Patent Publication Number: US-2021184352-A1

Title: Radiation element and bandwidth extension structure

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and more particularly to a radiation element and a bandwidth extension structure. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Radiation element is an element constituting an antenna basic structure. At present, high gain radiation element could not work well in broadband. It is very difficult to match in broadband with current radiation element. Mismatched radiation element will cause the amplitude and phase distribution inconsistency, so the radiation pattern will deform during the broad frequency band. Especially the radiation side lobe which is not suppressed well will lead to the interference between two adjacent base stations. 
     The best existing solution is to design different radiation elements for different frequency band. The radiation element can only work in its certain corresponding frequency band, and cannot work in a wider band. If required frequency band changes, a new radiation element have to be designed to match it. Otherwise, the radiation patterns or the voltage standing wave ratio will get worse. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the present disclosure is to provide a radiation element and a bandwidth extension structure. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a radiation element is provided, comprising: a basic radiation element and one or more bandwidth extension structures; 
     wherein the one or more bandwidth extension structures are mounted on the basic radiation element to extend the operating bandwidth of the basic radiation element. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a bandwidth extension structure is provided, wherein the bandwidth extension structure is mounted on a basic radiation element to extend the operating band of the basic radiation element. 
     According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, an antenna device is provided, comprising a radiation element according to the present disclosure. 
     According to a still further aspect of the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a bandwidth extension structure is provided, comprising steps of: 
     determining the shape and the size of a to-be-manufactured bandwidth extension structure based on the size of the basic radiation element and the operating band that needs to be extended. 
     manufacturing the corresponding bandwidth extension structure based on the determined shape and size. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure has the following advantages: the radiation element according to the present disclosure has one or more bandwidth extension structures to extend the operating bandwidth of the basic radiation element, such that by combining the plurality of bandwidth extension structures and the basic radiation element, the radiation element may work well at bands beyond its original operating band, which eliminates the need of using a plurality of basic radiation elements due to different operating bandwidths as required, thereby saving costs. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS 
       Other features, objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through reading the detailed description of the non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a structural schematic diagram of an exemplary radiation element according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  shows a structural schematic diagram of an exemplary basic radiation element according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  shows a structural schematic diagram of an exemplary bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of an exemplary bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a flow diagram of a method for manufacturing a bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     In the accompanying drawings, same or similar reference numerals represent same or like components. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The radiation element according to the present disclosure comprises a basic radiation element and one or more bandwidth extension structure. 
     Specifically, the radiation element is provided in an antenna device of a base station, the base station including, but not limited to a macro base station, a micro base station, and a home base station, etc. 
     Specifically, the one or more bandwidth extension structures are mounted on the basic radiation element to extend an operating bandwidth of the basic radiation element. 
     Preferably, the bandwidth extension structure is mounted on a radiation arm of the basic radiation element, the size of the bandwidth extension structure being adapted to the size of the radiation arm. 
     Preferably, there are one or more mounting holes on the radiation arm, to fasten the bandwidth extension structure on the basic radiation element. For example, the bandwidth extension structure may be fastened to the basic radiation element through the mounting hole of the radiation arm using a plastic rivet. 
     Preferably, the radiation unit further comprises an insulation structure located between the bandwidth extension structure and the basic radiation element to thereby prevent direct contact between the bandwidth extension structure and the basic radiation element. 
     Specifically, the insulation structure may adopt various kinds of insulation materials, e.g., plastic or resin, etc. 
     It needs to be noted that those skilled in the art should appreciate that a plurality of ways may be adopted to mount the bandwidth extension structure onto the basic radiation element, not limited to the above manner of mounting the bandwidth extension structure onto the basic radiation element through the mounting hole in the radiation arm. Those skilled in the art may select an appropriate manner to adhere the bandwidth extension structure onto the basic radiation element based on actual needs. 
     Specifically, the bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure is mounted on the basic radiation element to extend the operating band of the basic radiation element. 
