Patent Grant
12160047
The disclosure relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the disclosure relates to an antenna assembly and an electronic device including the same in a wireless communication system.
To meet the increased demand for wireless data traffic since deployment of 4th generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5th generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post long-term evolution (LTE) System’.
The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (millimeter (mm) Wave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G communication systems.
In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-Points (COMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like.
In the 5G system, hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.
There has been development of products equipped with multiple antennas to improve communication performance, and it is expected that equipment having far more antennas will be used. As more antenna elements are used for communication devices, there is an increasing demand for an antenna structure for reducing performance degradation during fabrication and assembling processes.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.
Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide an antenna module and an electronic device including the same, wherein in connection with a dual antenna structure in which antennas are disposed on two different layers while being spaced apart, an adhesive material is disposed between a metal substrate and an antenna substrate, thereby improving antenna assembly assembling performance.
Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide an antenna module and an electronic device including the same, wherein antennas are positioned within a layer of a metal substrate in connection with a dual antenna structure in a wireless communication system, thereby providing a high level of antenna performance.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an antenna assembly is provided. The antenna assembly includes a first flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple first antennas, a second flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple second antennas, a metal plate including multiple holes, a first adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the first FPCB, and a second adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the second FPCB, wherein the metal plate is disposed such that the multiple first antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively and the multiple second antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a radio unit (RU) module is provided. The RU module includes a printed circuit board (PCB), and multiple antenna assemblies, wherein an antenna assembly of the multiple antenna assemblies includes a first flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple first antennas, a second flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple second antennas, a metal plate including multiple holes, a first adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the first FPCB, and a second adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the second FPCB, and wherein the metal plate is disposed such that the multiple first antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively and the multiple second antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively.
A device and a method according to embodiments of the disclosure improve assembling performance through an adhesive material disposed on an antenna substrate and a metal substrate layer, thereby enabling stable large antenna design.
In addition, a device and a method according to embodiments of the disclosure enable integration of multiple antennas such that a high level of antenna performance can be provided.
In addition, a device and a method according to embodiments of the disclosure make it possible to efficiently fabricate an antenna assembly through an easily attachable/detachable adhesive material.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components, and structures.
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding, but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purposes only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the disclosure will be described based on an approach of hardware. However, various embodiments of the disclosure include a technology that uses both hardware and software, and thus the various embodiments of the disclosure may not exclude the perspective of software.
As used in the description below, the terms indicating components of an electronic device (e.g., “filter”, “amplifier”, “printed circuit board (PCB)”, “flexible PCB (FPCB)”, “antenna element”, “compensation circuit”, “processor”, “chip”, “element”, and “device”), the terms indicating the shape of a component (e.g., “structure”, “assembly”, “connection part”, “contact part”, “guide part”, “protrusion”, and “stator”), the terms indicating a connection part between structures (e.g., “connection part”, “contact part”, “contact element”, “contact structure”, “contact terminal”, “connection element”, “boss”, “conductive member”, and “assembly”), the terms indicating a circuit (e.g., “printed circuit board (PCB)”, “flexible PCB (FPCB)”, “signal line”, “data line”, “feeding line”, “feeding part”, “RF signal line”, “antenna cable”, “RF path”, “RF module”, “RF circuit”, “RFA”, and “RFB”), etc. are provided as examples for the convenience of description. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the terms used below, and other terms having the same technical meaning may be used. Further, the terms “unit”, “device”, “member”, “body”, etc. used hereinafter may indicate at least one shape structure or may indicate a unit for processing a function.
Referring to
The base station 110 is a network infrastructure that provides a wireless connection to the terminal 120. The base station 110 has a coverage defined as a certain geographic area based on a distance through which a signal can be transmitted. In addition to the base station, the base station 110 may be referred to as a massive multiple input multiple output (MMU) unit, an “access point (AP)”, an “eNodeB (eNB)”, a “5th generation node (5G node)”, a 5G NodeB (NB), a “wireless point”, a “transmission/reception point (TRP)”, an “access unit”, a “distributed unit (DU)”, a “radio unit (RU)”, a “remote radio head (RRH)”, or other terms with equivalent technical meanings. The base station 110 may transmit a downlink signal or may receive an uplink signal.
