Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the above technical problems or at least partially solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a phase shifter assembly and a base station antenna.
In a first aspect, the present application provides a phase shifter assembly, which may include a metal housing including a first package wall, a second package wall, a connection wall, a top wall, a first opening and a second opening, where the first package wall, the top wall and the second package wall are sequentially connected, the first package wall and the second package wall are opposite, the first opening is surrounded by the first package wall, the top wall and the second package wall, the connection wall is opposite to the first opening and is connected to the first package wall, the top wall and the second package wall, and the second opening is opposite to the top wall; the power division circuit board is covered in the second opening, the power division circuit board and the metal shell jointly define a shielding cavity, a metal wire is arranged in the shielding cavity and extends towards the connecting wall in the first opening, the metal wire comprises a first connecting end and a second connecting end, the first connecting end and the second connecting end are electrically connected with the power division circuit board, a plastic connecting block is arranged in the shielding cavity, the metal wire is fixed with the metal shell through the plastic connecting block, a phase shifting medium block can penetrate through the first opening and can slide back and forth in the direction of the first opening towards the connecting wall, the phase shifting medium block is provided with a phase shifting groove matched with the metal wire, the metal wire can extend into the phase shifting groove, one of the first guiding protrusion and the first guiding groove is mutually matched, the first guiding protrusion and the first guiding groove is arranged on the first packaging wall, and extends along the direction of the first opening towards the connecting wall, and the other is arranged on the surface of the phase shifting medium block opposite to the first packaging wall.
Therefore, the metal wires and the metal shell are fixed together through the plastic connecting block, the unstable fit clearance between the metal wires and the metal shell in the process of clamping can be reduced, the condition that a plurality of phase shifters are poor in consistency is caused, the stability of the phase shifting medium block in the sliding process can be ensured through the arrangement of the first guide protrusions and the first wire grooves which are matched with each other, and the performance stability of the phase shifter assembly is improved.
In some embodiments of the present application, the phase shifter assembly further includes a second guide protrusion and a second guide groove that are mutually matched, one of the second guide protrusion and the second guide groove is provided on the second package wall and extends along the first opening toward the connection wall, and the other is provided on a surface of the phase shifting medium block opposite to the second package wall.
In some embodiments of the present application, a circumferential edge of the second opening is provided with a ground pin, and the ground pin is electrically connected with the power dividing circuit board.
In some embodiments of the application, the phase shifting medium block is further provided with a driving connecting part, and the phase shifter assembly comprises a driving assembly which is in transmission connection with the driving connecting part and is used for driving the phase shifting medium block to slide.
In some embodiments of the present application, the metal wire includes a plurality of wire units connected end to end in sequence in a direction in which the first opening faces the connection wall.
In some embodiments of the present application, the metal wire includes a first sub-wire and a second sub-wire, each of the first sub-wire and the second sub-wire extends along the first opening toward the connection wall, wherein an end of the first sub-wire adjacent to the first opening is formed as a first connection end, an end of the second sub-wire adjacent to the first opening is formed as a second connection end, and an end of the first sub-wire adjacent to the connection wall is connected to an end of the second sub-wire adjacent to the connection wall.
In some embodiments of the present application, one of the plastic connection block and the power dividing circuit board is provided with a positioning pin, and the other is provided with a positioning hole matched with the positioning pin.
In some embodiments of the present application, the phase shifting medium block includes a matching groove formed by recessing a side surface of the phase shifting medium block facing the power dividing circuit board toward the top wall, the phase shifting groove penetrating through the matching groove, and when the metal wire penetrates through the matching groove, a portion of the metal wire corresponding to the matching groove is exposed to the phase shifting medium block.
In some embodiments of the present application, the number of the matching grooves may be plural.
In a second aspect, the present application further provides a base station antenna, which may include a plurality of phase shifter assemblies according to any of the above aspects.
The technical effects brought by any one of the design schemes in the second aspect may be referred to the technical effects brought by the different design schemes in the first aspect, which are not described herein.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the drawings which are used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described, and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without inventive effort.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a phase shifter assembly provided in some embodiments of the present application;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the phase shifter assembly shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the phase shifter assembly shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the phase shifter assembly shown in FIG. 1 in another direction;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a metal wire according to some embodiments of the present application;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a metal wire according to other embodiments of the present application;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a metal wire according to still other embodiments of the present application;
fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of phase tolerance of a phase shifter assembly according to the present application.
