Patent Description:
For a traditional Luneburg lens antenna, when a radiation angle of a feed is required to be changed by adjusting its tilt angle, tower operators are required to climb a tower to adjust a pitch angle of a clamp on site to match the optimal effect, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In bad weathers like wind or snow, this adjusting way increases operation difficulty, and a manually adjusting way brings large error. In order to reduce operating difficulty of the operators and avoid climbing of a tower by the operators to adjust an antenna every time, there are also some Luneburg lens antennas commercially available for which a position of a feed can be electrically adjusted. As technical schemes in <CIT>, applied by the applicant and entitled "Electrically Adjustable Luneburg lens Antenna", this type of Luneburg lens antenna includes: a feed, a Luneburg lens, a mounting rack, and a position adjusting mechanism. A spherical surface is formed on the Luneburg lens, and the Luneburg lens is relatively fixed together with the mounting rack. The position adjusting mechanism includes a swinging rack, a driving rod, a driving base, and a transmission device. The driving rod is rotationally mounted on the mounting rack. The transmission device is also mounted on the mounting rack and configured for driving the driving rod to rotate. The driving base is connected with the driving rod, and can move in a straight line along the driving rod by rotation of the driving rod. The swinging rack is between the mounting rack and the Luneburg lens, a swinging rod is connected to the swinging rack, and a rotating end that can rotate relative to the Luneburg lens is formed on the swinging rod, so that the swinging rack can swing relative to a center of the spherical surface of the Luneburg lens. The feed is mounted on the swinging rack, and a connecting rod is hinged between the swinging rack and the driving base. This structure of realizing adjustment of a feed position by swinging of the swing rack is not stable, and the swinging rod of the swinging rack needs to be mounted by hinging, which is not convenient to assemble. Based on shortcomings of an existing Luneburg lens antenna, it is urgent to improve a structure of the existing Luneburg lens antenna.

<CIT> discloses a Luneburg lens electric adjustable antenna.

The present disclosure aims to provide a Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed, which has advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, good stability in adjusting a feed position, convenient assembly and low production cost.

A technical solution of the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed is realized as follows. The Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed may include a reflecting plate, a feed, a Luneburg lens, and a position adjusting mechanism. The position adjusting mechanism includes a mounting plate, a motor, a guide rail, a sliding block, a connecting base, a screw and a moving base. A position of the mounting plate is relatively fixed to A position of the Luneburg lens, and a surface, facing the Luneburg lens, of the mounting plate is a mounting surface. The guide rail is mounted on the mounting plate and between the mounting surface and the Luneburg lens. Both ends of the screw are rotationally mounted on the mounting plate, and orthographic projections, on the mounting surface, of an axis of the screw and an axis of the guide rail are parallel to each other. The motor is fixed on the mounting plate and configured for driving the screw to rotate. The moving base is provided with a screw hole, and the screw hole of the moving base is in threaded connection with the screw. The reflecting plate is arranged between the Luneburg lens and the guide rail. The sliding block is mounted on the reflecting plate and in sliding fit connection with the guide rail. One end of the connecting base is connected with the moving base, and the other end of the connecting base is connected with the reflecting plate. The feed is mounted on a surface, facing the Luneburg lens, of the reflecting plate.

Further, the position adjusting mechanism further includes a guide rod, both ends of the guide rod are mounted on the mounting plate, and an axis of the guide rod is parallel to the axis of the screw. A guide part is provided on the moving base, the guide part is provided with a guide hole, and the guide hole of the moving base is sleeved on the guide rod.

Furthermore, the guide rail includes a left guide rail and a right guide rail, and both the left guide rail and the right guide rail are provided with a guide rail groove along their axes. Both the motor and the screw are between the left guide rail and the right guide rail. The sliding block includes a left sliding block and a right sliding block. Both the left sliding block and the right sliding block are provided with a sliding part. The sliding part of the left sliding block is in sliding fit with the guide rail groove of the left guide rail, and the sliding part of the right sliding block is in sliding fit with the guide rail groove of the right guide rail.