     Preferably, there are one or more mounting holes on the radiation arm, to fasten the bandwidth extension structure on the basic radiation element. 
     Preferably, the bandwidth extension structure is a U-shaped or L-shaped metal plate. 
       FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3  shows the structural schematic diagrams of an exemplary radiation element, an exemplary basic radiation unit, and an exemplary bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure, respectively. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , the radiation element shown in  FIG. 1  comprises one basic radiation element  1  as shown in  FIG. 2  and eight bandwidth extension structures  2  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The bandwidth extension structure  2  is a U-shaped metal plate mounted on the basic radiation element  1 , to extend the operating band of the basic radiation element from band 690-960 MHz to band 600-960 MHz. 
     The bandwidth extension structure  2  is mounted on the radiation arm  3  of the basic radiation element  1 , the size of the bandwidth extension structure being adapted to the size of the radiation arm. Two mounting holes are provided on each radiation arm, as shown in  FIG. 2 . Moreover, two mounting holes are provided for each bandwidth extension structure  2 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . With reference to  FIG. 1 , the bandwidth extension structure  2  is fastened onto the basic radiation element  1  via the mounting hole using a plastic rivet  5 . 
     The radiation element further comprises an insulation structure  4  that is an insulative diaphragm of plastic. The insulation structure  4  is located between the bandwidth extension structure  2  and the basic radiation element  1  to prevent direct contact between the bandwidth extension structure  2  and the basic radiation element  1 . 
       FIG. 4  schematically shows a side view of an exemplary bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the bandwidth extension structure comprises six segments, segment  1  to segment  6 . The side of each segment of the bandwidth extension structure may be straight or curved, and two segments of the bandwidth extension structure may be formed at any angle. The front of the bandwidth extension structure may be any shape, to be adapted to basic radiation elements of different shapes. 
     The radiation element of the present disclosure has one or more bandwidth extension structures to extend the operating bandwidth of the basic radiation element, such that by combining the plurality of bandwidth extension structures and the basic radiation element, the radiation element may work well at bands beyond its original operating band, which eliminates the need of using a plurality of basic radiation elements due to different operating bandwidths as required, thereby saving costs. 
       FIG. 5  schematically shows a flow diagram of a method for manufacturing a bandwidth extension structure according to the present disclosure. The method comprises step S 1  and step S 2 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , in step S 1 , the shape and the size of a to-be-manufactured bandwidth extension structure is determined based on the size of the basic radiation element and the operating band that needs to be extended. 
     In step S 2 , the corresponding bandwidth extension structure is manufactured based on the determined shape and size. 
     For example, with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , to manufacture a U-shaped bandwidth extension structure of  FIG. 3  adapted to the basic radiation element shown in  FIG. 2 , supposing the bandwidth to be extended is f, then the size of the bandwidth extension structure is determined based on the size of the radiation arm of the basic radiation unit, and the width of the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped bandwidth extension structure is determined based on f, thereby manufacturing the corresponding bandwidth extension structure. 
     According to the method of the present disclosure, the operating bandwidth of the basic radiation unit is extended by manufacturing a bandwidth extension structure, such that by combining the plurality of bandwidth extension structures and the basic radiation element, the radiation element may work well at bands beyond its original operating band, which eliminates the need of using a plurality of basic radiation elements due to different operating bandwidths as required, thereby saving costs. 
     To those skilled in the art, it is apparent that the present disclosure is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present disclosure may be implemented with other embodiments without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present disclosure. Thus, in any way, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary, not limitative. The scope of the present disclosure is limited by the appended claims, not by the description above; therefore, meanings of equivalent elements within the scope and all variations within the scope intend to be included in the present disclosure. No reference numerals in the claims should be regarded to limit the relevant claims. Besides, it is apparent that the term “comprise” does not exclude other units or steps, and singularity does not exclude plurality. A plurality of units or modules stated in a system claim may also be implemented by a single unit or module through software or hardware. Terms such as the first and the second are used to indicate names, but do not indicate any particular sequence.