Reference numerals:
100. A phase shifter assembly;
110. Metal shell, 111, first packaging wall, 112, second packaging wall, 113, connecting wall, 114, top wall, 115, first opening, 116, second opening, 1161, grounding pin, 117, first guide protrusion, 118, second guide protrusion;
120. the power division circuit board, 121, bonding pads, 122, positioning holes;
130. Metal wire 131, first connecting end 132, second connecting end 133, wire unit 134, first sub-wire 135, second sub-wire;
140. 141, locating pins;
150. phase shifting medium block 151, phase shifting groove 152, first guiding groove 153, second guiding groove 154, driving connecting part 155 and matching groove.
Detailed Description
In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood, a further description of the invention will be made. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, but the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as described herein, and it is apparent that the embodiments in the specification are only some, rather than all, of the embodiments of the present invention.
In the coverage of a mobile communication network, an electrically-tunable base station antenna is one of key equipment of the coverage network, a phase shifter is the most core component of the electrically-tunable base station antenna, and the performance of the phase shifter directly determines the performance of the electrically-tunable base station antenna so as to influence the coverage quality of the network, so that the importance of the phase shifter in the field of the mobile base station antenna is self-evident.
In the conventional design of the dielectric phase shifter, the phase shifter is generally divided into three components, namely a cavity, a transmission belt line and a dielectric plate, and the dielectric plate is assembled by two pieces. However, the fit clearance is unstable during assembly, resulting in poor consistency of the plurality of phase shifters.
In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a base station antenna including a plurality of phase shifter assemblies 100.
Specifically, referring to fig. 1 to 3, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a phase shifter assembly 100 according to some embodiments of the present application, fig. 2 is an exploded view of the phase shifter assembly 100 shown in fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the phase shifter assembly 100 shown in fig. 1. The phase shifter assembly 100 may include a metal housing 110, a power split circuit board 120, a metal wire 130, a plastic connection block 140, a phase shifting medium block 150, and first guide protrusions 117 and first guide grooves 152 that are matched with each other.
Referring to fig. 3 and 4, fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the phase shifter assembly 100 shown in fig. 1 in another direction. The metal shell 110 may include a first package wall 111, a second package wall 112, a connection wall 113, a top wall 114, a first opening 115 and a second opening 116, where the first package wall 111, the top wall 114 and the second package wall 112 are sequentially connected, the first package wall 111 and the second package wall 112 are oppositely disposed, the first opening 115 is surrounded by the first package wall 111, the top wall 114 and the second package wall 112, the connection wall 113 is oppositely disposed with the first opening 115 and is respectively connected with the first package wall 111, the top wall 114 and the second package wall 112, and the second opening 116 is oppositely disposed with the top wall 114.
In some embodiments, the first package wall 111, the second package wall 112, the connection wall 113, and the top wall 114 are all formed in a plate shape, the first package wall 111, the second package wall 112, the connection wall 113, and the top wall 114 enclose a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the first opening 115 is formed as an opening on one side of the rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the second opening 116 is formed as an opening on the other side of the rectangular parallelepiped shape.
In other embodiments, the first packaging wall 111, the second packaging wall 112 and the top wall 114 may be formed in an arc shape, the first packaging wall 111, the second packaging wall 112 and the top wall 114 are enclosed to form an arc-shaped side wall, the connecting wall 113 is formed in a plate shape, one end opening of the arc-shaped side wall is sealed, the first opening 115 is the other end opening of the arc-shaped side wall, and the second opening 116 is the side opening of the arc-shaped side wall.
With continued reference to fig. 3 and 4, and with reference to fig. 1, the power dividing circuit board 120 is covered on the second opening 116, and the power dividing circuit board 120 and the metal housing 110 together define a shielding cavity. The shielding cavity may shield electromagnetic signals. Specifically, the circumferential edge of the second opening 116 of the metal shell 110 is disposed on the grounding pin 1161, and the grounding pin 1161 is electrically connected to the power dividing circuit board 120, so as to implement grounding of the metal shell 110.
Specifically, referring to fig. 1 and 3, the power dividing circuit board 120 is provided with a pad 121 that mates with a ground pin 1161, and the ground pin 1161 is electrically connected to the power dividing circuit board 120 through the pad 121. In a specific implementation process, the number of the ground pins 1161 may be multiple, where the multiple ground pins 1161 are disposed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the second opening 116, and the multiple ground pins 1161 are electrically connected to the power distribution circuit board 120.
The metal wire 130 is disposed in the shielding cavity, the metal wire 130 extends in a direction (for example, a front-rear direction shown in fig. 3) in which the first opening 115 faces the connection wall 113, the metal wire 130 includes a first connection end 131 and a second connection end 132, and the first connection end 131 and the second connection end 132 are electrically connected to the power division circuit board 120.
