EP1897171B1

EP1897171B1 - A resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna

Info

Publication number: EP1897171B1
Application number: EP06741244A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bevan Beresford Jones; Peter John Liversidge
Original assignee: Andrew LLC
Current assignee: Commscope Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2005-06-23
Filing date: 2006-06-15
Publication date: 2012-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-15
Also published as: WO2006135956A1; HK1112114A1; EP1897171A1; EP1897171A4; CN101258642B; CN101258642A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to antennas and in particular to patch antennas.

BACKGROUND

Square or circular resonant patch antennas fed on two orthogonal axes are frequently used as elements of dual-polarised array antennas, in particular of base-station antennas used in cellular telephone networks. If the required bandwidth of the antenna is more than a few percent, air dielectric is generally used and the height of the patch above the ground plane is selected to provide adequate bandwidth. The size of the patch is chosen to make the patch resonant. Feeding of the patch is generally achieved with slots, loops or probes containing resonant elements. The coupling of these devices and the resonant elements is selected to achieve overall a double-tuned or higher order filter response. An example of such an implementation is shown in Fig. 1.
Figs 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate a resonant patch antenna 100 fed with a loop 130. The patch 120 is positioned above the ground plane 110 to provide the desired bandwidth. For ease of illustration, the supports for the patch 120 are not shown, and the loop associated with one polarization only is shown. As best seen in Figs. 1A and 1B, the loop 130 is "C" shaped with a signal source 140 disposed between the two ends of the "C". In practice, such a signal source might be implemented as a coaxial line embedded in one side of the loop "C" with the centre conductor connected to the opposite side of the gap. A double-tuned impedance response is obtained by connecting a capacitor 620 in series at the feed point as shown in Fig. 6. A coaxial line 610 is coupled to the feedpoint in series with the capacitor 620. The outer conductor of the coaxial line is coupled to the loop 630 in the configuration 600 of Fig. 6.
A one-dimensional array of such patch elements 100 mounted above a ground plane typically results in a 3 dB beamwidth in the plane normal to the array of between 70 and 85 degrees. For cellular radio purposes, radiating slant polarization (linear polarization inclined at +-45° to vertical) with a horizontal beamwidth between 60 and 65 degrees is frequently desirable. Some influence on the beamwidth can be exercised through the use of various metal fences or enclosures (not shown) around the patch elements 100.
Another method of reducing beamwidth involves increasing the size of the patch. However, this is accompanied by a reduction in the resonant frequency of the patch making impedance matching of the patch to the feed impossible.
US Patent No. 4,386,357 issued to Patton on 31 May 1983 describes a patch antenna comprising a conductive patch disposed over a ground plane, having a shorting pin shorting the conductive patch to the ground plane at a central point. The patch antenna comprises a coaxial feed line attached to the conductive patch at a point between the shorting pin and the edge of the patch for conducting electromagnetic energy to the conductive patch. The matching stub comprises a conductive member extending at least partially between the ground plane and the conductive patch at a point located on the opposite side of the shorting pin from the feed line.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20040070536 in the name of Stotler et al published on 15 April 2004 describes a conformal patch antenna. The antenna comprises an aperture layer having a partially metallized surface that may have at least one aperture slot therein, and a feed-network layer positioned adjacent to the aperture layer and having a feed-network circuitry metallized thereon.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20040263400 in the name of Yuanzhu published on 30 December 2004 describes an antenna system. A short-circuiting conductive plate and a power-supply conductive plate are bent at the center region of a metal plate, so as to be perpendicular to the planar surface of the metal plate. The remaining metal plate, excluding the short-circuiting conductive plate and the power-supply conductive plate, constitutes an emission conductive plate. The antenna system is mounted on a ground plane and the emission conductive plate is disposed parallel to the ground plane. The bottom end of the short-circuiting conductive plate is soldered to the ground plane, and the bottom end of the power-supply conductive plate is connected to a power-supply circuit.
A need therefore exists for an improved method of controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a patch antenna as defined in claim1.