The terminal 120 is a device used by a user, and performs communication with the base station 110 through a wireless channel. In some cases, the terminal 120 may be operated without the user's involvement. The terminal 120 may be a device that performs machine type communication (MTC) and need not be carried by a user. The terminal 120 may be referred to as “user equipment (UE)”, a “mobile station”, a “subscriber station”, “customer premises equipment (CPE)”, a “remote terminal”, a “wireless terminal”, an “electronic device”, a “terminal for vehicle”, a “user device”, or other terms with equivalent technical meanings.
The terminal 120 and the terminal 130 shown in
A beamforming technology is used as one of technologies for reducing propagation path loss and increasing a radio propagation distance. Generally, beamforming uses multiple antennas to concentrate the arrival area of radio waves, or increase the directivity of reception sensitivity in a specific direction. Therefore, communication equipment may include multiple antennas to form a beamforming coverage instead of forming a signal in an isotropic pattern by using a single antenna. Hereinafter, an antenna array including multiple antennas will be described.
The base station 110 or the terminal 120 may include an antenna array 112, 113, 121, and 131. Each antenna included in an antenna array may be referred to as an array element or an antenna element. Hereinafter, an antenna array is described as a two-dimensional planar array in the disclosure, but this is merely an embodiment and does not limit other embodiments of the disclosure. An antenna array may be configured in various forms such as a linear array or a multi-layer array. An antenna array may be referred to as a massive antenna array.
A main technology to improve the data capacity of 5G communication is a beamforming technology using an antenna array connected to multiple RF paths. The number of components for performing wireless communication has been increased to improve communication performance. Particularly, the number of antennas, RF parts (e.g., an amplifier and a filter) for processing an RF signal received or transmitted through an antenna, and the number of components has been increased and thus a spatial gain and cost efficiency are essentially required in configuring a communication device in addition to satisfying communication performance.
Referring to
The electronic device may include a DU 220. The DU 220 may include an interface board 221, a modem board 223, and a CPU board 225. The electronic device may include a power module 230, a GPS 240, and a DU housing 250.
Referring to
Referring to
The RU 310 may include RF chains for processing a signal of each array antenna. The RF chains may be referred to as “RFA”. The RFA may include a mixer and RF components (e.g., a phase transformer and a power amplifier) for beamforming. The mixer of the RFA may be configured to down-convert an RF signal of an RF frequency into an intermediate frequency, or up-convert an intermediate frequency into a signal of an RF frequency. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, one set of RF chains may correspond to one array antenna. By way of example, the RU 310 may include four RF chain sets for four array antennas. Multiple RF chains may be connected to a transmission path or a reception path through a divider (e.g., 1:16). Although not shown in
The RU 310 may include a digital analog front end (DAFE) and “RFB.” The DAFE may be configured to perform interconversion between a digital signal and an analog signal. By way of example, the RU 310 may include two DAFEs (DAFE #0 and DAFE #1). The DAFE may be configured to up-convert a digital signal (i.e., DUC) and convert the up-converted signal into an analog signal (i.e., DAC) in a transmission path. The DAFE may be configured to convert an analog signal into a digital signal (i.e., ADC) and down-convert a digital signal (i.e., DDC) in a reception path. The RFB may include a mixer and a switch corresponding to a transmission path and a reception path. The mixer of the RFB may be configured to up-convert a baseband frequency into an intermediate frequency, or down-convert a signal of an intermediate frequency into a signal of a baseband frequency. The switch may be configured to select one of a transmission path and a reception path. By way of example, the RU 310 may include two RFBs (RFB #0 and RFB #1).
The RU 310 as a controller may include a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The FPGA means a semiconductor including a designable logic element and a programmable internal circuit. Communication with the DU 320 may be performed through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication.
The RU 310 may include a local oscillator (RF LO). The RF LO may be configured to provide a reference frequency for up-conversion or down-conversion. According to an embodiment, the RF LO may be configured to provide a frequency for up-conversion or down-conversion of the RFB described above. For example, the RF LO may provide a reference frequency to RFB #0 and RFB #1 through a two-way divider.
The RF LO may be configured to provide a frequency for up-conversion or down-conversion of the RFA described above. For example, the RF LO may provide a reference frequency to each RFA (eight per RF chain for each polarization group) through a 32-way divider.
