Antenna arrangement for a mobile radio base station

• US 8,350,775 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2007
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Kathrein-Werke KG. (Kathrein SE)
• Inventors: Obermaier, Johann, Riedel, Matthias, Saddington, Stephen John
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang V
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, AMAL A
• Application Number:
  US12/376,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20100182213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,993 Days
• Field of Search: 343810-823, 343/847, 343/834, 343/795, 343/846
• US Class Current: 343/817
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/108 Combination of a dipole with a plane reflecting surface H01Q19/106 takes precedence; strip line H01Q9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/062 using dipole aerials; H01Q21/067, H01Q21/068 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/26 Turnstile or like antennas comprising arrangements of three or more elongated elements disposed radially and symmetrically in a horizontal plane about a common centre

Abstract

An improved antenna arrangement includes a reflector arrangement comprising a printed circuit board with an electrically conductive ground plane. The reflector arrangement also has a reflector frame with a coupling surface. The coupling surface is capacitively coupled to the ground plane. The coupling surface has a recess via which the ground plane, which is located underneath it, and/or the printed circuit board or an isolating intermediate layer which is provided above the ground plane or an isolating intermediate layer which is provided above the printed circuit board is exposed. The at least one antenna element arrangement is positioned and/or held on the printed circuit board in the area of the recess.

Claims

1. An antenna arrangement, comprising:

at least one radiator assembly comprising a vector dipole array;

a supporting structure disposed beneath the vector dipole array, supporting and configured for feeding RF energy to the vector dipole array,

a reflector arrangement comprising an electrically conductive reflector surface, and at least one electrically conductive longitudinal or transverse web,

the reflector arrangement further comprising a printed circuit board, an electrically conductive ground plane structure being disposed on said printed circuit board,

the reflector arrangement further comprising a reflector frame comprising a coupling surface that runs parallel to the printed circuit board ground plane structure,

the coupling surface being capacitively coupled to the ground plane structure and mechanically and electrically-galvanically connected to the at least one longitudinal or transverse web;

the coupling surface defining therein a window through which the printed circuit board ground plane structure is exposed to the vector dipole array to thereby capactively couple, through the window, the printed circuit board ground plane structure with the vector dipole array,

the supporting structure holding and supporting the at least one vector dipole array radiator assembly above the printed circuit board in the region of the window.

2. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector frame comprises at least two longitudinal or transverse webs.

3. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one longitudinal or transverse web is constructed with the coupling surface as a one-piece metal part.

4. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one longitudinal or transverse web is bent on a bending line with respect to the coupling surface in a different angular direction with respect to the coupling surface.

5. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector frame is at least one of cast, deep-drawn, punched or milled.

6. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector arrangement or reflector frame comprises an insulating material material covered with an electrically conductive layer.

7. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector frame is mechanically connected to the printed circuit board.

8. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 7, further including at least one of a clip, a latching mechanism and a snap-fit mechanism that securely connects the reflector frame to the printed circuit board.

9. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector frame is glued to the printed circuit board.

10. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further including a double-sided adhesive film or tape that securely connects the reflector frame to the printed circuit board.

11. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein the adhesive tape or film define a recess, having a size or position that matches at least the size or position of the window, or is smaller than the size or position of the window.

12. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein the adhesive tape or film is provided between the underside of the coupling surface and the ground plane structure in the region of the window in the coupling surface.

13. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the adhesive tape or film is provided on the printed circuit board between an underside of the coupling surface and the ground plane structure in the region between the base of the supporting structure of the radiator assembly and the ground plane structure.

14. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radiator assembly is capacitively coupled by an associated base of the supporting structure to the printed circuit board ground plane structure.

15. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radiator assembly is galvanically, connected to the printed circuit board ground plane structure.

16. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 15, wherein the radiator assembly is galvanically connected by its base of the supporting structure to the printed circuit board ground plane structure.

17. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector frame is produced from a metal sheet by punching and canting or bending.

18. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the transverse webs are punched from a common sheet metal part and are securely connected to the coupling surface via a respectively associated bending line.

19. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the longitudinal webs or transverse web is connected to the coupling surface via a bending line.

20. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the reflector arrangement further comprises longitudinal and transverse webs wherein at their lateral limiting edges the transverse webs are provided with tongues that laterally protrude in the plane of the lateral edges and which in the assembled state project into recesses in the longitudinal webs with the orientation of the transverse webs pointing away from the reflector surface.

21. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 20, wherein in the assembled state the tongues project into slotted recesses in the longitudinal webs.

22. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further including plural radiator devices each of which is arranged with a respective window in a coupling surface.

23. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting structure of the dipole array comprises a balancing structure.

24. The antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one radiator assembly consists of a dual-polarized dipole array.

28. The antenna arrangement of claim 1 wherein the printed circuit board ground plane structure comprises a conductive sheet at least partially covered by an insulating layer which faces the window, the window exposing the insulating layer to capacitively couple the conductive sheet to the radiator assembly through the insulating layer and the window.

25. A mobile antenna comprising:

a printed circuit board having a surface providing an electrically conductive ground plane structure;

an electrically conductive reflector frame comprising a coupling surface disposed parallel to the electrically conductive ground plane structure and further comprising at least one protruding wall portion, the reflector frame comprising a coupling surface capacitively coupled to and electrically isolated from the conductive ground plane structure, the coupling surface being mechanically and electrically connected to the at least one protruding wall portion, the coupling surface defining a window therethrough through which the printed circuit board ground plane structure is capacitively coupled to at least one radiator assembly thereabove,

the at least one radiator assembly comprising a vector dipole array; and

a support structure disposed within the window between the vector dipole array and the printed circuit board, the support structure feeding the vector dipole array and positioning and supporting the vector dipole array on the printed circuit board in the region of the window.

26. The mobile antenna of claim 25 wherein the ground plane structure comprises a conductive sheet having an insulating layer thereon, the insulating layer facing the window.

27. The mobile antenna of claim 25 wherein the printed circuit board ground plane structure comprises a conductive sheet at least partially covered with an insulating layer, the window exposing the insulating layer so that the conductive sheet is capacitively coupled to the radiator assembly through the insulating layer and the window.