CN215497018U - Compact phase shifter system for base station antennas - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a compact phase shifter system for a base station antenna, comprising at least one layer of phase shifter assemblies enclosed within a housing of the base station antenna, each of the at least one layer of phase shifter assemblies comprising: a substrate assembly having a generally V-shaped cross-section and comprising a left substrate and a right substrate forming an included angle A ranging between 20 ° and 180 °; a first side shifter array located on a first side of the substrate assembly; and a first side driving mechanism. The compact phase shifter system easily accommodates 16 or more phase shifters within the base station antenna housing, thereby meeting the design requirements of complex base station antennas with little retrofit cost.

Description

Compact phase shifter system for base station antennas

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to compact phase shifter systems for base station antennas.

Background

A base station antenna of a wireless communication system is used for transmitting and receiving Radio Frequency (RF) signals to and from fixed and mobile users of cellular communication services. Base station antennas typically comprise a linear array or a two-dimensional array of radiating elements. To vary the downtilt of the antenna beam produced by the array of radiating elements, a phase taper may be applied across the radiating elements. Such phase taper is imposed by setting adjustments to phase shifters positioned along the RF transmission path between the radiating elements.

One known phase shifter is an electromechanical rotary sliding-vane arc-shaped phase shifter that includes a main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and a sliding-vane PCB that is rotatable over the main PCB. By physically rotating the slider PCB above the main PCB, the path length traveled by the sub-components of the RF signal as they pass to the radiating element can be varied. These path length changes cause the phases of the corresponding sub-components of the RF signal to change.

With the advent of more complex base station antennas, it is increasingly difficult to design base station antennas that meet customer requirements by accommodating a greater number of phase shifters within the base station antenna. As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, it is desirable to house at least 16 phase shifters 120 'within the housing AH' of the base station antenna. The existing design of a base station antenna is to provide four stacked flat substrate assemblies 11 ' and arrange 4 phase shifters 120 ' side by side on the surface of each substrate assembly 11 '. The housing AH 'of the base station antenna is generally smaller than 200mm in width, while the substrate assembly 11' in which 4 phase shifters 120 'are arranged is at least 197mm in width, and therefore it is difficult to accommodate 16 or more phase shifters 120' in the housing of the base station antenna.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a compact phase shifter system for a base station antenna that overcomes at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a compact phase shifter system for a base station antenna, wherein the compact phase shifter system comprises at least one layer of phase shifter elements enclosed within a housing of the base station antenna, each of the at least one layer of phase shifter elements comprising:

a substrate assembly having a generally V-shaped cross-section and comprising a left substrate and a right substrate forming an included angle A ranging between 20 ° and 180 °;

a first side shifter array located on the first side of the substrate assembly, the first side shifter array comprising a plurality of phase shifters, one set of the plurality of phase shifters arranged laterally side-by-side on the first side of the left substrate and another set arranged laterally side-by-side on the first side of the right substrate; and

a first side driving mechanism including a plurality of vane support blocks, the number of which is the same as the number of phase shifters of the first side phase shifter array, and each of which is fixed to a corresponding one of the phase shifters, and a driving rod slidably connected to the plurality of vane support blocks, the driving rod being configured to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters to perform a phase shifting operation.

In some embodiments, each of the layers of phase shifter assemblies further comprises:

a second side shifter array on a second side of the substrate assembly opposite the first side, the second side shifter array comprising a plurality of the phase shifters, one set of the plurality of phase shifters of the second side shifter array arranged laterally side-by-side on the second side of the left substrate and another set arranged laterally side-by-side on the second side of the right substrate; and

a second side drive mechanism including a plurality of the wiper support blocks and the drive rods slidably connected to the plurality of wiper support blocks of the second side drive mechanism, the number of the plurality of wiper support blocks of the second side drive mechanism being the same as the number of phase shifters of a second side phase shifter array and each wiper support block being fixed to a respective one of the phase shifters, the drive rods of the second side drive mechanism being configured to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters of the second side phase shifter array for phase shifting operations.

In some embodiments, the left and right side base plates are integrally formed.

In some embodiments, the left and right side substrates are formed separately and joined together, or formed separately and separated from each other.

In some embodiments, the lateral dimension of the substrate assembly ranges between 50mm and 180 mm.