Referring to
Although the base station was described as an example of the electronic device in
Referring to
Referring to
The RU board may include components for supplying an RF signal to an antenna. The RU board may include one or more DC/DC converters. The DC/DC converter may be used for converting a direct current into a direct current. The RU board may include one or more local oscillators (LO). The LO may be used for supplying a reference frequency for up-conversion or down-conversion in an RF system. The RU board may include one or more connectors. The connector may be used for transferring an electrical signal. The RU board may include one or more dividers. The divider may be used for distributing an input signal and transferring an input signal to multiple paths. The RU board may include one or more low-dropout regulators (LDOs). The LDO may be used for suppressing external noise and supplying power. The RU board may include one or more voltage regulator modules (VRMs). The VRM may mean a module for securing a proper voltage to be maintained. The RU board may include one or more digital front ends (DFEs). The RU board may include one or more radio frequency programmable gain amplifiers (FPGAs). The RU board may include one or more intermediate frequency (IF) processors. Some of the components shown in
Referring to
As technology advances, while transmission output is improved, equivalent reception performance needs to be secured and supporting a dual band is also required. Such requirements cause an increase in volume compared to a size of an existing equipment. In addition, the number of antenna elements for each path increases for equivalent performance or higher performance. For example, instead of a base station which supports 4T4R in an existing single band (e.g., 28 GHz band or 39 GHZ band), when supporting 2T2R in a dual band, the number of antenna elements for each path may be increased from 256 to 384. Furthermore, in an equipment for a dual band, an interval between antenna is increased and the entire area for each path is increased.
As shown in
Although, a single large antenna array is illustrated, embodiments of the disclosure are not limited thereto. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, multiple sub arrays may be operated in one antenna array. For example, the antenna array 511 may be used instead of the antenna array 510. The antenna array 511 may include a sub array on an upper side and a sub array on a lower side. As another example, the antenna array 516 or the antenna array 517 may be used instead of the antenna array 515. The antenna array 516 may include a sub array on a left side and a sub array on a right side. The antenna array 517 may include a sub array on an upper side and a sub array on a lower side.
Referring to
Referring to
The main radiator may be disposed on an antenna board 563 (e.g., the first PCB in
The first antenna part may be attached to the PCB. An adhesive material may be disposed on a lower surface of the first antenna part. The first antenna part may be attached to the PCB through the adhesive material. The PCB may mean a main board of the PCB. The PCB may include multiple substrates. Multiple substrates may be stacked in the PCB. The PCB may include a feeding layer. The feeding layer may include an RF line. For example, the RF line may include embedded grounded co-planar waveguide (GCPW). The PCB may include one or more ground layers. A via hole may be formed through layers of the PCB. For example, the PCB may include a via hole formed by a laser process and a via hole formed by a PTH process. According to an embodiment, the PCB may include a low-cost layer formed of FR4 for a coaxial PTH.
As described above, the antenna assembly has a dual antenna structure. The dual antenna structure may mean a structure in which a radiator (e.g., an antenna) is disposed on a substrate and an additional radiator is formed on another different substrate. An air layer may be disposed on the radiator and the additional radiator may be disposed on the air layer. The radiator and the additional radiator may be disposed on different layers with reference to the air layer. An air cavity is formed through the air layer. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the air layer may be formed through a hole of the metal plate.
For the dual antenna structure, bonding between the main radiator (hereinafter, a first antenna) and the additional radiator (hereinafter, a second antenna) is required. For example, the main radiator may be implemented on a laminated FPCB. The laminated FPCB may be bonded to the main board through an adhesive such as a bonding sheet. The second radiator may be implemented on a FPCB. An assembly of the FPCB and the metal pillar may be bonded to the laminated FPCB bonded to the main board. However, such an assembling method may cause a high fabrication error as a size of antenna arrays increases due to two-step assembly. The increase in size of a shape of antennas that have been respectively assembled may cause increase in cost and a disadvantageous problem in mass production.
To solve the problems described above, embodiments of the disclosure propose a method in which a first radiator and a second radiator are bonded to each other first and the bonded radiator module is attached to a main board other than a method in which a first radiator and a second radiator are sequentially assembled to a main board, an antenna assembly generated by the method, and an RU module including same. The use of an adhesive material instead of a lamination method may simplify assembly and improve performance.
Referring to
Referring to
The antenna assembly has a dual antenna structure. The dual antenna structure may consist of a first antenna part including a main radiator and a second antenna part including an additional radiator. The main radiator of the first antenna part may be bonded to a PCB of a main board to perform a function of radiating a signal. The second antenna part may be stacked substantially parallel with a radiation surface of the main radiator. The additional radiator of the second antenna part may relay or amplify a signal of the main radiator. The first antenna part may include a first pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) 603, a first FPCB 605, and a second PSA 607. The second antenna part may include a metal plate 609, a third PSA 611, and a second FPCB 613.
