second bridge circuit is connected to the other input end of the second feeding network. The antenna system according to claim 7 or 8 is characterized in that the second input end of the first bridge circuit is connected to the second RF channel through a third switch, the second input end of the first bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the first bridge circuit, and the third switch is used to control the connection relationship between the second RF channel and a plurality of second feeding points, the plurality of second feeding points including a feeding point provided at the second input end of the first bridge circuit and a feeding point provided at the second input end of the second bridge circuit, and the second input end of the second bridge circuit is used to feed the first output end and/or the second output end of the second bridge circuit. The antenna system according to claim 9 is characterized in that the second antenna panel is provided with N2 antenna units, the first input end of the second feed network is connected to the third antenna unit among the N2 antenna units through the first feed sub-network in the second feed network, and the third antenna unit is connected to the third RF channel through the third feed sub-network and the sixth switch in the second feed network, and the sixth switch is used to control the connection relationship between the third RF channel and a plurality of third feed points, wherein the plurality of third feed points include a feed point provided at the input end of the third feed sub-network, and N2 is a positive integer. The antenna system according to claim 10 is characterized in that the antenna system further includes a third antenna panel, the third panel is provided with N3 antenna units, the N3 antenna units are connected to the output end of the fourth bridge circuit through a third feeding network, the input end of the fourth bridge circuit is provided with the third feeding point, and N3 is a positive integer. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the antenna system further comprises a controller, wherein the controller is used to control the on and off of the switch in the antenna system. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the first antenna panel and the second antenna surface are oriented in different directions. A communication device, comprising: a controller and the antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the controller is used to control the switching of switches in the antenna system.