In some embodiments, the included angle a between the left and right side substrates is about 60 °, about 100 °, or about 120 °.

In some embodiments, the left and right substrates themselves have a thickness of between 1.6mm and 6 mm.

In some embodiments, each of the layers of phase shifter assemblies further includes an driving rod support frame including parallel long and short rods provided with an open or closed retaining ring for receiving the driving rod, respectively, and two diagonal rods connected to ends of the left and right side base plates, respectively, and connecting ends of the long and short rods.

In some embodiments, each diagonal rod is provided with a plurality of open or closed retaining rings for retaining cables connected to the phase shifters.

In some embodiments, the at least one layer of phase shifter elements includes multilayer phase shifter elements stacked on one another, an innermost layer of the multilayer phase shifter elements is connected to the reflection plate of the base station antenna by a plurality of pairs of inside connections, and the other layer of the multilayer phase shifter elements is connected to the phase shifter elements of the adjacent layer by a plurality of pairs of outside connections.

In some embodiments, the inner connecting member includes two columns connected at an oblique angle, and both end surfaces of the inner connecting member are connected to inner side surfaces of the left or right substrate of the reflector plate and the innermost phase shifter assembly, respectively.

In some embodiments, the included angle of extension between the two end faces of the medial connection is substantially equal to (90 ° -A/2).

In some embodiments, the outer connecting member is substantially Z-shaped and includes two outer columns parallel to each other and a middle column perpendicular to and connecting the two outer columns, and both end surfaces of the outer connecting member are connected to the left or right substrate of the other layer of phase shifter assembly and the corresponding left or right substrate of the phase shifter assembly adjacent to the other layer of phase shifter assembly, respectively.

In some embodiments, the drive lever includes a lever body, and left and right wing portions extending from the lever body, the left and right wing portions extending laterally parallel to the left and right base plates, respectively, the lever body extending longitudinally parallel to the left and right base plates above the left and right base plates and lying on a bisecting plane that bisects the included angle a, or extending longitudinally parallel to the left and right base plates below the left and right base plates and lying on a bisecting plane that bisects the mutual peripheral angle of the included angle a.

In some embodiments, each of the left and right wing portions is provided with an elongated through slot extending in the lateral direction, the elongated through slot being configured to receive a slide post projecting from the slider support block and guide the slide post to reciprocate therein.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosed subject technology will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed subject technology. The advantages of the subject technology of the present disclosure will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the subject technology of the present disclosure as claimed.

Drawings

Various aspects of the disclosure will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

fig. 1A and 1B show an end view of a prior art phase shifter arrangement applied to a base station antenna and a front view of the prior art phase shifter arrangement, respectively;

figures 2A-2D illustrate an assembled state end view, a partially exploded state end view, an assembled state perspective view, and a partially exploded state perspective view, respectively, of a compact phase shifter system for a base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate an assembled end view, a partially exploded end view, an assembled side perspective view, and an assembled side perspective view, respectively, of a layer of phaser assemblies of the compact phaser system of FIGS. 2A-2D;

FIGS. 4A-4C show perspective views of phase shifters of the one layer phase shifter assembly of FIGS. 3A-3D, schematic diagrams of drive mechanisms, and schematic arrangements of the phase shifter array and drive mechanisms on the sides of the substrate, respectively;

FIGS. 5A-5B show perspective views of a drive rod support bracket and a cable support bracket, respectively; and

fig. 6A-6B show perspective views of the medial and lateral connectors, respectively.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, the embodiments described below are intended to provide a more complete disclosure of the present disclosure, and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

It should be understood that like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views. In the drawings, the size of some of the features may be varied for clarity.

It is to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the specification have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprising," "including," and "containing" when used in this specification specify the presence of stated features, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features. The term "and/or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The terms "between X and Y" and "between about X and Y" as used in the specification should be construed to include X and Y. The term "between about X and Y" as used herein means "between about X and about Y" and the term "from about X to Y" as used herein means "from about X to about Y".

In the description, when an element is referred to as being "on," "attached to," connected to, "coupled to," or "contacting" another element, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled to, or contacting the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly attached to," directly connected to, "directly coupled to," or "directly contacting" another element, there are no intervening elements present. In the description, one feature is disposed "adjacent" another feature, and may mean that one feature has a portion overlapping with or above or below an adjacent feature.