Furthermore, the guide rail grooves on the left guide rail and the right guide rail are of a linear structure, and the sliding parts on the left sliding block and the right sliding block are also of a linear structure. One end of the connecting base is fixedly connected with the moving base, and the other end of the connecting base is fixedly connected with the reflecting plate.

Furthermore, cross sections of the guide rail grooves on the left guide rail and the right guide rail are of an inverted-T-shaped structure, and cross sections of the sliding parts on the left sliding block and the right sliding block are also of an inverted-T-shaped structure.

Beneficial effects of the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed are as follow. The reflecting plate of the Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed can slide along the guide rail through the sliding block, so that the position of the feed on the reflecting plate can be adjusted relative to the Luneburg lens. When the position of the feed is adjusted, the screw is driven by the motor to rotate to make the moving base on the screw move in the straight line along the axis of the screw, so that the connecting base on the moving base can drive the reflecting plate to move along the guide rail. In this way, the reflecting plate can move in a direction set by a shape of the guide rail, instead of being connected by a rotating shaft to adjust the position relative to the Luneburg lens, which is with good operational stability, and convenient assembly; therefore, the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed has advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, good stability in adjusting a feed position, convenient assembly and low production cost.

A Luneburg lens antenna group is further provided in the present disclosure, which has advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, high adjustment efficiency and convenient use.

A technical scheme of the Luneburg lens antenna group is realized as follows. The Luneburg lens antenna group includes a first Luneburg lens antenna and a number of second Luneburg lens antennas. The first Luneburg lens antenna and the number of second Luneburg lens antennas are arranged side by side in a straight line. The first Luneburg lens antenna is the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed described in the above scheme. Difference between the second Luneburg lens antenna and each first Luneburg lens antenna is that: there is no motor, screw and moving base on the second Luneburg lens antenna. A connecting base of the first Luneburg lens antenna is fixed together with a connecting base of each second Luneburg lens antenna through a rigid component.

Beneficial effects of the Luneburg lens antenna group are as follows. During use, the motor of the first Luneburg lens antenna drives its screw to rotate to make the moving base of the first Luneburg lens antenna move along the screw, so that the connecting base fixed together with the moving base on the first Luneburg lens antenna and the connecting base of the second Luneburg lens antenna act simultaneously; the connecting bases of the first Luneburg lens antenna and the second Luneburg lens antennas are all connected with the reflecting plate, the reflecting plates of the first Luneburg lens antenna and the second Luneburg lens antennas are all provided with feeds, and then positions of the feeds of a plurality of Luneburg lens antennas can be adjusted in a linkage mode; therefore, the Luneburg lens antenna group has advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, high adjustment efficiency and convenient use.

