Continuously variable phase-shifter for electrically down-tilting an antenna

• US 5,798,675 A
• Filed: 02/25/1997
• Issued: 08/25/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Radio Frequency Systems Incorporated (Amphenol Corporation)
• Inventors: Drach, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ham, Seungsook
• Application Number:
  US08/805,589
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 333/156, 333/159, 333/161, 343/850, 342/372, 342/375
• US Class Current: 333/161
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/184 Strip line phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/32 by mechanical means

Abstract

A phase shifter for electrically adjusting the down-tilt of an antenna, based on rotating at least one phase wheel having a specially shaped dielectric. Each phase wheel is rotatably mounted between a stripline and the metallic ground plane of a feed system for an RF signal communicating the RF signal between each element of the antenna and a common terminal. The dielectric distributed on each phase wheel is shaped so that as the phase wheel is turned mechanically, the amount of dielectric directly beneath the stripline and above the metallic ground plane either increases or decreases in some proportion to the amount (angular displacement) the wheel is turned. All the phase wheels used in a system can be arranged, oriented, and tractively coupled so as to rotate in synchrony under the action of a single drive, which may itself be driven by a stepper motor for accurate, fine control. The phase wheels provide for continuous adjustment of the down-tilt of an antenna without having to convert between rotational and linear motion in moving dielectric into or out of position between the stripline and metallic ground plane.

Claims

1. A phase-shifter capable of varying continuously the down-tilt of a radiation pattern associated with an antenna for an RF signal, the antenna having a plurality of antenna elements and having an element terminal (12-15) for each antenna element, and further having a feed system (9 and 7) for communicating the RF signal between each element terminal (12-15) and a common feed terminal (11), the feed system including a stripline (9) spaced above a metallic ground plane (7), the phase-shifter comprising:

a plurality of phase wheels (6a-f) each having a shaped dielectric (17) distributed throughout, and each rotatably positioned between the metallic ground plane (7) and the stripline (9) wherein each phase wheel is held in tractive engagement with at least one of the other phase wheels in such an arrangement that all of the phase wheels are tractively coupled one to another; and

means (8) for rotating one of the phase wheels (6a-f) relative to the stripline (9), wherebv all of the phase wheels are turned in synchrony, with each varying, as it is turned, the amount of dielectric directly beneath the stripline;

thereby causing the overall radiation pattern to vary in its down-tilt, the variation in down-tilting thus being produced by purely rotational mechanical motion.

2. A phase-shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein, on each phase wheel (6a-f), the shaped dielectric (17) is distributed so that as any one of the phase wheels is turned, the amount of dielectric directly beneath the stripline (9), and between the stripline (9) and the metallic ground plane (7), changes in direct proportion to an angular displacement of the phase wheel.

3. A phase-shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaped dielectric (17) is chosen to have a dielectric constant given by

4. A phase-shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaped dielectric (17) is distributed on each phase wheel (6a-f) so that when one or more of the phase wheels is oriented for maximum phase shift, positioning at least one span of the shaped dielectric directly beneath the stripline (9), the span of the shaped dielectric beneath each of the one or more phase wheels extends directly beneath the stripline over a length equal to an odd-integral multiple of one-quarter of the wavelength of the RF signal in the shaped dielectric, thereby providing for mutual cancellation of the two reflected waves produced as the RF signal traverses the span of the shaped dielectric.

5. A phase-shifter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaped dielectric (17) is distributed on each phase wheel (6a-f) so that when one or more of the phase wheels is oriented for minimum phase shift, two spans of the shaped dielectric are in position to be moved directly beneath the stripline (9) with any slight further turning of the phase wheel, and are separated by a medium, having a dielectric constant approximately the same as air, extending directly beneath the stripline over a length equal to an odd-integral multiple of one-quarter of the wavelength of the RF signal in the medium.