ARRANGEMENT FOR STEERING RADIATION LOBE OF ANTENNA

• US 20080070507A1
• Filed: 11/28/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Powerwave Comtek OY (Powerwave Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Stoyanov, Vladimir
• Granted Patent: US 7,864,111 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/63.4
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/184 Strip line phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/2039 Galvanic coupling between Input/Output
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/227 90° branch line couplers
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/32 by mechanical means

Abstract

An arrangement for steering the radiation lobe of an array antenna without turning the antenna itself. The radiators of the array antenna are located in the row, and two radiators which are equidistant from the midpoint of the row, form a radiator pair. To steer the radiation lobe, the phase of the signal of one radiator in the pair is e.g. advanced and the phase of the signal of the other radiator is lagged by equivalent amount. For this aim each radiator is fed through a phase shifter comprising at least one reflection line and a separating element. The reflection lines for the pair radiators are implemented by a transmission line, which is shared between them. The signal to be led to one radiator is fed to one end of this transmission line, and the signal to be led to the other radiator is fed to the opposite end of the same line. In the transmission line there is a reflection point, the place of which can be moved. Said phase changes take place by moving the reflection point along the transmission line. For moving the reflection point the transmission line has one movable or several fixed reflection circuits. In the former case the reflection circuits of the different transmission lines are slides attached to one and the same movable arm. In the latter case one of the reflection circuits of each transmission line is activated at a time. If the number of the radiator pairs is more than one, the phase adjusting for all the radiator pairs is implemented simultaneously by the common control.

Claims

1. An arrangement for steering a radiation lobe of an array antenna comprising at least one radiator row, which row has at least two radiator pairs, phases of the signals of the radiators in each pair being arranged to change to opposite directions, when the antenna is adjusted by means of said arrangement, which arrangement comprises a divider to divide a transmitting signal into division signals to be led to different radiators and for each radiator pair at least

a first reflection-type phase shifter comprising a first reflection line with adjustable length to delay a first division signal of the pair, and a first separating element to separate the first division signal of the pair coming back from the first reflection line to a path, which leads to the first radiator of the pair, and

a second reflection-type phase shifter comprising a second reflection line with adjustable length to delay a second division signal of the pair, and a second separating element to separate the second division signal of the pair coming back from the second reflection line to a path, which leads to the second radiator of the pair, both separating elements having a first port to input a division signal, a second port to lead that division signal to the reflection line of the phase shifter and a fourth port to lead the division signal to a radiator,

wherein for each radiator pair

said first and second reflection lines form a unitary first transmission line, a first end of which is connected to the second port of the first separating element and a second end of which is connected to the second port of the second separating element

the first transmission line has at least one reflection circuit, shared between the first and second reflection lines, to form a single reflection point, in which case the first reflection line extends from this reflection point to the second port of the first separating element, and the second reflection line extends from said reflection point to opposite direction to the second port of the second separating element, and

the arrangement further comprises means to move said reflection point and thus to adjust the lengths of said reflection lines by amount, which is proportional to the positions of the radiators of the pair at issue in the row.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, where

each first separating element is a hybrid, further having a third port so that half of the division signal to be led to the first port will be got out from it and another half from the second port

each first phase shifter further comprises a third reflection line with adjustable length connected to said third port to delay a half of the first division signal of the pair, the first reflection line then being for delaying another half of said division signal and the fourth port being for leading said division signal, again combined, to the first radiator of the pair

each second separating element is a hybrid, further having a third port so that half of the division signal to be led to the first port will be got out from it and another half from the second port

each second phase shifter further comprises a fourth reflection line with adjustable length connected to the third port of the second separating element to delay a half of the second division signal of the pair, the second reflection line then being for delaying another half of this division signal and the fourth port being for leading this division signal, again combined, to the second radiator of the pair, and further

each third and fourth reflection line forms a unitary second transmission line, a first end of which is connected to the third port of the first separating element and a second end of which is connected to the third port of the second separating element

each second transmission line has at least one reflection circuit, shared between the third and fourth reflection lines, to form a single reflection point, in which case the third reflection line extends from this reflection point to the third port of the first separating element, and the fourth reflection line extends from this reflection point to opposite direction to the third port of the second separating element, and

said means to move the reflection point of the first transmission line also are for moving the reflection point of the second transmission line by one and the same control.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the number of the reflection circuits on each transmission line is one, and this reflection circuit is a slide, wherein said means to move the reflection point comprise a movable arm to which each slide is attached.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the number of the reflection circuits on each transmission line is at least two, and these reflection circuits are fixed and each of them comprises a switch by which it can be set transparent or reflective, wherein said means to move the reflection point comprise an electric controller, the number of controller outputs being the same as the number of reflection circuits of a line, and each output is connected to one reflection circuit of each line to set one reflection circuit of each line to reflective state at a time.

5. An arrangement according to claim 3, wherein each transmission line is arched, and has a shared curvature midpoint, and said arm is fastened to an axis being located in this midpoint, to move said slides by rotating motion of the arms wherein at least one transmission line corresponding to an outer radiator pair in the row is located farther from the curvature midpoint than at least one transmission line corresponding to an inner radiator pair in the row, to proportion the phase shifts to the positions of the radiators in the row.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the means to move the reflection point further comprise an electric actuator, a moving part of which is attached to the arm and is arranged to make pushing and pulling motions in a substantially transverse direction in respect of the arm direction, to implement said rotating motion.

7. An arrangement according to claim 3, wherein each transmission line is substantially composed only of straight portions, the number of which is at least one, and said arm is arranged to be moved by a linear motion perpendicular to the arm direction, and the transmission lines corresponding to an outer radiator pair in the row are substantially as long as the transmission lines corresponding to an inner radiator pair in the row as measured in the motion direction of the arm, but longer than the latter transmission lines as measured along the transmission lines, to proportion the phase shifts to the positions of the radiators in the row.

8. An arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the transmission lines corresponding to an inner radiator pair in the row are straight at their whole length, and the transmission lines corresponding to an outer radiator pair in the row comprise straight portions, which form a zigzag pattern.

9. An arrangement according to claim 8, wherein two transmission lines correspond to each radiator pair, and the reflection circuits of the transmission lines corresponding to the outer radiator pair in the row are implemented by a shared slide, which extends in the arm direction over the total range, which is given when both of these transmission lines are projected to a straight line parallel to the arm.

10. An arrangement according to claim 1, said transmission lines having planar structure so that they comprise a strip-like centre conductor and on both sides of it a strip-like ground conductor.

11. An arrangement according to claim 10, said centre conductor and ground conductors being microstrips on a surface of a dielectric plane.

12. An arrangement according to claim 10, said transmission lines being air-insulated.

13. An arrangement according to claim 3, said slides comprising a plate-like metal piece and its dielectric coating on the side, which is aimed to be located against said transmission lines.

14. An arrangement according to claim 3, each of said slides comprising a dielectric plate to be pressed against a transmission line and on this plate inductive and capacitive elements such that the reflection circuit is a band stop filter by nature, the stop band of which filter covers the operation band of the antenna to be fed.