Connection structure of waveguide, waveguide connector, mode converter, and waveguide unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12046793-B2
Application number	US-202217824034-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 25, 2022
Priority date	Dec 24, 2019
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

A connection structure of a waveguide includes a rod-like dielectric, and an outer conductor. A three-dimensional component includes a connection surface, an insertion hole, and a corner which forms an opening edge of the insertion hole over an entire circumference on the connection surface, the connection surface at least partially including a conductive region to which a connection enlarged portion of the outer conductor is connected, the insertion hole having conductivity over an entire circumference of an inner surface, the corner having conductivity and being conducted with the inner surface of the insertion hole. In a state where the waveguide and the three-dimensional component are connected with each other, the connection enlarged portion is electrically conducted with the inner surface of the insertion hole through electrical connection with the connection surface and the corner, and smooth connection is made at the corner.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connection structure of a waveguide, the connection structure connecting a waveguide used for transmitting a radio wave of a millimeter wave frequency or a frequency higher than the millimeter wave frequency, to another member, wherein
the waveguide includes
a rod-like dielectric, and
an outer conductor formed by braiding a plurality of flat foil yarns into a braid shape around the rod-like dielectric, the plurality of flat foil yarns having conductivity,
a three-dimensional component, which is the other member, includes
a connection surface at least partially including a conductive region to which a connection enlarged portion of the outer conductor is connected in a state where the three-dimensional component is connected with the waveguide,
an insertion hole which is open on the connection surface, and has conductivity over an entire circumference of an inner surface, a portion of the rod-like dielectric exposed at the connection enlarged portion of the waveguide being inserted into the insertion hole in the state where the three-dimensional component is connected with the waveguide, and
a corner which forms an opening edge of the insertion hole over an entire circumference on the connection surface, the corner having conductivity and being conducted with the inner surface of the insertion hole, and
in a state where the waveguide and the other member are connected with each other, the connection enlarged portion is electrically conducted with the inner surface of the insertion hole through electrical connection with the connection surface and the corner, and smooth connection is made at the corner.

2. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein
at the corner, a waveguide path formed by an inner surface of the outer conductor of the waveguide and a waveguide path formed by the inner surface of the insertion hole are continuously connected to be aligned within an error range of 1/50 of a center wavelength λ of a carrier wave.

3. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein
the connection surface of the three-dimensional component includes an edge which protrudes toward a front side, and
the outer conductor is smoothly expanded along the edge.

4. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein
the connection enlarged portion and the connection surface of the three-dimensional component are electrically conducted with each other by a conductive adhesive agent.

5. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein
the three-dimensional component is a molded interconnect device.

6. A waveguide connector which has the connection structure of the waveguide according to claim 1 .

7. A mode converter which has the connection structure of the waveguide according to claim 1 .

8. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 1 , the connection structure further comprising:
a fixing member configured to fix the waveguide to the three-dimensional component; and
an auxiliary pressing member configured to press the fixing member and the three-dimensional component together, wherein
the fixing member includes a through hole, and the through hole has a flattened cross-sectional hole shape at a portion having a smallest hole diameter, the flattened cross-sectional hole shape having a major axis greater than a major axis of a cross section of the rod-like dielectric by a length of two times a thickness of the outer conductor, and having a minor axis greater than a minor axis of the cross section of the rod-like dielectric by the length of two times the thickness of the outer conductor, and
in a state where the waveguide is inserted into the through hole and the rod-like dielectric is inserted into the insertion hole, the fixing member presses the connection enlarged portion against the connection surface by the auxiliary pressing member to make the connection enlarged portion electrically conductive with the connection surface from the corner.

9. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 8 , wherein
the fixing member is configured of a plurality of members, and
the through hole is formed by combining the plurality of members.

10. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 8 , wherein
the insertion hole of the three-dimensional component has a flat cross-sectional shape having a major axis and a minor axis which are greater than the major axis and the minor axis of the cross section of the rod-like dielectric, and the through hole, which is flattened and formed in the fixing member, includes the portion having the smallest hole diameter at a position away from a side end which comes into contact with the three-dimensional component, and
the outer conductor of the waveguide inserted into the through hole is expanded toward the corner of the three-dimensional component from the portion having the smallest hole diameter in the through hole of the fixing member.

11. A waveguide connector which is connectable to a hollow square waveguide, wherein
the waveguide connector has the connection structure of the waveguide according to claim 10 , an opening of the insertion hole of the three-dimensional component on an opposite side of the corner has an opening shape connectable to a hollow waveguide, and the rod-like dielectric has a shape in which a cross-sectional area of the rod-like dielectric gradually decreases, in the insertion hole and the through hole within a range starting from the portion having the smallest diameter in the through hole to the opening of the insertion hole on an opposite side of the corner.

12. The connection structure of a waveguide according to claim 8 , wherein
the insertion hole of the three-dimensional component has a flat cross-sectional shape at least at an end on a side of the corner, the flat cross-sectional shape having a major axis and a minor axis substantially equal to the major axis and the minor axis of the cross section of the rod-like dielectric, and the through hole of the fixing member includes the portion having the smallest diameter at least at a side end which comes into contact with the three-dimensional component.

13. A waveguide connector which is connectable to a hollow square waveguide, wherein
the waveguide connector has the connection structure of the waveguide according to claim 12 , the insertion hole is formed in the three-dimensional component, an opening of the insertion hole on an opposite side of the corner has an opening shape connectable to a hollow waveguide, and the rod-like dielectric has a shape in which a cross-sectional area of the rod-like dielectric gradually decreases, in the insertion hole within a range starting from the corner of the insertion hole to the opening on the opposite side of the corner.

14. The waveguide connector according to claim 13 , wherein
the shape in which the cross-sectional area of the rod-like dielectric gradually decreases, is a shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases from one end toward an opposite end in a direction of a major axis, and the cross-sectional area decreases from both ends of the rod-like dielectric toward a center in a direction of a minor axis.

15. A waveguide unit comprising:
the waveguide; and the waveguide connector connectable to the hollow square waveguide according to claim 13 , the waveguide including the rod-like dielectric having a flat cross-sectional shape and the outer conductor formed by braiding the plurality of flat foil yarns into the braid shape around the rod-like dielectric in a longitudinal direction, th

Assignees

• Olympus Corp
• Fukui Prefectural Government

Inventors

• Watanabe Tadashi
• Suesada Shinji

Classifications

• H01P3/16

  Dielectric waveguides, i.e. without a longitudinal conductor · CPC title

• H01P3/12

  Hollow waveguides (H01P3/20 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01P3/14

  flexible · CPC title

• H01P3/122

  Dielectric loaded (not air) · CPC title

• H01P1/16

  for mode selection, e.g. mode suppression or mode promotion; for mode conversion · CPC title