In the specification, spatial relations such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "high", "low", and the like may explain the relation of one feature to another feature in the drawings. It will be understood that the spatial relationship terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, features originally described as "below" other features may be described as "above" other features when the device in the figures is inverted. The device may also be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the relative spatial relationships may be interpreted accordingly.

In the following description, the length direction of the reflection plate along the longitudinal axis of the base station antenna is referred to as a longitudinal direction. The width direction along the reflection plate is referred to as a lateral direction. A direction perpendicular to the reflection plate is referred to as a height direction, and a direction toward the reflection plate is referred to as inward in the height direction, and a direction away from the reflection plate is referred to as outward in the height direction.

Fig. 2A-2D show an assembled state end view, a partially exploded state end view, an assembled state perspective view, and a partially exploded state perspective view, respectively, of a compact phase shifter system PS for a base station antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the compact phase shifter system PS includes one or more layers of phase shifter assemblies stacked on top of each other enclosed within an antenna housing AH, and specifically shown in the example of fig. 2A and 2B as a first layer of phase shifter assemblies 1 and a second layer of phase shifter assemblies 2 stacked on top of each other. The first layer phase shifter assembly 1 is connected to the back of the reflection plate RB by a plurality of pairs of inner side connection members 8, and the second layer and/or the larger layer number of phase shifter assemblies are connected to the phase shifter assembly one layer smaller by a plurality of pairs of outer side connection members 9, respectively. Each of the one or more layers of phase shifter elements stacked on top of each other has substantially the same structure, and the structure of each phase shifter element will be described below by taking the first layer of phase shifter element 1 as an example.

Figures 3A-3D show an assembled end view, a partially exploded end view, an assembled side perspective view and an assembled side perspective view, respectively, of the first layer phaser assembly 1. As shown, the first layer phase shifter assembly 1 includes a curved or tilted substrate assembly 11, an inside phase shifter array 12 and its inside drive mechanism 14 located on an inside face of the substrate assembly 11 (i.e., facing the reflector plate RB), and an outside phase shifter array 16 and its outside drive mechanism 18 located on an outside face of the substrate assembly 11 (i.e., facing away from the reflector plate RB).

The curved substrate assembly 11 has a substantially V-shaped cross section, and includes a left substrate 11L and a right substrate 11R. The left side base plate 11L and the right side base plate 11R form an angle a, and the angle a ranges between 20 ° and 180 °, and more particularly between 60 ° and 120 ° (which may be, for example, about 60 °, about 100 °, or about 120 °). The left and right side base plates 11L and 11R may be integrally formed, or the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R may be separately formed and connected together, or separately formed and separated from each other. The total dimension of the curved substrate assembly 11 in the transverse direction ranges between 50mm and 180mm, more particularly about 160 mm. The conventional substrate assembly 11 'is a flat plate body and has a large lateral dimension, which makes it difficult to place the substrate assembly 11' in the antenna housing AH; whereas the substrate assembly 11 according to the present disclosure is provided in a substantially V-shape, the lateral dimension is reduced while the dimension in the height direction is controlled, thereby enabling smooth placement into the antenna housing AH. The substrate assembly 11 itself has a thickness of between 1.6mm and 6mm, more particularly about 4 mm.

The inner phase shifter array 12 includes a plurality of independent phase shifters 120 (four are shown in the figure, i.e., 120-1,120-2,120-3,120-4) arranged side by side on the inner side of the substrate assembly 11, wherein one group (e.g., half the number) of the phase shifters 120 is arranged laterally side by side on the inner side of the left substrate 11L, and the other group (e.g., half the number) of the phase shifters 120 is arranged laterally side by side on the inner side of the right substrate 11R. Although the figures provide examples of four phase shifters 120, the interior side of the substrate assembly 11 may include more or fewer phase shifters 120.

The inside driving mechanism 14 includes a plurality of vane support blocks 140, and a driving rod 143 slidably connected to the vane support blocks 140. The number of the wiper support block 140 is the same as the number of the plurality of phase shifters 120 of the inside phase shifter array 12, and each wiper support block 140 is fixed to a wiper PCB 122 (to be described in detail later) of a corresponding one of the phase shifters 120. The driving rod 143 is used to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters 120 of the inner phase shifter array 12 for phase shifting operation.

