Patent Publication Number: US-2023134877-A1

Title: Miniaturized broadband antenna and wireless communication device using the same

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of antenna, in particular to an antenna and a wireless communication device using the same. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the popularity of wireless devices, wireless devices are becoming smaller and smaller. Therefore, an antenna must not only fit within small wireless devices, but also have a wide bandwidth to support multiple working bands. Together, these two considerations are problematic. 
     Therefore, improvement is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The embodiment of the present disclosure provides an antenna with small size and ability to support multiple working frequency bands and a wireless communication device with the antenna. 
     The present disclosure provides an antenna, the antenna includes a dielectric substrate, a first radiation unit, a second radiation unit, and a feed portion. The dielectric substrate includes a first surface and a second surface. The first radiation unit is arranged on the first surface. The second radiation unit extends from the second surface to the first surface, wherein the second radiation unit comprises a ground portion and a first radiation portion, a part of the second radiation unit arranged on the first surface is used as the first radiation portion, another part of the second radiation unit arrange on the first surface is used as the ground portion, and the first radiation portion and the first radiation unit are adjacent and spaced. The feed portion is configured to feed current to the first radiation unit, the first radiation unit excites a first radiation frequency band, the current flowing through the first radiation unit is further coupled and fed into the first radiation portion, and the first radiation portion excites a second radiation frequency band. 
     In some embodiments, the first surface deviates from the second surface, and the first radiation unit comprises a second radiation portion and a third radiation portion, the second radiation portion is connected to the third radiation portion, the second radiation portion is a right-angled trapezoid, and the third radiation portion is rectangular, a length of a bottom edge of the second radiation portion is less than a length of the third radiation portion, a right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion is flush with one end of the third radiation portion, the first radiation portion and the second radiation portion are arranged at relative intervals, and the feed portion is connected to the second radiation portion. 
     In some embodiments, the first radiation portion is rectangular, and the first radiation portion is parallel to the third radiation portion. 
     In some embodiments, the ground portion comprises a first ground portion and a second ground portion, and the first ground portion is vertically connected to the second ground portion, the first ground portion is arranged close to the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion, and the first ground portion is parallel to the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion; the second ground portion is arranged at one end of the second surface away from the first radiation unit. 
     In some embodiments, the second ground portion is parallel to the third radiation portion, and the second ground portion is connected to the first radiation portion. 
     In some embodiments, the first ground portion and the second ground portion are rectangular. 
     In some embodiments, a dielectric coefficient of the dielectric substrate is 9.8. 
     In some embodiments, the first radiation frequency band comprises 5.15 GHz to 7.125 GHz, and the second radiation frequency band comprises 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz. 
     In some embodiments, a projected area of the ground portion on the second surface along a thickness direction of the antenna does not overlap a projected area of the first radiation unit on the second surface along the thickness direction of the antenna. 
     In some embodiments, the dielectric substrate is an alumina and ceramic substrate. 
     The present disclosure further provides a wireless communication device, which includes the plurality of antennas as described above. 
     In the present disclosure, the first radiation unit and the second radiation unit are arranged on the dielectric substrate, and the second radiation unit extends from the second surface to the first surface to form the first radiation portion and the ground portion on the second radiation unit; the first radiation unit receives the current fed by the feed portion to excite the first radiation frequency band, and the first radiation portion is coupled to the first radiation unit on the first surface to excite the second radiation frequency band. The antenna provided in the present disclosure is not only miniaturized, but also provides the ground portion of the antenna without more feeding portions requiring to be set. Thus multiple working frequency bands are stimulated, and the antenna provides broadband connections. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of a first surface of the antenna shown in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a second surface of the antenna shown in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    is a return loss curve diagram of the antenna shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. 
     It should be noted that when an element is described as “electrically connecting” to another element, it can be directly on another component or there can be a centered element. When an element is said to be “electrically connected” to another element, it can be a contact connection, for example, a wire connection, or a non-contact connection, for example, a wireless coupling. 
     The terms used in the description of the present disclosure herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The term “and/or” as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. 
     With the popularity of wireless devices, the size of wireless devices is becoming smaller and smaller. Therefore, an antenna needs to be used in small wireless devices, but also needs to provide a wide bandwidth to support multiple working bands. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates an antenna  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     The antenna  100  can be applied to a customer premises equipment (CPE), a router, a set top box, a mobile phone, a laptop and other wireless communication devices (not shown in the figure) to transmit and receive radio waves to transmit and exchange radio signals. 
     In some embodiments, the antenna  100  includes a dielectric substrate  10 , a first radiation unit  20 , a second radiation unit  30 , and a feed portion  40 . 
     The dielectric substrate  10  includes a first surface  11  and a second surface  12 . 