Description of reference numbers: <NUM> Reflecting Plate; <NUM> Feed; <NUM> Luneburg lens; <NUM> Position Adjusting Mechanism; <NUM> Mounting Plate; <NUM> Mounting Surface; <NUM> Motor; <NUM> Guide Rail; <NUM> Left Guide Rail; <NUM> Right Guide Rail; <NUM> Guide Rail Groove; <NUM> Sliding Block; <NUM> Left Sliding Block; <NUM> Right Sliding Block; <NUM> Sliding Part; <NUM> Connecting Base; <NUM> Screw; <NUM> Moving Base; <NUM> Guide Part; <NUM> Guide Rod; <NUM> Cover Shell; <NUM> Upper Half shell; <NUM> Upper Fixing Ring; <NUM> Lower Half Shell; <NUM> Lower Fixing Ring; <NUM> Support; <NUM> Fixing Lug; <NUM> Outer Shell; <NUM> Screw hole; <NUM> Guide hole;.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, a Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed of this embodiment includes: a reflecting plate <NUM>, a feed <NUM>, a Luneburg lens <NUM>, and a position adjusting mechanism <NUM>. The position adjusting mechanism <NUM> includes a mounting plate <NUM>, a motor <NUM>, a guide rail <NUM>, a sliding block <NUM>, a connecting base <NUM>, a screw <NUM> and a moving base <NUM>. A position of the mounting plate <NUM> is relatively fixed to a position of the Luneburg lens <NUM>, a surface, facing the Luneburg lens <NUM>, of the mounting plate <NUM> is a mounting surface <NUM>. The Luneburg lens <NUM> is a spheroid Luneburg lens, and the mounting surface <NUM> is a plane. The guide rail <NUM> is mounted on the mounting plate <NUM> and between the mounting surface <NUM> and the Luneburg lens <NUM>. Both ends of the screw <NUM> are rotationally mounted on the mounting plate <NUM>, and orthographic projections, on the mounting surface <NUM>, of an axis of the screw <NUM> and an axis of the guide rail <NUM> are parallel to each other. The motor <NUM> is fixed on the mounting plate <NUM> and configured for driving the screw <NUM> to rotate. The moving base <NUM> is provided with a screw hole <NUM>, and the screw hole <NUM> of the moving base <NUM> is in threaded connection with the screw <NUM>. The reflecting plate <NUM> is arranged between the Luneburg lens <NUM> and the guide rail <NUM>. The sliding block <NUM> is mounted on the reflecting plate <NUM> and in sliding fit connection with the guide rail <NUM>. One end of the connecting base <NUM> is connected with the moving base <NUM>, and the other end thereof is connected with the reflecting plate <NUM>. The feed <NUM> is mounted on a surface, facing the Luneburg lens <NUM>, of the reflecting plate <NUM>, and the surface, facing the Luneburg lens <NUM>, of the reflecting plate <NUM> is a reflecting surface. The reflecting plate <NUM> of the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed can slide along the guide rail <NUM> through the sliding block <NUM>, so that a position of the feed <NUM> on the reflecting plate <NUM> can be adjusted relative to the Luneburg lens <NUM>. When the position of the feed <NUM> is adjusted, the screw <NUM> is driven by the motor <NUM> to rotate to make the moving base <NUM> on the screw <NUM> move in a straight line along the axis of the screw <NUM>, so that the connecting base <NUM> on the moving base <NUM> can drive the reflecting plate <NUM> to move along the guide rail <NUM>. In this way, the reflecting plate <NUM> can move in a direction set by a shape of the guide rail <NUM>, instead of being connected by a rotating shaft to adjust the position relative to the Luneburg lens <NUM>, which is with good operational stability and convenient assembly. Therefore, the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed has advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, good stability in adjusting a feed position, convenient assembly and low production cost.

For better operational stability of the Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed when the position of the feed <NUM> is adjusted, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the position adjusting mechanism <NUM> further includes a guide rod <NUM>, both ends of the guide rod <NUM> are mounted on the mounting plate <NUM>, and an axis of the guide rod <NUM> is parallel to the axis of the screw <NUM>; a guide part <NUM> is provided on the moving base <NUM>, the guide part <NUM> is provided with a guide hole <NUM>, and the guide hole <NUM> of the moving base <NUM> is sleeved on the guide rod <NUM>.

In order to make the structure of the Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed more reasonable and further improve the operational stability when the position of the feed <NUM> is adjusted, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the guide rail <NUM> includes a left guide rail <NUM> and a right guide rail <NUM>, and both the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM> are provided with a guide rail groove <NUM> along their axes. The motor <NUM>, the screw <NUM> and the guide rod <NUM> are all between the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM>. The sliding block <NUM> includes a left sliding block <NUM> and a right sliding block <NUM>. Both the left sliding block <NUM> and the right sliding block <NUM> are provided with a sliding part <NUM>. The sliding part <NUM> of the left sliding block <NUM> is in sliding fit with the guide rail groove <NUM> of the left guide rail <NUM>, and the sliding part <NUM> of the right sliding block <NUM> is in sliding fit with the guide rail groove <NUM> of the right guide rail <NUM>.

In order to enable the feed <NUM> of the Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed to move in the straight line to adjust the position, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the guide rail grooves <NUM> on the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM> are of a linear structure, and the sliding parts <NUM> on the left sliding block <NUM> and the right sliding block <NUM> are also of a linear structure; one end of the connecting base <NUM> is fixedly connected with the moving base <NUM>, and the other end of the connecting base <NUM> is fixedly connected with the reflecting plate <NUM>.