The conductive member may be cylindrical in shape. The conductive member may be solid or tubular in form, or comprises a number of discrete connections between the patch and groundplane.
At least one microstrip or stripline board may implement the conductive member. At least one microstrip or stripline board may implement the feed. The patch antenna may further comprise two crossed microstrip or stripline boards.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a patch antenna as defined in claim 10.
In accordance with either of the above aspects of the invention, the patch radiator may have a circular, square or other symmetrical shape.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna as defined in claim 12.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna as defined in claim 21.
Other aspects of the foregoing methods may be implemented in accordance with the aspects of the invention set forth herein with respect to the patch antenna.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A small number of embodiments of the invention are described hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figs 1A, 1B and 1C are perspective, side elevational and plan views, respectively, of a resonant patch antenna fed with a loop;
Figs 2A, 2B and 2C are perspective, side elevational and plan views, respectively, of a patch antenna with a shorted section in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a circular patch fed with dual printed circuit loops in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C are perspective views of a structure for feeding the patch antenna of Fig. 3 in two polarizations with two printed circuit boards;
Figs. 5A and 5B are side elevation views illustrating details of the two sides of the printed feed of Figs. 4A to 4C;
Fig. 6 is a side elevation views of a resonant patch antenna fed with a loop having a capacitor in series;
Fig. 7 is a simplified side-elevation view of a resonant patch antennas having a stepped down gap region between a patch radiator and a groundplane in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and
Fig. 8 is a simplified side-elevation view of another resonant patch antennas having a stepped down gap region between a patch radiator and a groundplane in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Patch antennas and a method for controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna are described hereinafter. In the following description, numerous specific details, including particular conductive materials, frequency ranges, materials, and the like are set forth. However, from this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In other circumstances, specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method of reducing beamwidth is described in which the size of the patch is increased. Increasing the patch size normally is accompanied by a reduction in the resonant frequency of the patch, making impedance matching of the patch to the feed impossible. In the embodiment of the invention, the resonant frequency of the patch antenna is returned to the desired value by introducing a region in the centre of the patch where the patch is connected to the ground plane.
Figs 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate a patch antenna 200 with a short-circuited region 225 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The configuration shown in Fig. 2 effectively increases the spacing of the radiating edges of a patch radiator 220 (simply, the patch hereinafter), so as to reduce the beamwidth of the patch 220 but at the same time maintaining a resonant configuration. In this embodiment, the patch 220 has a square shape. However, in other embodiments, differently shaped patches may be used, such as a circularly shaped patch. The size of the resonant patch 220 required for resonance is increased. The shorted section 225 (short circuit region) is connected between a central region of the patch 220 and the ground plane 210. In this embodiment, the shorted section 225 is cylindrical in shape and may be solid or tubular in form and of conductive material, e.g. copper. The central region of the patch 220 is shorted to the ground plane 210. Alternatively, the spacing between the patch 220 and the ground plane 210 is stepped down in the central region only. This has a similar effect. The shape of the shorted region is not critical, but should retain symmetry about both the orthogonal feed planes.
To maintain symmetry in the presence of this shorted region 225, an anti-symmetrical feed 236, 230 such as that shown Fig. 2 is used. The feed probes or loops 236 are coupled to the resonant patch 220 on opposite sides of the patch 220 and fed by signal sources 240. Other feed probes or loops 230 may be used to excite the orthogonal polarization.
A larger shorted region 225 requires a larger patch 220 to maintain resonance. As the size of the short-circuited region 225 is increased and the size of the patch 220 is increased to maintain resonance, the radiated beamwidth of the configuration 200 decreases smoothly. This is the desired effect. A limit to this process occurs when higher order modes become excited, making the field distribution at the patch edges deviate significantly from that of a simple resonant patch.
