Antenna array, antenna apparatus, and base station

• US 10,181,657 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ai, Ming, Luo, Yingtao
• Primary Examiner(s): Han, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bouizza, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/554,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20150084832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/061 Two dimensional planar arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/062 using dipole aerials; H01Q21/067, H01Q21/068 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/064 using horn or slot aerials slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/40 with phasing matrix

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an antenna array, an antenna apparatus, and a base station. The antenna array includes: at least two antenna sub-arrays, where the at least two antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a vertical direction, each of the antenna sub-arrays includes multiple radiating elements, and in at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the vertical direction, radiating elements at corresponding positions in the respective antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a staggered manner in a horizontal direction. In the embodiments of the present invention, horizontal side lobes and vertical far side lobes in an antenna array pattern are reduced, and the ultra-wideband performance is improved.

Claims

1. An antenna array, comprising:

a plurality of antenna sub-arrays, wherein at least two of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a vertical direction, each of the antenna sub-arrays among the plurality of antenna sub-arrays comprising multiple radiating elements arranged in at least n columns with a same number of radiating elements in each column for any given antenna sub-array, n being a positive integer, and

in at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the vertical direction from among the plurality of antenna sub-arrays, the columns of radiating elements at corresponding positions in the respective antenna sub-arrays are arranged in a staggered manner in a horizontal direction, wherein;

at least one antenna sub-array among the plurality of antenna sub-arrays includes two radiating elements per column,

antenna sub-arrays other than the at least one antenna sub-array includes either one or two radiating elements per column, and

the antenna array is one of multiple antenna arrays, and at least one of the multiple antenna arrays is an inverter array.

2. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein in the at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the vertical direction, at least one column of radiating elements in one antenna sub-array is located in the vertical direction between two adjacent columns of radiating elements in another antenna sub-array.

3. The antenna array according to claim 2, wherein in the at least two adjacent antenna sub-arrays in the vertical direction, at least one column of radiating elements in one antenna sub-array is located in the vertical direction in a center line of two adjacent columns of radiating elements in another antenna sub-array.

4. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein in at least one antenna sub-array, at least two adjacent columns of radiating elements in the horizontal direction are arranged in a staggered manner in the vertical direction.

5. The antenna array according to claim 4, wherein in at least one antenna sub-array, at least one radiating element is located in the horizontal direction between two adjacent radiating elements in the vertical direction.

6. The antenna array according to claim 5, wherein in at least one antenna sub-array, at least one radiating element is located in the horizontal direction in a center line of two adjacent radiating elements in the vertical direction.

7. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein adjacent antenna sub-arrays in a vertical top-down direction are alternately arranged in a staggered manner in different horizontal directions.

8. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein a first spacing between horizontally adjacent radiating elements in at least one antenna sub-array is equal to a second spacing between horizontally adjacent radiating elements in another antenna sub-array adjacent to the foregoing antenna sub-array in the vertical direction.

9. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein a phase difference of 45°

exists between a signal input into a radiating element of an m-th column in at least one antenna sub-array and a signal input into an radiating element of the m-th column in another antenna sub-array adjacent to the foregoing antenna sub-array in the vertical direction.

10. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein in at least one antenna sub-array, radiating elements located in a same column are electrically connected, and/or radiating elements located in a same row are electrically connected.

11. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein in each of the antenna sub-arrays, the number of radiating elements in each row is equal.

12. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein at least two antenna sub-arrays comprise at least two types of antenna sub-arrays, each type of the antenna array comprises m rows ×

p columns of radiating elements, and m and/or p in different antenna sub-arrays types are unequal, wherein m and p are both integers greater than one.

13. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna sub-arrays is substantially planar.

14. The antenna array according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of antenna sub-arrays is in a plane.