The outside phase shifter array 16 includes a plurality of individual phase shifters 120 (four are shown in the drawing) arranged side by side on the outer side of the substrate assembly 11, wherein a part (e.g., half the number) of the phase shifters 120 is arranged side by side laterally on the outer side of the left substrate 11L, and another part (e.g., half the number) of the phase shifters 120 is arranged side by side laterally on the outer side of the right substrate 11R. Although the figures provide examples of four individual phase shifters 120, the outer side of the substrate assembly 11 may include more or fewer phase shifters 120.

The outside drive mechanism 18 includes a plurality of vane support blocks 140, and a drive rod 143 slidably connected to the vane support blocks 140. The number of the wiper support block 140 is the same as the number of the plurality of phase shifters 120 of the outboard phase shifter array 16, and each wiper support block 140 is fixed to a wiper PCB 122 (described in detail below) of a corresponding one of the phase shifters 120. The driving rod 143 is used to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters 120 of the outer phase shifter array 16 for a phase shift operation.

Fig. 4A shows a perspective view of the phase shifters 120 of the inner phase shifter array 12. As shown, the phase shifter 120 includes a main PCB 121 and a slider PCB 122 rotatably mounted on the main PCB 121 by a pivot pin 123. A slider support block 140 of the inboard drive mechanism 14 is positioned above and connected to the slider PCB 122 (e.g., by tabs 132) to control the position of the slider PCB 122 above the main PCB 122.

The main PCB 121 includes a plurality of arcuate transmission line traces (examples of which include a first arcuate transmission line trace 125 and a second arcuate transmission line trace 126) arranged concentrically, and also includes a third transmission line trace 124 connecting an input pad 127 to a power divider 128. A first output of the power divider 128 is capacitively coupled to circuit traces on the slider PCB 122, while a second output is connected to an output pad 130 by a transmission line trace 129. The RF signal coupled to the output pad 130 is not phase shifted. The main PCB 121 further includes a cable holder 131 for holding a cable connected to the input pad 127 and the output pad 130.

Accordingly, the slider PCB 122 includes another power divider, and the power divider decomposes the coupled RF signal into a plurality of sub-components. One output of the power divider is coupled to a first pad of the slider PCB 122 overlying the transmission line trace 125, and the other output is coupled to a second pad of the slider PCB 122 overlying the transmission line trace 126. The first and second pads capacitively couple respective outputs of the power divider of the slider PCB 122 to respective transmission line traces 125, 126 on the main PCB 121. Both ends of each transmission line trace 125, 126 are coupled to respective output pads 130.

The length of the electrical path from the input pad 127 of the phase shifter 120 to each radiating element within the base station antenna changes as the slider PCB 122 moves. For example, as the slider PCB 122 moves to the left, the electrical length of the path from the input pad 127 to the output pad 130 connected to the left side of the transmission line trace 125 becomes shorter, while the electrical length from the input pad 127 to the output pad 130 connected to the right side of the transmission line trace 125 increases by a corresponding amount. The change in path length causes a phase shift in the signal received at the different output pads 130. Accordingly, the phase shifter 120 may receive the RF signal at the input pad 127, decompose the RF signal into a plurality of sub-components, phase shift each sub-component by a different amount, and output the phase-shifted sub-components on the plurality of output pads 130.

However, it should be understood that the phase shifters 120 shown in fig. 4 are only one example of phase shifters that may be used in the inner and outer side shifter arrays 12, 16 of the compact phase shifter system PS of the present disclosure, and that the present disclosure may employ any other form of phase shifter.

Fig. 4B shows a schematic view of the inside drive mechanism 14. As described above, the inside drive mechanism 14 includes the plurality of vane support blocks 140, and the drive lever 143 slidably connected to the vane support blocks 140. The number of the vane support blocks 140 is the same as the number of the phase shifters 120 of the inside phase shifter array 12. Each of the sled support blocks 140 is positioned above the sled PCB 122 of a corresponding one of the phase shifters 120 and is secured to the sled PCB 122 by any known means, such as snaps and rivets. The phase shifters 120 may be arranged in pairs on the inner side face of the inner substrate assembly 11L and the inner side face of the outer substrate assembly 11R, whereby the inner driving mechanism 14 is provided with a pair of slider support blocks 140. The pair of vane support blocks 140 are engaged with each other by respective external teeth, and thus, pivoting of one of the vane support blocks 140 can bring about pivoting of the other vane support block 140. One of the pair of vane support blocks 140 is provided with a slide post 141. The slide post 141 may be formed separately from the supporting block 140 and connected to the supporting block 140, and protrudes outward perpendicular to a surface of the vane supporting block 140.