In Fig. 2, a circular grounded region 225 in the centre of the patch 220 is shown. Fig. 3 shows an alternative implementation 300 using two crossed microstrip or stripline boards 330 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the patch 320 is circular in shape. However, other shapes may be used.
The two crossed boards 330 are used both to connect the central region of the patch 320 to the ground plane 310 and to feed opposite sides of the patch in anti-phase. The two crossed boards 330 combine a magnetic-loop feed function and an adequate central grounding provided by the four inner tabs 340 and 344 on the printed boards. A series capacitor 360 and impedance transformer 365 can be used to provide a wide-band double-tuned frequency response. In the arrangement 300 shown, the two orthogonal boards provide feeds for two orthogonal linear polarizations. A signal is provided to each feed board through a 50-ohm coaxial cable 370.
Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C show in detail the two crossed microstrip printed circuit boards 330. In particular, Figs. 4A to 4C illustrate the method of feeding the patch 320 in two polarizations with two printed circuit boards 330. On one side of the board, two balanced loops 380 are etched. On the other side of the board are tracks 365 that feed the two loops 380 in anti-phase. The capacitive stubs at the ends of the track 360 resonate with the loops 380. These resonant circuits coupled to the resonant patch 320 form a wideband double-tuned impedance characteristic.
Fig. 5 illustrates details of the two sides of the printed feed. As Figs. 5A and 5B show, the crossed microstrip printed circuit boards 330 may be implemented as two separate boards, each adapted with a notch in a central region of the boards so that the boards can be assembled together to make the crossed boards 330 without interrupting the tracks required on each board. The tracks 365 provide impedance transformation to match the patch to the 50 ohm feed cable 370. This board 330 also provides the short circuit connection for the centre region of the patch while providing a symmetrical anti-phase feed with a double-tuned, wideband impedance characteristic. This may be implemented on a low-loss microwave substrate.
Fig. 7 illustrates a cross-section of a patch antenna 700 with a stepped down gap region 740 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the patch radiator 720 may have a square or circular shape. However, in other embodiments, differently shaped patches may be used. The patch radiator 720 is disposed at a position above the groundplane 710 (support not shown). The ground plane 710 is formed to have a central region 740 that is much more closely spaced to the patch radiator 720 than the rest of the groundplane 710. While this region 740 is shown in such a manner to indicate an internal cavity in the central region 740, this region may in fact be solid conductive material. In this embodiment, the central region 740 of the groundplane 710 is cylindrical in shape and may be solid or tubular in form and of conductive material, e.g. copper. This has a similar effect to the short-circuited region 225 of Fig. 2. To simplify the drawing, an anti-symmetrical feed is not shown, however one such as that shown Fig. 2 may be used used. The feed probes or loops are coupled to the resonant patch on opposite sides of the patch and fed by signal sources. Other feed probes or loops may be used to excite the orthogonal polarization.
Fig. 8 illustrates a cross-section of a patch antenna 800 with a stepped-down gap region 840 in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the patch radiator 820 may have a square or circular shape. However, in other embodiments, differently shaped patches may be used. The patch radiator 820 is disposed at a position above the groundplane 810 (support not shown). The patch radiator 820 is formed to have a central region 840 in the lower surface of the patch radiator 820 that is much more closely spaced to the groundplane 810 than the rest of the patch radiator 820. This region 840 is preferably solid conductive material. In this embodiment, the central region 840 of the patch radiator 840 is cylindrical in shape and may be made of conductive material, e.g. copper. This has a similar effect to the short-circuited region 225 of Fig. 2. To simplify the drawing, an anti-symmetrical feed is not shown. However one such as that shown Fig. 2 may be used. The feed probes or loops are coupled to the resonant patch on opposite sides of the patch and fed by signal sources. Other feed probes or loops may be used to excite the orthogonal polarization.
Patch antennas and a method for controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna have been described. In view of this disclosure, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

A resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna, comprising:
a ground plane (210, 310);

a patch radiator (220, 320) suspended above said ground plane (210, 310), a central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320) being shorted to said ground plane (210, 310), said central region (225) comprising a large area of said patch radiator (220, 320) to increase the distance between radiating edges of said patch radiator (220, 320); and

an anti-symmetrical magnetic loop feed (236) symmetrically disposed about the centre of said patch radiator (220, 320) and coupled to said patch radiator (220, 320) at locations outside said central region (225) for exciting in antiphase opposite radiating edges of said patch radiator (220, 320), said magnetic feed loop comprising a series capacitor (360) and an impedance transformer (365) to provide a wide-band double-tuned frequency response, said patch radiator (220, 320) having a reduced beamwidth while a resonant frequency is maintained dependent on said increased distance between said radiating edges.
The patch antenna according to claim 1, further comprising a conductive member (225) coupling said central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320) and said ground plane (210, 310) to short circuit said central region (225).
The patch antenna according to claim 2, wherein said conductive member (225) is cylindrical in shape.
The patch antenna according to claim 3, wherein said conductive member (225) is solid or tubular in form, or comprises a number of discrete connections between said patch radiator (220, 320) and said ground plane (210, 310).
The patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein at least one microstrip or stripline board implements said conductive member (225).
The patch antenna according to claim 5, wherein at least one microstrip or stripline board implements said magnetic loop feed (236).
The patch antenna according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising two crossed microstrip or stripline boards.
The patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein said central region (225) is symmetrical about orthogonal feed planes.
The patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein the size of said shorted central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320) is limited by higher order modes being excited.
The patch antenna according to claim 1, comprising:
a conductive body coupled to one of said ground plane (210, 310) and said patch radiator (220, 320) disposed between said ground plane (210, 310) and said patch radiator (220, 320) to provide a stepped down central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320); and

wherein said magnetic loop feed (236) is coupled to said patch radiator (220, 320) at locations outside said stepped-down central region (225).
The patch antenna according to claim 1 or 10, wherein said patch radiator (220, 320) has a circular, square or other symmetrical shape.
A method of controlling the beamwidth of a resonant, dual-polarized patch antenna, said method comprising the steps of:
short circuiting a central region (225) of a patch radiator (220, 320) suspended above a ground plane (210, 310) to said ground plane (210, 310) of said antenna, said central region (225) comprising a large area of said patch radiator (220, 320) to increase the distance between radiating edges of said patch radiator (220, 320); and

feeding a signal using an anti-symmetrical magnetic loop feed (236) symmetrically disposed about the centre of said patch radiator (220, 320) and coupled to said patch radiator (220, 320) at locations outside said central region (225) for exciting in antiphase opposite sides of said patch radiator (220, 320), providing a wide-band double-tuned frequency response, said magnetic loop feed comprising a series capacitor (360) and an impedance transformer (365) to provide a wide-band double-tuned frequency response, said patch radiator (220, 320) having a reduced beamwidth while a resonant frequency is maintained dependent on said increased distance between said radiating edges.
The method according to claim 12, wherein a conductive member (225) couples said central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320) and said ground plane (210, 310) to short circuit said central region (225).
The method according to claim 13, wherein said conductive member (225) is cylindrical in shape.
The method according to claim 14, wherein said conductive member (225) is solid or tubular in form, or comprises a number of discrete connections between the patch radiator (220, 320) and said ground plane (210, 310).
The method according to claim 12, wherein at least one microstrip or stripline board implements said conductive member (225).
The method according to claim 12, wherein at least one microstrip or stripline board implements said magnetic loop feed (236).
The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein said conductive member (225) or said magnetic loop feed (236) or both comprises two crossed microstrip or stripline boards.
The method according to claim 12, wherein said central region (225) is symmetrical about orthogonal feed planes.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the size of said shorted central region (225) of said patch radiator (220, 320) is limited by higher order modes being excited.
The method according to claim 12, comprising:
providing a stepped-down central region (225) of a patch radiator (220, 320) using a conductive body coupled to one of a ground plane (210, 310) and said patch radiator (220, 320), said patch radiator (220, 320) suspended above said ground plane (210, 310) and said conductive body disposed between said ground plane (210, 310) and said patch radiator (220, 320); and

wherein said magnetic loop feed (236) is coupled to said patch radiator (220, 320) at locations outside said stepped-down central region (225).
The method according to claim 12 or 21, comprising increasing the distance between the radiating edges of said patch radiator (220, 320) to reduce the beamwidth of said patch radiator (220, 320) while maintaining a resonant configuration.
The method according to claim 12 or 21, wherein said patch radiator (220, 320) has a circular, square or other symmetrical shape.