Specifically, the power dividing circuit board 120 is provided with a solder pad matched with the first connection end 131 and the second connection end 132, and the first connection end 131 and the second connection end 132 are electrically connected with the power dividing circuit board 120 through the solder pad 121.
With continued reference to fig. 2 and fig. 3, the plastic connection block 140 is disposed in the shielding cavity, the metal wire 130 is fixed to the metal housing 110 through the plastic connection block 140, specifically, in the process of assembling the metal wire 130 and the metal housing 110, the plastic connection block 140 is injection molded to the connection position of the metal wire 130 and the metal housing 110 through an injection molding process, so that the metal wire 130, the metal housing 110 and the plastic connection block 140 are formed into a whole, and unstable assembly gaps caused by clamping assembly in the use process of the metal wire 130, the metal housing 110 and the plastic connection block 140 in the prior art can be avoided, so that poor consistency of a plurality of phase shifter assemblies 100 occurs, assembly errors of the phase shifter assemblies 100 are effectively controlled, and performance stability of the phase shifter assemblies 100 is improved.
Specifically, referring to fig. 3, the number of the plastic connection blocks 140 is two, one of the plastic connection blocks is matched with the first connection end 131 of the metal wire 130, the first connection end 131 penetrates through one of the plastic connection blocks 140 to be electrically connected with the power division circuit board 120, the other plastic connection block is matched with the second connection end 132 of the metal wire 130, and the second connection end 132 penetrates through the other plastic connection block 140 to be electrically connected with the power division circuit board 120.
The phase shifting medium block 150 can pass through the first opening 115 and can slide reciprocally in the direction of the first opening 115 towards the connecting wall 113, the phase shifting medium block 150 is provided with a phase shifting groove 151 matched with the metal wire 130, the metal wire 130 can extend into the phase shifting groove 151, and it is noted that the phase shifting groove 151 at least comprises a first opening towards the connecting wall 113 and a second opening towards the power dividing circuit board 120, so that the metal wire 130 can move in the phase shifting groove 151 and meanwhile can avoid the first connecting end 131 and the second connecting end 132 of the metal wire 130. It will be appreciated that sliding of the phase shifting dielectric block 150 can cause phase differences in the striplines formed by the metallic conductors 130 within the shielded cavity.
As shown in fig. 4, the first guide protrusion 117 and the first guide groove 152 are matched, and the first guide protrusion 117 is disposed on the first package wall 111 and extends along the first opening 115 toward the connection wall 113, and the first guide groove 152 is disposed on a surface of the phase shift dielectric block 150 opposite to the first package wall 111. The first guide groove 152 may be provided on the first package wall 111 and extend in a direction of the first opening 115 toward the connection wall 113, and the first guide protrusion 117 may be provided on a surface of the phase shift dielectric block 150 opposite to the first package wall 111.
Therefore, by arranging the first guide protrusion 117 and the first guide wire groove which are matched with each other, guidance can be provided for the sliding process of the phase shifting medium block 150, so that the stability of the phase shifting medium block 150 in the sliding process is ensured, the shaking of the phase shifting medium block 150 in the sliding process is reduced, and the performance stability of the phase shifter assembly 100 is improved.
Further, with continued reference to fig. 4, the phase shifter assembly 100 may further include a second guide protrusion 118 and a second guide groove 153 that are matched with each other, where the second guide protrusion 118 is disposed on the second package wall 112 and extends along the first opening 115 toward the connection wall 113, and the second guide groove 153 is disposed on a surface of the phase shifting medium block 150 opposite to the second package wall 112. The second guide groove 153 may be provided on the second package wall 112 and extend along the direction of the second opening 116 toward the connection wall 113, and the second guide protrusion 118 may be provided on a surface of the phase shift dielectric block 150 opposite to the second package wall 112.
Thus, since the first guide protrusion 117 and the first guide groove 152, which are matched with each other, and the second guide protrusion 118 and the second guide groove 153, which are matched with each other, are disposed at the corresponding positions of the first package wall 111 and the second package wall 112, stability of the phase shift dielectric block 150 in the moving process can be further ensured, sliding of the phase shift dielectric block 150 is reduced, and performance stability of the phase shifter assembly 100 is further improved.
Still further, referring to fig. 4, the first guide groove 152 and the second guide groove 153 may be symmetrically disposed, and the first guide protrusion 117 and the second guide protrusion 118 may be symmetrically disposed.
In some embodiments of the present application, the phase shifting medium assembly may further include a driving assembly, where the driving assembly is used to drive the phase shifting medium block 150 to slide, specifically, an end of the phase shifting medium block 150 away from the connecting wall 113 is provided with a driving connection portion 154, and the driving assembly is in driving connection with the driving connection portion 154 to drive the phase shifting medium block 150 to slide.