     The first radiation unit  20  is arranged on the first surface  11 . The second radiation unit  30  extends from the second surface  12  to the first surface  11 . The second radiation unit  30  includes a first radiation portion  31  and a ground portion  32 . The part of the second radiation unit  30  is arranged on the first surface  11  as the first radiation portion  31 . The other parts of the second radiation unit  30  except those arranged on the first surface  11  serves as the ground portion  32 . The first radiation portion  31  is adjacent to the first radiation unit  20  at intervals. 
     The feed portion  40  is used to feed current to the first radiation unit  20 , so that the first radiation unit  20  can excite a first radiation frequency band. The current flowing through the first radiation unit  20  is also coupled and fed to the first radiation portion  31  so that the first radiation portion  31  can excite a second radiation frequency band. In some embodiments, the feed portion  40  may be a microstrip line or other metal conductor connected to the feed line. 
     In the present disclosure, the first radiation unit  20  and the second radiation unit  30  are arranged on the dielectric substrate  10 , and the second radiation unit  30  extends from the second surface  12  to the first surface  11  to form the first radiation portion  31  and the ground portion  32  on the second radiation unit  30 ; the first radiation unit  20  receives the current fed by the feed portion  40  to excite the first radiation frequency band, and the first radiation portion  31  is coupled to the first radiation unit  20  on the first surface  11  to excite the second radiation frequency band. The antenna  100  provided in the present disclosure not only realizes miniaturization, but also provides the ground portion  32  of the antenna  100  without setting more feeding portions, which can stimulate multiple working frequency bands for broadband. 
     In some embodiments, the first radiation unit  20  includes a second radiation portion  21  and a third radiation portion  22 . The second radiation portion  21  is connected to the third radiation portion  22 . The second radiation portion  21  is a right-angle trapezoid, and the third radiation portion  22  is rectangular. The right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21  is flush with one end of the third radiation portion  22 . The feed portion  40  is connected to the second radiation portion  21 . In this way, through the above design, the first radiation frequency band is excited by the second radiation portion  21  and the third radiation portion  22  jointly. 
     The first radiation portion  31  is parallel to the third radiation portion  22 . The first radiation portion  31  and the second radiation portion  21  are arranged at relative intervals. Therefore, when the feed portion  40  feeds the current to the second radiation portion  21 , the second radiation portion  21  also couples the current to the first radiation portion  31 , so that the first radiation portion  31  can excite the second radiation frequency band. 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , the second radiation portion  21  and the third radiation portion  22  are formed from one conductor, for example, a metal sheet. The length L B  of the bottom edge of the second radiation portion  21  is 8.5 mm, which is smaller than the length L E  of the third radiation portion  22 , such as 15 mm. The third radiation portion  22  is also arranged along the edge of the first surface  11 , and the end of the third radiation portion  22  far away from the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21  is aligned with the edge of the first surface  11  of the dielectric substrate  10 . 
     In the embodiment, the width W E  of the third radiation portion  22  is 3.5 mm. The length L S  of the other bottom edge of the second radiation portion  21  is 6 mm. The length of the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21  is 10.4 mm. The distance W S  from the end of the second radiation portion  21  away from the third radiation portion  22  to the feed portion  40  is 3 mm. The distance W B  from the end of the second radiation portion  21  close to the third radiation portion  22  to the feed portion  40  is 5.6 mm. The width W T  of the feed portion  40  is 1.8 mm. The length W E  of the feed portion  40  is 3.5 mm. The length L N3  of the first radiation portion  31  is 12 mm. The width W N  of the first radiation portion  31  is 2.5 mm. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , in some embodiments, the ground portion  32  includes a first ground portion  321  and a second ground portion  322 . The first ground portion  321  is vertically connected to the second ground portion  322 . The first ground portion  321  is arranged near the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21 , the first ground portion  321  is parallel to the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21 . In some embodiments, the first ground portion  321  and the second ground portion  322  may be formed of one conductor. 
     The second ground portion  322  is arranged on the end of the second surface  12  far away from the first radiation unit  20 . The second ground portion  322  is parallel to the third radiation portion  22 , and the second ground portion  322  is connected to the first radiation portion  31 . 
     In the embodiment, the first ground portion  321  and the second ground portion  322  are rectangular. The first ground portion  321  is aligned with the second surface  12  close to the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21 . The second ground portion  322  is aligned with the second surface  12  close to the edge of the second radiation portion  21 , and the second ground portion  322  is vertically connected to the first ground portion  321 . The length W A  of the first ground portion  321  is the same as the width of the dielectric substrate  10 , both of which are 20 mm. The width L G  of the first ground portion  321  is 5 mm, which is less than the distance from the right-angle side edge of the second radiation portion  21  to the edge of the adjacent second surface  12 . The length L N1  of the second ground portion  322  is 15 mm. The width W N  of the second ground portion  322  is 2.5 mm (shown in  FIG.  1   ), which is less than the distance from the end of the second radiation portion  21  away from the third radiation portion  22  to the edge of the first surface  11 . The projection area of the ground portion  32  on the second surface  12  along the thickness direction of the antenna  100  (the direction of the Z-axis in  FIG.  1   ) does not overlap with the projection area of the first radiation unit  20  on the second surface  12  along the thickness direction of the antenna  100 . The first radiation unit  20  can radiate waves towards the direction where the second surface  12  is located to expand the radiation field type of the antenna  100 . In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the height L N2  of the dielectric substrate  10  is 1.3 mm. 
