Radio communication base station antenna

• US 6,501,965 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2000
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Lucidarme, Thierry
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Danh C
• Application Number:
  US09/700,550
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562, 455/25, 455/561, 343/770, 343/767, 342/359, 342/360, 342/361, 342/368
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/007 specially adapted for indoor communication
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/10 Resonant slot antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/06 Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/064 using horn or slot aerials slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/08 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a rectilinear path waveguide fed H01Q21/0037
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/02 providing sum and difference patterns H01Q25/04 takes precedence

Abstract

The base station has an antenna system comprising a housing for fixing it to a support and one or several radiating slots. It is designed for transmitting, in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the front surface of the housing, an electric field with polarization oriented along a second direction substantially parallel to the front surface, and for transmitting, in another direction closer to the second than to the first direction, an electric field with polarization substantially oriented along the first direction. The base station is well adapted to indoor environments in microcells or picocells. It can be fixed vertically on a wall or be horizontally suspended to a ceiling, without requiring separate antenna systems for these two installation modes.

Claims

1. A radiocommunication base station including, for communicating by radio with mobile stations, at least one antenna system including a casing for fixing said antenna system to a support and at least one radiating slot formed in a conductive plane parallel to a front face of the casing and adapted to emit, in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the front face of the casing, an electric field having a polarisation oriented in a second direction substantially parallel to said front face and perpendicular to an orientation of the slot, and to emit, substantially in the second direction, an electric field having a polarisation oriented substantially in the first direction, the casing having a first operating position in which said second direction is substantially vertical and a second operating position in which said first direction is substantially vertical.

2. A base station according to claim 1, wherein each radiating slot of the antenna system is formed in a part of the casing extending along the front face thereof.

3. A base station according to claim 1, wherein the antenna system has a single radiating slot oriented perpendicularly to the first and second directions.

4. A base station according to claim 1, wherein the antenna system includes two parallel radiating slots oriented perpendicularly to the first and second directions and separated by a distance substantially equal to half of a radiated wavelength and means for feeding radio-frequency energy to the two slots adapted to energise the two slots either in phase or in phase opposition according to whether the front face of the casing is installed in a horizontal or vertical plane.

5. A base station according to claim 4, wherein the feeding means include a hybrid coupler having four ports, a dual RF switch having an input receiving radio-frequency energy to be radiated and two outputs connected to respective ports of the hybrid coupler, and two energisation systems respectively connecting the other two ports of the hybrid coupler to the two radiating slots.

6. A base station according to claim 5, wherein the hybrid coupler is a rat-race hybrid coupler.

7. A base station according to claim 5, wherein the two energisation systems are coaxial or triplate energisation systems.

8. A base station according to claim 1, wherein a triplate printed circuit is disposed along the front face of the casing and includes two grounded external conductive planes, one of said conductive planes, directed towards the outside of the casing being etched to form each radiating slot, a line for energising each slot being situated between the two external conductive planes.

9. A radiocommunication base station including, for communicating by radio with mobile stations, at least one antenna system including a casing for fixing said antenna system to a support, two parallel radiating slots formed in a conductive plane parallel to a front face of the casing separated by a distance substantially equal to half of a radiated wavelength and means for feedign radio-frequency energy to the two slots adapted to energise the two slots either in phase or in phase opposition according to whether the front face of the casing is installed in a horizontal or vertical plane.

10. A base station according to claim 9, wherein the radiating slots are formed in a part of the casing extending along the front face thereof.

11. A base station according to claim 9, wherein the feeding means include a hybrid coupler having four ports, a dual RF switch having an input receiving radio-frequency energy to be and two outputs connected to respective ports of the hybrid coupler, and two energisation systems respectively connecting the other two ports of the hybrid coupler to the tow radiating slots.

12. A base station according to claim 11, wherein the hybrid coupler is a rat-race hybrid coupler.

13. A base station according to claim 11, wherein the two energisation systems are coaxial or triplate energisation systems.

14. A base station according to claim 9, wherein a triplate printed circuit is disposed along the front face of the casing and includes two grounded external conductive planes, one of said conductive planes, directed towards the outside of the casing being etched to form each radiating slot, a line for energising each slot being situated between the tow external conductive planes.

15. A method of installing a radiocommunication base station including, for communicating by radio with mobile stations, at least one antenna system including a casing for fixing said antenna system to a support, said antenna system including at least one radiating slot formed in a conductive plane parallel to a front face of the casing, the disposition of the slot defining a first direction substantially perpendicular to the front face of the casing and a second direction substantially parallel to said front face and perpendicular to the orientation of the slot, said first and second directions being such that the slot emits in the first direction an electric field having a polarisation oriented in the second direction and emits, substantially in the second direction, an electric field having a polarisation oriented substantially in the first direction, in which method at least one first antenna system is fixed to a support so that, for said first antenna system, said second direction is substantially vertical, and at least one second antenna system is fixed to a support so that, for said second antenna system, said first direction is substantially vertical.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein each radiating slot of the antenna system is formed in a part of the casing extending along the front face thereof.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein each antenna system includes a single radiating slot oriented perpendicularly to the first and second directions.