The driving lever 143 includes a lever body 144 extending longitudinally, and a left side wing portion 145L and a right side wing portion 145R protruding laterally from the lever body 144. The rod 144 extends in the longitudinal direction parallel to the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R above the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R, and is located on an angle-sandwiching plane that bisects the angle a between the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R. The left wing portion 145L extends in the lateral direction parallel to the left base plate 11L above the left base plate 11L, and the right wing portion 145R extends in the lateral direction parallel to the right base plate 11R above the right base plate 11R. Thus, the angle between the left wing portion 145L and the right wing portion 145R is larger than the angle a between the left base plate 11L and the right base plate 11R. Each wing 145L, 145R is provided with an elongated through slot 146 extending in the transverse direction. The elongated channel 146 is adapted to receive the sliding post 141 of the slider support block 140 and guide the sliding post 141 to reciprocate within the elongated channel 146.

Fig. 4C shows a schematic arrangement of the inside phaser array 12 and the inside drive mechanism 14 on the inside face of the substrate assembly 11. As shown, the pair of phase shifters 120 are respectively disposed on the left and right side substrates 11L and 11R, and each phase shifter 120 includes a main PCB 121 fixed to an inner side surface of the substrate assembly 11, and a slider PCB 122 rotatably mounted on the main PCB 121. Pairs of slider support blocks 140 are secured to respective slider PCBs 122 and are connected to drive bars 143 by post slot mating (i.e., mating of slider posts 141 and elongated through slots 146).

Referring to fig. 4B in conjunction with fig. 4A, when the rod body 144 of the driving lever 143 is driven to move in the longitudinal direction by the RET actuator (not shown), the left and right side wings 145L and 145R of the driving lever 143 also move in the longitudinal direction, thereby pivoting one of the pair of slider support blocks 140 on the left substrate 11L and one of the pair of slider support blocks 140 on the right substrate 11R through cooperation between the elongated through groove 146 and the sliding column 141. The sliding piece support block 140 drives the matching sliding piece support block 140 to pivot through external tooth meshing. The pivoting of the pair of slider support blocks 140 brings the pair of slider PCBs 122 fixed thereto into pivoting, thereby performing a phase shifting operation on all the phase shifters 120 located on the inner side surface of the substrate assembly 11.

The arrangement of the outer phase shifter array 16 and its outer driving mechanism 18 on the outer side of the substrate assembly 11 is substantially the same as the arrangement of the inner phase shifter array 12 and its inner driving mechanism 14 on the inner side of the substrate assembly 11, except that the rod body 144 of the driving lever 143 of the outer driving mechanism 18 extends in parallel to the left and right substrates 11L and 11R in the longitudinal direction below (rather than above) the left and right substrates 11L and 11R and is located on a bisector of the mutual circumferential angle bisecting the angle a between the left and right substrates 11L and 11R (rather than a bisector of the angle a between the left and right substrates 11L and 11R). Therefore, the arrangement of the outer phase shifter array 16 and its outer driving mechanism 18 on the outer side of the substrate assembly 11 will not be described in detail.

Returning to fig. 3A-3D, and referring to fig. 5A, the first tier phase shifter assembly 1 further includes a drive rod support bracket 111 and a cable support bracket 117 disposed on the substrate assembly 11. The drive rod support bracket 111 has a substantially inverted trapezoidal shape and includes a long rod 112 and a short rod 113 in parallel, and two diagonal rods 114 connecting ends of the long rod 112 and the short rod 113. The long rod 112 is closer to the reflection plate RB than the short rod 113, and the long rod 112 and the short rod 113 are respectively provided with retaining rings 115 projecting inward and outward in the height direction for receiving and supporting the driving rod 143 of the inside driving mechanism 14 and the driving rod 143 of the outside driving mechanism 18, respectively. The retaining ring 115 may be circular, oval, square, rectangular, or any other suitable shape, and may be closed or open. The two diagonal rods 114 are connected to the ends of the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R, respectively, by their own clips, and the extending angle therebetween is equal to the angle a between the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R. Each of the diagonal rods 114 is provided with a plurality of retaining rings 116 projecting inward and/or outward in the height direction for retaining cables connected to the input pad 127 and the output pad 130 of the phase shifter 120. The retaining ring 116 may be circular, square, or any other suitable shape, and may be closed or open.