In order to make a structure of assembling the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM> correspondingly with the left sliding block <NUM> and the right sliding block <NUM> more reasonable, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, cross sections of the guide rail grooves <NUM> on the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM> are of an inverted-T-shaped structure, and cross sections of the sliding parts <NUM> on the left sliding block <NUM> and the right sliding block <NUM> are also of an inverted-T-shaped structure. Sliding fit between the sliding part <NUM> of the inverted-T-shaped structure and the guide rail groove <NUM> of the inverted-T-shaped structure is good, and there is no risk of derailment when the Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed is mounted aslant.

In order to make a mounting structure of the Luneburg lens more reasonable, as shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed further includes: a cover shell <NUM> and a support <NUM>. The cover shell <NUM> includes an upper half shell <NUM> and a lower half shell <NUM>. The upper half shell <NUM> is formed with an upper fixing ring <NUM> along an edge of its shell opening, the lower half shell <NUM> is formed with a lower fixing ring <NUM> along an edge of its shell opening, and the upper half shell <NUM> is assembled with the lower half shell <NUM> to form a mounting chamber. The Luneburg lens <NUM> is mounted in the mounting chamber. There are two fixing lugs <NUM> arranged on the support <NUM>, and both the upper fixing ring <NUM> of the upper half shell <NUM> and the lower fixing ring <NUM> of the lower half shell <NUM> are fixedly connected with the two fixing lugs <NUM> on the support <NUM>. The mounting plate <NUM> is fixed on the support <NUM>.

In order to prevent dust and moisture and prolong service life of the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed, as shown in <FIG>, the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed further includes an outer shell <NUM>. The outer shell <NUM> is fixed on the support <NUM>. The position adjusting mechanism <NUM>, the reflecting plate <NUM> and the feed <NUM> are all in the outer shell <NUM>; and an edge of a shell opening of the outer shell <NUM> is affixed to an outer surface of the lower half shell <NUM>.

Difference between this embodiment and embodiment <NUM> is that: as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, both the left guide rail <NUM> and the right guide rail <NUM> are of an arc-shaped strip structure, and a center of the left guide rail <NUM>, a center of the right guide rail <NUM> and a spherical center of the Luneburg lens are collinear. The sliding parts <NUM> of the left sliding block <NUM> and the right sliding block <NUM> are also of an arc-shaped strip structure. One end of the connecting base <NUM> is fixedly connected with the moving base <NUM>, and the other end of the connecting base <NUM> is formed with a pushing-type long hole <NUM>, and a length direction of the pushing-type long hole <NUM> is vertical to the axis of the screw <NUM>. There is a movable hole <NUM> formed on the reflecting plate <NUM> for an end, formed with the pushing long hole <NUM>, of the connecting base <NUM> to pass through. There is also a pushing rod <NUM> fixed on the reflecting plate <NUM>, the pushing rod <NUM> passes through the pushing-type long hole <NUM> of the connecting base <NUM>, and projections, on the mounting surface of the mounting plate, of the axis of the pushing rod <NUM> and the axis of the screw <NUM> are vertical to each other. In this embodiment, with this structure design, the feed can move along the arc-shaped part left guide rail <NUM> and right guide rail <NUM> to adjust the position, so that no matter where the feed is adjusted, it can always point to the spherical center of the Luneburg lens, and thus, the feed receives and transmits signals better.