The first antenna part may include a structure in which the first PSA 603, the first FPCB 605, and the second PSA 607 are sequentially stacked. The first PSA 603 is an adhesive material for bonding a board of the main radiator, that is, the antenna board to the PCB 601. The second PSA 607 is an adhesive material for bonding the metal plate 609 and the first FPCB 605. The PSA as a pressure-sensitive adhesive is an adhesive in which an adhesive material is activated when pressure is applied to bond the adhesive to the adhesive surface. The adhesion strength is affected by an amount of pressure for allowing an adhesive to be applied to a surface. Although the pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) for low temperature pressure or roll pressure is exemplified as an adhesive material in the disclosure, a drawing or specific description does not delimit embodiments of the disclosure. The PSA may be manufactured to maintain appropriate adhesion and persistency at room temperature in general. According to various embodiments, there are adhesives manufactured to normally operate at low temperature or high temperature (e.g., a thermosetting bonding sheet).
The first FPCB 605 may be a substrate (or antenna board) on which the main radiator is mounted. Although the FPCB is exemplified as a board to which a radiator is mounted, it is to be understood that a PCB or another substrate other than the FPCB may be used.
The second antenna part may include a structure in which the metal plate 609, the third PSA 611, and a second FPCB 613 are sequentially stacked. The metal plate 609 may provide a metal pillar for forming an air layer between the main radiator of the first FPCB 605 and the additional radiator of the second PCB 613. The number of holes of the metal plate 609 may correspond to the number of radiation elements of the first FPCB 605. The number of holes of the metal plate 609 may correspond to the number of radiation elements of the second FPCB 613. That is, the number of holes of the metal plate 609 may correspond to the number of antenna elements of the antenna array.
The third PSA 611 is an adhesive material for bonding the metal plate 609 and the second FPCB 613. The description of the first PSA 603 and the second PSA 607 may be applied to the third PSA 611 in an identically or similarly manner.
The second FPCB 613 may be a substrate (or antenna board) on which the additional radiator is mounted. Although the FPCB is exemplified as a board to which a radiator is mounted, it is to be understood that a PCB or another substrate other than the FPCB may be used.
The adhesive-based antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure may include a hole structure for each of multiple antenna elements of the antenna array. The metal plate 609 may include a hole for each of the multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, that is, each radiator. The second PSA 607 may include a hole for each of the multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (i.e., a radiator of the first antenna part). The third PSA 611 may include a hole for each of the multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, that is, a radiator of the second antenna part. A shape of the hole formed through a plate may be a circle, a polygon, or any other shape. An area of a hole region may be larger than an area of the radiator surface.
Referring to
Referring to
A method of sequentially bonding the first structure 710 and the second structure 720 may easily cause a fabrication error in actual assembling due to bonding through two bonging methods when multiple elements are included. As the number of antenna elements increases, the area of a substrate layer increases. This is because the area of the large substrate layer may cause high tolerances during assembly.
A method will be assumed that after the first structure 710 and the second structure 720 are bonded, the bonded structure is bonded to a PCB (i.e., a main board). When the first structure 710 and the second structure 720 are bonded (hereinafter, a first bonding), the metal pillar is directly bonded to the FPCB, thus still causing a tolerance (e.g., a height difference and interval difference for each radiator). An antenna operation in an mmWave band may be more sensitive to this tolerance. Thereafter, due to the bonding (hereinafter, a second bonding) between the bonded structure and the PCB, additional distortion may be caused or a degree of the tolerance having occurred in the first bonding increases. To solve the above-mentioned problems, the disclosure proposes an antenna structure including an adhesive material disposed between the FPCB of the first antenna part and the metal layer of the second antenna part.
The first structure 760 may include a structure in which an adhesive, a FPCB, and a radiator (e.g., copper) are sequentially stacked. In a radiation layer, an adhesive layer may be disposed on a portion other than an area in which the radiator is disposed. In other words, the adhesive layer may include a hole, and the radiator may be disposed on a corresponding hole. A metal pillar 771 means a metal plate. The metal plate may include a hole corresponding to the radiator, and a portion excluding the hole may function as a pillar in a stacking structure. Due to the disposition of the adhesive and the metal pillar 771, the radiator may not need a separate cover layer. That is, unlike the first structure 710, the first structure 760 may not include a cover layer.
