Base station antenna, feeder component and frame component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025062524-A1
Application number	US-202418939073-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 6, 2024
Priority date	Sep 3, 2020
Publication date	Feb 20, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

Base station antennas, and components for base station antennas, such as reflectors, feeder components, frames, and column components. A base station antenna may include a reflector; a first radiator located at the front side of the reflector; mutually parallel first and second ground plates extending backward from the reflector and basically perpendicular to the reflector; and a first conductor strip extending between the first and second ground plates and configured to feed power to the first radiator. The first conductor strip and the first and second ground plates may be configured as a first stripline transmission line. The reflector and the first and second ground plates may be configured as one piece so that the reflector is grounded via the first and second ground plates without soldering.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A feeder component for feeding a column of radiators configured to operate in a first polarization direction of a base station antenna, comprising:
a stripline transmission line located rearward from a rear surface of a reflector of the base station antenna and substantially perpendicular to the reflector, wherein the stripline transmission line comprises:
first and second ground plates that are parallel to each other, and
a conductor strip that extends between the first and second ground plates, the conductor strip having an input part and a plurality of output parts,
wherein the first and second ground plates are electrically connected to an outer conductor of a coaxial transmission line that feeds the column, wherein the input part is electrically connected to an inner conductor of the coaxial transmission line, wherein the plurality of output parts are configured to be electrically connected to the column to feed the column, and wherein the first and second ground plates are constructed as one piece with the reflector, so that the reflector is grounded via the first and second ground plates without a soldering connection therebetween.

2 . The feeder component according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of micro-strip transmission lines located forward of a front surface of the reflector for feeding the column, wherein each of the plurality of micro-strip transmission lines comprises a conductor trace printed on the front surface of a dielectric substrate and a conductor plane printed on the rear surface of the dielectric substrate, wherein each of the output parts is electrically connected to a respective one of the conductor traces, and wherein the conductor plane is grounded by being electrically coupled to the reflector.

3 . The feeder component according to claim 2 , wherein each of the output parts extends and passes through the reflector and the dielectric substrate to be soldered to the respective conductor traces in front of the reflector.

4 . The feeder component according to claim 2 , wherein the column includes a first radiator, the plurality of output parts includes a first output part, and the plurality of micro-strip transmission lines includes a first micro-strip transmission line, wherein the first output part is electrically connected to the conductor trace of the first micro-strip transmission line, and the conductor trace of the first micro-strip transmission line is configured to feed the first radiator solely.

5 . The feeder component according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a moving element movable relative to the conductor strip, wherein the moving element is configured to be able to change, by movement of the moving element, a phase shift brought by the first stripline transmission line to a signal transmitted thereon.

6 . A frame for a base station antenna, comprising:
a first planar element extending along a first plane, wherein a first side of the first planar element is configured to reflect electromagnetic radiation of the base station antenna; and mutually parallel second and third planar elements extending basically perpendicularly from a second side of the first planar element, wherein the second and third planar elements are configured to define a first chamber for a first conductor strip, wherein the first to third planar elements are configured as one piece so as to be commonly grounded.

7 . The frame according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a fourth planar element extending basically perpendicularly from the first planar element to the second side of the first planar element and parallel to the third planar element, wherein the third and fourth planar elements are configured to define a second chamber for a second conductor strip, and the first to fourth planar elements are configured as one piece so as to be commonly grounded.

8 . The frame according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a fifth planar element parallel to the first plane located on the second side of the first planar element, wherein the fifth planar element is connected with a rear edge of each of the second to fourth planar elements, so that each of the first and second chambers is substantially closed, and the fifth planar element and the first to fourth planar elements are formed as one piece so as to be commonly grounded.

9 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the fifth planar element has a first opening so that the first and second conductor strips are connected with circuit elements located outside the first and second chambers, respectively.

10 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the fifth planar element has a second opening for mounting a support for supporting the first and second conductor strips in a direction toward the first side of the first planar element.

11 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein at least one end of the first chamber along a length direction is open to accommodate the first conductor strip, and at least one end of the second chamber along the length direction is open to accommodate the second conductor strip.

12 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the first to fifth planar elements are configured as a first cavity element, and the frame further comprises a second cavity element having the same structure as the first cavity element, wherein the first cavity element is connected to the second cavity element by a friction stir soldering process.

13 . The frame according to claim 12 , wherein the first cavity element is connected to the second cavity element in a length direction.

14 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the first to fifth planar elements are configured as a first cavity element, and the frame further comprises a second cavity element having the same structure as the first cavity element, wherein the first cavity element and the second cavity element are positioned laterally adjacent and separate from each other so that the first planar element of the first cavity element and the first planar element of the second cavity element are substantially coplanar.

15 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the first to fifth planar elements are configured as a first cavity element, and the frame further comprises a second cavity element having the same structure as the first cavity element, wherein the first cavity element and the second cavity element are positioned separate from each other so that an edge part of the first planar element of the first cavity element overlaps an edge part of the first planar element of the second cavity element.

16 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the fifth planar element has an extension extending beyond the second and/or fourth planar element to connect a mounting bracket for mounting the base station antenna.

17 . The frame according to claim 16 , wherein the second planar element is proximate to a first edge part of the first planar element, and the extension extends beyond the second planar element at least in a direction toward the first edge part.

18 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein the first to fifth planar elements are integrally formed based on a metal material using a pultrusion process.

19 . The frame according to claim 8 , wherein each of the first to fifth planar elements extends substantially along an entire length of the base station antenna.

20 . The frame according to claim 6 , wherein the first planar element has a third opening so that the first conductor strip protrudes to a first side o

Assignees

• Outdoor Wireless Networks LLC

Inventors

• Li Yuemin
• Shan Long
• Liu Yabing
• Wang Yan
• Yu Junfeng
• Wen Hangsheng

Classifications

• H01Q15/14

  Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures {(electromagnetic shields H01Q1/526)} · CPC title

• H01Q3/30

  varying the {relative} phase {between the radiating elements of an array (H01Q3/2605, H01Q3/2658, H01Q3/2682, H01Q3/44 take precedence)} · CPC title

• H01Q1/2283

  mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package · CPC title

• H01P1/18

  Phase-shifters (H01P1/165 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q21/0081

  using suspended striplines · CPC title