     The first radiation portion  31  is formed by extending one end of the second ground portion  322  away from the first ground portion  321  to the first surface  11 . Therefore, the first radiation portion  31  is aligned with the edge on the first surface  11  away from the third radiation portion  22 . In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the width of the first radiation portion  31  is the same as the width W N  of the second ground portion  322 , both of which are 2.5 mm. The length L N3  of the first radiation portion  31  is 12 mm. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , in some embodiments, the dielectric coefficient of the dielectric substrate  10  is 9.8. Therefore, the dielectric substrate  10  can effectively reduce the field leakage and cross coupling effect of the antenna  100 , conducive to better outward radiation by the antenna  100 . For example, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the dielectric substrate  10  is an alumina-ceramic substrate, and the dielectric coefficient of the dielectric substrate  10  is 9.8, and the hardness is 9. Therefore, the dielectric substrate  10  provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure has good drop resistance and corrosion resistance. 
     The present disclosure does not limit the position of the first surface  11  and the second surface  12  on the dielectric substrate  10 , as long as the first surface  11  and the second surface  12  are not on the same surface. Therefore, the area of the dielectric substrate  10  can be reduced to achieve miniaturization of the antenna  100  as much as possible. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first surface  11  and the second surface  12  are two surfaces that deviate from each other on the dielectric substrate  10 . For example, the first surface  11  and the second surface  12  are the upper surface and the lower surface of the dielectric substrate  10 , respectively. Therefore, the required area and volume of the dielectric substrate  10  can be further reduced, allowing a reduction in size of the antenna  100 . In other embodiments, the first surface  11  and the second surface  12  may also be two adjacent or spaced surfaces on the dielectric substrate  10 . 
     The present disclosure does not limit the size and shape of the dielectric substrate  10 . In other embodiments, the dielectric substrate  10  may also have other shapes. When in different shapes, each part of the first radiation unit  20  and the second radiation unit  30  does not need to be arranged at the edge of the dielectric substrate  10 , the first radiation unit  20  and the second radiation unit  30  can still together realize the required functions. 
       FIG.  4    shows the return loss curve of the antenna  100  provided in the present disclosure. The curve S is the return loss curve of the antenna  100  provided in the disclosure under a simulation; the curve M is the return loss curve of the antenna  100  provided in the present disclosure obtained through physical laboratory test. As shown in  FIG.  4   , the return loss of the antenna  100  is lower than −10 dB in the first radiation frequency band (including 5.15 GHz to 7.125 GHz) and the second radiation frequency band (including 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz), which meets requirements. 
     The antenna  100  provided in the disclosure can be applied to a variety of Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 4 (the frequency band covering 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz), Wi-Fi 5 (the frequency band covering 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz and 5.15 GHz-5.85 GHz), Wi-Fi 6 (the frequency band covering 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz and 5 GHz), and Wi-Fi 7 (the frequency band covering 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz, 5 GHz and 5.925 GHz-7.125 GHz). In theory, Wi-Fi 7 standard can support the bandwidth of up to 30 Gbps for each access point, and the maximum network speed of Wi-Fi 7 can reach 46.4 Gbps. Therefore, the antenna  100  provided in the disclosure meets current requirements relating to development trends of Wi-Fi technology and enables the wireless communication device equipped with the antenna  100  to have a faster network speed while reducing the number of antennas. 
     The antenna  100  of the present disclosure can extend from the second surface  12  of the dielectric substrate  10  to the first surface  11  through the second radiation unit  30 , the first radiation portion  31  and the ground portion  32  are constructed on the second radiation unit  30 ; the present disclosure also disposes the first radiation unit  20  on the first surface  11  of the dielectric substrate  10 , and the first radiation unit  20  receives the current fed by the feed portion  40  to excite the first radiation frequency band. The first radiation portion  31  is coupled to the first radiation unit  20  on the first surface  11  to excite the second radiation frequency band, thus realizing miniaturization broadband performance. The antenna  100  provided in the present disclosure can be applied to various Wi-Fi standards, especially Wi-Fi 7, so that the wireless communication device with the antenna  100  can have a faster network speed while reducing the number of antennas required. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art should realize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present disclosure, but not to limit the present disclosure. As long as they are within the essential spirit of the present disclosure, the above embodiments are appropriately made and changes fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.