The second structure 773 may include a structure in which an adhesive, and a FPCB are sequentially stacked. Unlike the second structure 720, the radiator (e.g., copper) may be disposed inside the metal pillar, that is, disposed facing downward. The adhesive layer may include a hole, and the radiator may be disposed on a corresponding hole. Due to the disposition of the adhesive and the metal pillar 771, the radiator may not need a separate cover layer. That is, unlike the first structure 710, the first structure 760 may not include a cover layer.
The first structure 760, the metal pillar 771, and the second structure 773 may be aligned. According to an embodiment, the first structure 760 and the second structure 773 may be aligned such that a first radiation surface and a second radiation surface are substantially parallel with each other. The first structure 760, the metal pillar 771, and the second structure 773 may be aligned such that the first radiation surface and the second radiation surface are located inside a hole of the metal plate. It is because the metal pillar 771 formed by the hole of the metal plate needs to ensure isolation while not obstructing a signal path of the radiator. The metal pillar 771 may be bonded to the first structure 760. The second structure 773 may be stacked on a structure 781 in which the first structure 760 and the metal pillar 771 are bonded to each other. An antenna assembly 790 may be formed through the above-described alignment and stacking (or bonding).
The bonding order shown in
Copper is exemplified as a metal for a material of the radiator in
Referring to
A second process 860 shows a stacking process of an adhesive-based antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure.
The adhesive-based antenna assembly may be disposed on the PCB, and the adhesive-based antenna assembly may be pressurized. The pressure may be applied in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the PCB for solid bond between the first antenna part and the second antenna part and solid bond between the antenna assembly and the PCB. According to an embodiment, low-temperature compression may be performed. An adhesive material of an antenna assembly may be a PSA. According to an additional embodiment, one or more bolts may be disposed to penetrate the antenna assembly and at least one layer of the PCB.
The antenna assembly may be an assembly in which different materials such as a metal and an adhesive material are bonded. The antenna assembly may include structures bonded to each other with an adhesive and may be bonded to the PCB (i.e., a main board) in one assembly through a single compression process.
Referring to
A metal plate may be required to have holes formed therethrough for each antenna element, that is, as many as the number of antenna elements for allowing a signal of a radiator to penetrate. A method for manufacturing the metal plate may employ punching or etching, stacking PCBs, or plating. The actually formed holes may not match each other in height and area. For example, if areas of holes corresponding to antenna elements are different or heights of the metal pillars are different, isolation performance difference occurs, causing interference. In addition, for example, radiation performance difference may occur between the first antenna part 960 and the second antenna part due to the height difference of the metal pillars. To minimize the performance difference, the antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure may include an adhesive material 920.
The adhesive material 920 is disposed around a radiator to perform a function of facilitating bonding between the metal pillar and each FPCB. In the adhesive-based antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure, the adhesive material 920 (e.g., the second PSA 706 and the third PSA 611 in
A radiator 971 is a component for radiating a signal. Although copper is exemplified as the radiator 971 in
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the adhesive material 920 may be disposed such that a height of the adhesive material 920 is lower than a height of the radiator 971 with reference to the FPCB of the first antenna part 960. The adhesive material 920 may be disposed such that a height of the adhesive material 920 is lower than a height of the radiator 971 with reference to the FPCB of the second antenna part 973. To maximize the shielding effect by the metal pillars, the adhesive material 920 may be configured to have a thickness thinner than a thickness of the radiator 971. By way of example, the thickness of the adhesive material 920 may be about 45 μm-50 μm, and may be reduced due to pressure during antenna assembly assembling. The thickness of the radiator may be 50 μm.