Returning to fig. 3A-3D, and referring to fig. 5B, the cable support bracket 117 is generally rod-shaped and is attached to the ends of the left and right side base plates 11L and 11R, respectively, by its own clips. The cable support bracket 117 is provided with a plurality of retaining rings 118 protruding inward and/or outward in the height direction for holding cables connected to the input pad 127 and the output pad 130 of the phase shifter 120. Generally, the cable support bracket 117 is applied to cables of the phase shifters 120 on the lateral outer sides of the left and right substrates, and the drive lever support bracket 111 is applied to cables of the phase shifters 120 on the lateral inner sides of the left and right substrates.

The overall structure of the first layer phase shifter element 1 is described above. The structure of the second layer phase shifter element 2 is substantially the same as the structure of the first layer phase shifter element 1 and will not be described in detail. As described above, the first-layer phase shifter element 1 is connected to the back of the reflection plate RB by the plurality of pairs of inside connectors 8, and the second-layer phase shifter element 2 and/or the larger-layer phase shifter elements are connected to the adjacent phase shifter elements by the plurality of pairs of outside connectors 9.

As shown in fig. 6A, the medial connection member 8 includes two columns 81 and 82 connected at an oblique angle. Two end faces of the inside connection member 8 face the inner side faces of the reflection plate RB and the left side substrate 11L or the right side substrate 11R of the first-layer phase shifter assembly 1 in parallel, respectively, and an extension angle B between the two end faces is equal to (90 ° -a/2). Both end surfaces are respectively provided with screw holes 83 to be connected to the reflection plate RB and the left side substrate 11L or the right side substrate 11R of the first-layer phase shifter assembly 1 by screws, respectively. The left side base plate 11L is connected to the reflection plate RB by a plurality of inner links 8 arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the right side base plate 11R is connected to the reflection plate RB by a plurality of inner links 8 arranged in the longitudinal direction. In some embodiments, the end face of the medial connection 8 is provided with a washer 84 to more securely connect to the corresponding surface.

As shown in fig. 6B, the outer connecting member 9 is substantially Z-shaped and includes two outer columns 91 that are parallel, and an intermediate column 92 that is perpendicular to the two outer columns 91 and connects the two outer columns 91. Two end faces of the outside connection member 9 face the left side substrate 11L or the right side substrate 11R of the adjacent two-layer phase shifter assembly in parallel, respectively, and are parallel to each other. The two end faces are respectively provided with a screw hole 93 to be respectively connected to the left side substrate 11L or the right side substrate 11R of the adjacent two layers of phase shifter assemblies by screws. The left side base plate 11L of one phase shifter assembly is connected to the left side base plate 11L of an adjacent phase shifter assembly by a plurality of outside connection members 9 arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the right side base plate 11R of one phase shifter assembly is connected to the right side base plate 11R of an adjacent phase shifter assembly by a plurality of outside connection members 9 arranged in the longitudinal direction. In some embodiments, the end face of the outboard connector 9 is provided with a washer 94 to more securely connect to the corresponding surface.