In some embodiments of the present application, please refer to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a metal wire 130 according to some embodiments of the present application. The metal wire 130 may be formed in a straight shape to extend from the first opening 115 to the vicinity of the connection wall 113 in sequence, the first connection end 131 being disposed near the first opening 115, and the second connection end 132 being disposed near the connection wall 113.
In other embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a metal wire 130 according to other embodiments of the present application. To obtain a larger phasor, the metal wire 130 may include a first sub-wire 134 and a second sub-wire 135, each of the first sub-wire 134 and the second sub-wire 135 extending along the first opening 115 toward the connection wall 113 (e.g., the front-to-back direction shown in fig. 6).
One end of the first sub-wire 134 near the first opening 115 is formed as a first connection end 131, one end of the second sub-wire 135 near the first opening 115 is formed as a second connection end 132, one end of the first sub-wire 134 near the connection wall 113 is connected with one end of the second sub-wire 135 near the connection wall 113, i.e. the metal wire 130 extends from the first opening 115 towards the connection wall 113, and then extends from the connection wall 113 towards the first opening 115, thereby prolonging the length of the metal wire 130 in the shielding cavity and further obtaining larger phase shift quantity.
In still other embodiments of the present application, please refer to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a metal wire 130 according to still other embodiments of the present application. To obtain a larger phasor, the metal wire 130 may include a plurality of wire units 133, the plurality of wire units 133 being connected end to end in sequence in a direction of the first opening 115 toward the connection wall 113. Wherein the wire unit 133 is formed in an inverted "m" structure. That is, the metal wire 130 extends in a wave shape from the first opening 115 toward the connecting wall 113, the first connecting end 131 is close to the first opening 115, and the second connecting end 132 is close to the second opening 116.
In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 2, one of the plastic connection block 140 and the power distribution circuit board 120 is provided with a positioning pin 141, and the other is provided with a positioning hole 122 matched with the positioning pin 141, so as to realize positioning between the metal housing 110 and the power distribution circuit board 120 in sequence.
Specifically, referring to fig. 2, a plastic connection block 140 may be provided with a positioning pin 141, and a power dividing circuit board 120 is provided with a positioning hole 122. Or the plastic connecting block 140 is provided with a positioning hole 122, and the power dividing circuit board 120 is provided with a positioning pin 141.
In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 2 and 3, in order to match impedance in the phase shifting process, a matching groove 155 may be formed at an end of the phase shifting dielectric block 150 near the connection wall 113, the matching groove 155 is formed by recessing a side surface of the phase shifting dielectric block 150 facing the power dividing circuit board 120 toward the top wall 114, the phase shifting groove 151 penetrates through the matching groove 155, and when the metal wire 130 penetrates through the matching groove 155, a portion of the metal wire 130 corresponding to the matching groove 155 is exposed to the phase shifting dielectric block 150.
Further, in order to expand the width of the phase shifter, a plurality of matching grooves 155 may be formed on the phase shifting medium block 150, so as to implement multi-stage matching.
In summary, in a specific experimental process, the phase shifter assembly 100 provided by the present application has a significant improvement in stability, especially in phase. Tolerance analysis is performed for the design, i.e., the phase shifting dielectric block 150 is rocked up and down and left and right within the shielded cavity. Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a phase tolerance of a phase shifter assembly 100 according to the present application, wherein simulation data shows that the phase shifter assembly 100 according to the present application has a design phase tolerance of ±2.5°, i.e. the maximum phase difference between a plurality of phase shifter assemblies 100 in a large-scale array is within 5 °.
In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, merely to facilitate description of the present invention and simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
The terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.
In the description of embodiments of the present invention, the term "and/or" refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term "and/or" is an association relation describing an associated object, and indicates that three kinds of relations may exist, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate that a exists alone, a and B exist together, and B exists alone. In the present invention, the character "/" generally indicates that the front and rear related objects are an or relationship.
In describing embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless explicitly stated and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be construed broadly, and for example, "connected" may be either detachably connected or non-detachably connected, or may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediary. Wherein, "fixedly connected" means that the relative positional relationship is unchanged after being connected with each other. In addition, references to orientation terms, such as "inner", "outer", etc., in the embodiments of the present invention are merely with reference to the orientation of the drawings, and thus the use of orientation terms is intended to better and more clearly illustrate and understand the embodiments of the present invention, rather than to indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present invention.
In the description of embodiments of the present invention, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
The foregoing is only a specific embodiment of the invention to enable those skilled in the art to understand or practice the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown and described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.