Copper is exemplified as a metal for a material of the radiator in
Referring to
To solve the above-described problem, the antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure may include an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may correspond to the second PSA 607 in
In bonding 1060, an adhesive-based antenna assembly is stacked on the main PCB. Thereafter, pressure 1070 is applied to the antenna assembly and the main PCB. A low-temperature compression (e.g., cold press) or roll press process may be used together with a vision align automatically recognizing a fiducial mark for assembly. As the first antenna part and the second antenna part are already bonded and the adhesive layer is located between the metal plate and the FPCB, even before or after the main PCB is assembled, performance degradation due to the gap 1080 is lower than performance degradation due to the gap 1030. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the adhesive layer may be conductive. According to another embodiment, the adhesive layer may be non-conductive. A characteristic of the adhesive layer may vary according to a feeding structure of an antenna implemented in the FPCB.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Unlike the hole 1220, a hole may be disposed in other areas of the FPCB for the same purpose, that is, air ventilation. The air vent hole 1231 may be disposed in a radiator mounting area. The air vent hole 1232 may be disposed at both sides of a radiator in a size smaller than the radiator. Referring to the second example 1243, four air vent holes 1232 may be arranged for each circular radiator (the radiator of the second antenna part) at an interval of 90 degrees. The air vent hole 1233 may be disposed in a space between radiators. Referring to the first example 1241, the air vent holes 1233 may be arranged for each space between a circular radiator (the radiator of the second antenna part) and a circular radiator.
Referring to
The adhesive-based antenna assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure may include an adhesive material on a lower surface (e.g., the FPCB of the first antenna part) thereof. The adhesive material may include the first PSA 603 in
Referring to
Although not shown in
According to embodiments of the disclosure, an antenna assembly may include: a first flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple first antennas; a second flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple second antennas; a metal plate including multiple holes; a first adhesive material layer for bonding the metal plate and the first FPCB; and a second adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the second FPCB, wherein the metal plate is disposed such that the multiple first antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively and the multiple second antennas to be located in the multiple holes, respectively.
The first adhesive material layer may include multiple first holes equal to the number of the multiple holes of the metal plate, and the second adhesive material layer may include multiple second holes equal to the number of the multiple holes of the metal plate.
The first adhesive material layer may be disposed such that the multiple first antennas are respectively located in the first multiple holes with reference to the first adhesive material layer, and the second adhesive material layer may be disposed such that the multiple second antennas are respectively located in the second multiple holes with reference to the second adhesive material layer.
The first FPCB and the second FPCB may include one or more air-vent holes for discharging air.
The one or more air-vent holes may be formed in an area of one surface of the second FPCB excluding an area in which the multiple second antennas are arranged, and an area bonded to the second adhesive material layer.
A first surface of the second FPCB, on which the multiple second antennas are arranged may be disposed to face a first surface of the first FPCB on which the multiple first antennas are arranged.
A thickness of the first adhesive material layer may be thinner than a thickness of each of the multiple first antennas.
The antenna assembly may not include a cover layer for each of the multiple first antennas and the multiple second antennas.
The antenna assembly may further include a third adhesive material layer to be bonded to a printed circuit board (PCB) of a radio unit (RU), and the third adhesive material layer may be bonded to a second surface of the first FPCB opposite to the first surface of the first FPCB on which the first multiple antennas are arranged.
The third adhesive material layer may be configured to maintain adhesion in a first temperature range and to lose adhesion in a second temperature range not overlapping the first temperature range.
According to embodiments of the disclosure, a radio unit (RU) module may include: a printed circuit board (PCB) and multiple antenna assemblies, and an antenna assembly of the multiple antenna assemblies may include: a first flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple first antennas; a second flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for multiple second antennas; a metal plate including multiple holes; a first adhesive material layer for bonding between the metal plate and the first FPCB; and a second adhesive material layer for bonding the metal plate and the second FPCB, wherein the metal plate is disposed such that the multiple first antennas are located in the multiple holes, respectively and the multiple second antennas to be located in the multiple holes, respectively.
The first adhesive material layer may include multiple first holes equal to the number of the multiple holes of the metal plate, and the second adhesive material layer may include multiple second holes equal to the number of the multiple holes of the metal plate.
The first adhesive material layer may be disposed such that the multiple first antennas are respectively located in the first multiple holes with reference to the first adhesive material layer, and the second adhesive material layer may be disposed such that the multiple second antennas are respectively located in the second multiple holes with reference to the second adhesive material layer.
The first FPCB and the second FPCB may include one or more air-vent holes for discharging air.
The one or more air-vent holes may be formed in an area of one surface of the second FPCB excluding an area in which the multiple second antennas are arranged, and an area bonded to the second adhesive material layer.
A first surface of the second FPCB, on which the multiple second antennas are arranged, may be disposed to face a first surface of the first FPCB on which the multiple first antennas are arranged.
A thickness of the first adhesive material layer may be thinner than a thickness of each of the multiple first antennas.