The compact phase shifter system PS according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can easily accommodate 16 or more phase shifters within the housing of a base station antenna while retaining the basic design of the base station antenna, the phase shifters, and the driving mechanism, thereby satisfying the design requirements of a complex base station antenna with less modification cost.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure without substantially departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims. The disclosure is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims (15)

1. A compact phase shifter system for a base station antenna, the compact phase shifter system comprising at least one layer of phase shifter elements enclosed within a housing of a base station antenna, each of the at least one layer of phase shifter elements comprising:

a substrate assembly having a generally V-shaped cross-section and comprising a left substrate and a right substrate forming an included angle A ranging between 20 ° and 180 °;

a first side shifter array located on the first side of the substrate assembly, the first side shifter array comprising a plurality of phase shifters, one set of the plurality of phase shifters arranged laterally side-by-side on the first side of the left substrate and another set arranged laterally side-by-side on the first side of the right substrate; and

a first side driving mechanism including a plurality of vane support blocks, the number of which is the same as the number of phase shifters of the first side phase shifter array, and each of which is fixed to a corresponding one of the phase shifters, and a driving rod slidably connected to the plurality of vane support blocks, the driving rod being configured to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters to perform a phase shifting operation.

2. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1, wherein each layer of phase shifter assemblies further comprises:

a second side shifter array on a second side of the substrate assembly opposite the first side, the second side shifter array comprising a plurality of the phase shifters, one set of the plurality of phase shifters of the second side shifter array arranged laterally side-by-side on the second side of the left substrate and another set arranged laterally side-by-side on the second side of the right substrate; and

a second side drive mechanism including a plurality of the wiper support blocks and the drive rods slidably connected to the plurality of wiper support blocks of the second side drive mechanism, the number of the plurality of wiper support blocks of the second side drive mechanism being the same as the number of phase shifters of a second side phase shifter array and each wiper support block being fixed to a respective one of the phase shifters, the drive rods of the second side drive mechanism being configured to simultaneously drive the plurality of phase shifters of the second side phase shifter array for phase shifting operations.

3. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the left and right side base plates are integrally formed.

4. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the left and right side substrates are formed separately and joined together or formed separately and separated from each other.

5. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate assembly has a lateral dimension in a range between 50mm and 180 mm.

6. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the angle a between the left and right substrates is about 60 °, about 100 °, or about 120 °.

7. Compact phase shifter system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the left and right side substrates themselves have a thickness between 1.6mm and 6 mm.

8. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2 wherein each layer of phase shifter assembly further includes an drive rod support bracket including parallel long and short rods and two diagonal rods connecting ends of the long and short rods, the long and short rods being provided with an open or closed retaining ring, respectively, for receiving the drive rod, and the two diagonal rods being connected to ends of the left and right base plates, respectively.

9. The compact phase shifter system of claim 8, wherein each diagonal rod is provided with a plurality of open or closed retaining rings for retaining cables connected to the phase shifters.

10. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one layer of phase shifter assemblies includes a plurality of layers of phase shifter assemblies stacked on top of each other, an innermost one of the plurality of layers of phase shifter assemblies being connected to a reflector plate of a base station antenna by a plurality of pairs of inner side connections, and the other ones of the plurality of layers of phase shifter assemblies being connected to phase shifter assemblies of an adjacent layer by a plurality of pairs of outer side connections.

11. The compact phase shifter system of claim 10, wherein the inner connection member includes two posts connected at an oblique angle, and both end surfaces of the inner connection member are connected to inner surfaces of the left or right substrates of the reflector plate and the innermost phase shifter assembly, respectively.

12. The compact phaser system of claim 11 wherein the included angle of extension between the two end faces of the inboard connection is substantially equal to (90 ° -a/2).

13. The compact phase shifter system of claim 10, wherein the outboard connection member is generally Z-shaped and includes two outer cylinders in parallel and a middle cylinder perpendicular to and connecting the two outer cylinders, the two end faces of the outboard connection member being connected to the left or right base plate of the other layer of phase shifter assembly and the corresponding left or right base plate of the phase shifter assembly adjacent to the other layer of phase shifter assembly, respectively.

14. The compact phase shifter system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the drive rod includes a rod body, and left and right wing portions extending from the rod body, the left and right wing portions extending laterally parallel to the left and right base plates, respectively, the rod body extending longitudinally parallel to the left and right base plates above the left and right base plates and lying on a bisecting plane bisecting the included angle a, or extending longitudinally parallel to the left and right base plates below the left and right base plates and lying on a bisecting plane bisecting a mutual peripheral angle of the included angle a.

15. The compact phase shifter system of claim 14, wherein each of the left and right wing portions is provided with an elongated through slot extending in a lateral direction, the elongated through slot configured to receive a slide post protruding from the slider support block and guide the slide post to reciprocate therein.

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