Difference between this embodiment and Embodiment <NUM> is that the structures of the connecting bases are different. The connecting base in Embodiment <NUM> is produced in one piece. As shown in <FIG>, the connecting base <NUM> of this embodiment is composed of an upper mounting base <NUM> and a lower mounting base <NUM>. The lower mounting base <NUM> is fixed on the moving base, a down recessed part <NUM> with a notch facing up is formed on the lower mounting base <NUM>. The upper mounting base <NUM> is fixedly connected with the lower mounting base <NUM>, an up recessed part <NUM> with a notch facing down is formed on the upper mounting base <NUM>. The up recessed part <NUM> is assembled with the down recessed part <NUM> to form the pushing-type long hole <NUM>. In this embodiment, with design of forming the pushing long hole <NUM> through this assembled structure, when the Luneburg lens antenna with the feed moving along an arc path needs to be changed to the Luneburg lens antenna with the feed traveling along a straight path, it is only necessary to replace the reflecting plate, the guide rail and the sliding block described in Embodiment <NUM> correspondingly with the reflecting plate, the guide rail and the sliding block in Embodiment <NUM>, and remove the upper mounting base <NUM> to make the lower mounting base <NUM> connect the moving base with the reflecting plate. In this way, a speed of improvement can be greatly improved, and developing cost of products can be further reduced.

As shown in <FIG>, a Luneburg lens antenna group is provided in this disclosure, which includes a first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and a number of second Luneburg lens antennas <NUM>, and the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and a number of second Luneburg lens antennas <NUM> are arranged side by side in a straight line. The first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> is of a structure of the Luneburg lens antenna with the position-electrically adjustable feed described in Embodiment <NUM> after the outer shell is removed. Difference between each second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> is that: there is no motor, screw and moving base on the second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM>, and correspondingly, there are also no related components, such as a guide rod, connected with the motor, the screw and the moving base on the second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> relative to the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM>. A connecting base <NUM> of the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> is fixed together with a connecting base <NUM> of each second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> through a rigid component <NUM>. It is noted here that, in implementation, the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and each second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> may share a mounting plate to mount the guide rail. During use, the motor <NUM> of the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> drives its screw <NUM> to rotate to make a moving base <NUM> of the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> move along the screw <NUM>, so that the connecting base <NUM> fixed together with the moving base <NUM> on the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and the connecting base <NUM> of the second Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> act simultaneously. The connecting bases <NUM> of the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and the second Luneburg lens antennas <NUM> are all connected with the reflecting plate <NUM>, the reflecting plates <NUM> of the first Luneburg lens antenna <NUM> and the second Luneburg lens antennas <NUM> are all provided with a feed <NUM>, so that the positions of the feeds of a plurality of Luneburg lens antennas can be adjusted in a linkage mode, which is with high operation efficiency and convenient to use.

Claim 1:
A Luneburg lens antenna with a position-electrically adjustable feed, comprising: a reflecting plate (<NUM>), a feed (<NUM>), a Luneburg lens (<NUM>), and a position adjusting mechanism (<NUM>); wherein, the position adjusting mechanism (<NUM>) comprises a mounting plate (<NUM>), a motor (<NUM>), a guide rail (<NUM>), a sliding block (<NUM>), a connecting base, a screw (<NUM>) and a moving base (<NUM>); a position of the mounting plate (<NUM>) is relatively fixed to a position of the Luneburg lens (<NUM>), and a surface, facing the Luneburg lens (<NUM>), of the mounting plate (<NUM>) is a mounting surface (<NUM>); the guide rail (<NUM>) is mounted on the mounting plate (<NUM>) and between the mounting surface (<NUM>) and the Luneburg lens (<NUM>); both ends of the screw (<NUM>) are rotationally mounted on the mounting plate (<NUM>), and orthographic projections, on the mounting surface (<NUM>), of an axis of the screw (<NUM>) and an axis of the guide rail (<NUM>) are parallel to each other; the motor (<NUM>) is fixed on the mounting plate (<NUM>) and configured for driving the screw (<NUM>) to rotate; the moving base (<NUM>) is provided with a screw hole (<NUM>), and the screw hole (<NUM>) of the moving base (<NUM>) is in threaded connection with the screw (<NUM>); the reflecting plate (<NUM>) is arranged between the Luneburg lens (<NUM>) and the guide rail (<NUM>); the sliding block (<NUM>) is mounted on the reflecting plate (<NUM>) and in sliding fit connection with the guide rail (<NUM>); one end of the connecting base is connected with the moving base (<NUM>), and the other end of the connecting base is connected with the reflecting plate (<NUM>); and the feed (<NUM>) is mounted on a surface, facing the Luneburg lens (<NUM>), of the reflecting plate (<NUM>).