FEEDING NETWORK FOR BASE STATION ANTENNA

• US 20150155609A1
• Filed: 10/01/2014
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tongyu Communication Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tongyu Communication Inc.
• Inventors: FANG, Fengming
• Granted Patent: US 9,559,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/182 Waveguide phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/183 Coaxial phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/184 Strip line phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/084 Suspended microstriplines
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/12 Coupling devices having more than two ports H01P5/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0075 Stripline fed arrays H01Q21/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/32 by mechanical means

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to feeding networks for base station antenna. Embodiments of the disclosure may comprise first and second phase shifters, and a 3-way power divider, including an input terminal, a first output terminal for feeding a first unit, a second output terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, and a third output terminal connecting to the second phase shifter. The feeding network may also comprise a first 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a second unit, and a second output terminal for cascading a third phase shifter. In addition, the feeding network may comprise a second 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the second phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a third unit, and a second output terminal for cascading a fourth phase shifter.

Claims

1. A feeding network for base station antenna, comprising:

first and second phase shifters;

a 3-way power divider, including an input terminal for connecting to a feeding port, a first output terminal for feeding a first unit of the base station antenna, a second output terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, and a third output terminal connecting to the second phase shifter;

a first 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a second unit of the base station antenna, and a second output terminal for cascading a third phase shifter; and

a second 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the second phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a third unit of the base station antenna, and a second output terminal for cascading a fourth phase shifter.

2. The feeding network of claim 1, wherein the first phase shifter includes a fixed transmission line and a sliding transmission line.

3. The feeding network of claim 2, wherein the fixed transmission line includes a hollow metal tube.

4. The feeding network of claim 2, wherein the sliding transmission line includes a U-shape metal rod inserted into the fixed transmission line.

5. The feeding network of claim 4, wherein the U-shape metal rod is coated with an insulation layer.

6. The feeding network of claim 1, wherein the 3-way power divider, the first and second 2-way power dividers, and the first and second phase shifters are all placed in an integrally formed metal housing.

7. The feeding network of claim 6, wherein the shape of a cross-section of the metal housing is selected from a group consisting of:

a single rectangle, a one-side-opened single rectangle, an up-down dual rectangle, an up-down one-side-opened dual rectangle, a left-right dual rectangle, a left-right one-side-opened dual rectangle, and a multi-cavity structure formed by combing two or more of the above.

8. The feeding network of claim 1, wherein at least one of the 3-way power divider, the first 2-way power divider, or the second 2-way power divider includes an air strip line in branch form.

9. The feeding network of claim 8, wherein the shape of a cross-section of the air strip line is selected from a group consisting of:

a flat shape, a round shape, a square shape, and a combination of the above.

10. The feeding network of claim 1, comprising a multi-level feeding structure, wherein:

each level includes a 3-way power divider, first and second 2-way power dividers, and first and second phase shifters; and

adjacent levels are connected to each other through tiling or laminating.

11. The feeding network of claim 1, wherein the first and second phase shifters are configured to apply an equal-difference phase change.

12. The feeding network of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second phase shifter is configured to perform phase shifting by adjusting an electrical length of a transmission line.

13. A feeding network for base station antenna, comprising:

first, second, third, and fourth phase shifters;

a 3-way power divider, including an input terminal for connecting to a feeding port, a first output terminal for feeding a first unit of the base station antenna, a second output terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, and a third output terminal connecting to the second phase shifter;

a first 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the first phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a second unit of the base station antenna, and a second output terminal for cascading the third phase shifter; and

a second 2-way power divider, including an input terminal connecting to the second phase shifter, a first output terminal for feeding a third unit of the base station antenna, and a second output terminal for cascading the fourth phase shifter.