The antenna assembly may omit a cover layer for each of the multiple first antennas and the multiple second antennas.
The antenna assembly may further include a third adhesive material layer to be bonded to the PCB, and the third adhesive material layer may be bonded to a second surface of the first FPCB opposite to the first surface of the first FPCB on which the first multiple antennas are arranged.
The third adhesive material layer may be configured to maintain adhesion in a first temperature range and to lose adhesion in a second temperature range not overlapping the first temperature range.
Referring to
The antenna part 1411 may include multiple antennas. The antenna performs a function for transmitting or receiving a signal through a wireless channel. The antenna may include a radiator formed of a conductor or a conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). The antenna may radiate an up-converted signal on a wireless channel or obtain a signal radiated by other devices. Each antenna may be referred to as an antenna element or an antenna component. In some embodiments, the antenna part 1414 may include an antenna array in which multiple antenna elements form an array. The antenna part 1411 may be electrically connected to the power interface part 1412 through RF signal lines. The antenna part 1414 may be mounted on a PCB including multiple antenna elements. The antenna part 1411 may be mounted on a FPCB. The antenna part 1411 may provide a received signal to the power interface part 1412 or radiate a signal provided by the power interface part 1412 into the air.
The power interface part 1412 may include a module and parts. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more IFs. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more LOs. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more LDOs. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more DC/DC converters. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more DFEs. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more FPGAs. The power interface part 1412 may include one or more connectors. The power interface part 1412 may include a power supplier.
The power interface part 1412 may include areas for one or more antenna modules mounted thereon. For example, the power interface part 1412 may include multiple antenna modules for supporting MIMO communication. An antenna module according to the antenna part 1414 may be mounted to the corresponding areas. The power interface part 1412 may include a filter. The filter may perform filtering for transferring a signal of a desired frequency. The power interface part 1412 may include a filter. The filter may perform a function to selectively identify a frequency by generating a resonance. The power interface part 1412 may include at least one of a band pass filter, a low pass filter, a high pass filter, or a band reject filter. That is, the power interface part 1412 may include RF circuits for obtaining signals in a frequency band for transmission or a frequency band for reception. The power interface part 1412 according to various embodiments may electrically connect the antenna part 1414 and the RF processor 1413.
The RF processor 1413 may include multiple RF processing chains. The RF chain may include multiple RF elements. The RF elements may include an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, and the like. The RF processing chain may correspond to an RFIC. For example, the RF processor 1413 may include an up converter for up-converting a digital transmission signal in a baseband into a transmission frequency and a digital-to-analog converter for converting an up-converted digital transmission signal into an analog RF transmission signal. The up converter and the DAC form a portion of a transmission path. The transmission path may further include a power amplifier (PA) or a coupler (or combiner). In addition, for example, the RF processor 1413 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for converting an analog RF reception signal into a digital reception signal and a down converter for down-converting a digital reception signal into a digital reception signal in a ground band. The ADC and the down converter form a portion of a reception path. The reception path may further include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) or a coupler (or divider). RF components of the RF processor may be implemented on a PCB. The base station 1410 may include a structure in which the antenna part 1414, the power interface part 1412, and the RF processor 1413 are sequentially stacked. Antennas, RF components of the power interface part, and the RFICs may be implemented on separate PCBs and filters between PCBs may be repeatedly coupled to each other to form multiple layers.
The processor 1414 may control general operations of the electronic device 1410. The processor 1414 may include various modules for performing communication. The processor 1414 may include at least one processor such as a modem. The processor 1414 may include modules for digital signal processing. For example, the processor 1414 may include a modem. When transmitting data, the processor 1414 may generate complex symbols by coding and modulating a transmission bit stream. In addition, for example, when data is received, the processor 1414 may restore a bit stream by demodulating and decoding a baseband signal. The processor 1414 may perform functions of a protocol stack required by a communication standard.
Referring to
The methods according to embodiments described in the claims or the specification of the disclosure may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
When the methods are implemented by software, a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium may be configured for execution by one or more processors within the electronic device. The at least one program may include instructions that cause the electronic device to perform the methods according to various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and/or disclosed herein.
The programs (software modules or software) may be stored in non-volatile memories including a random access memory and a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage device, a compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVDs), or other type optical storage devices, or a magnetic cassette. Alternatively, any combination of some or all of them may form a memory in which the program is stored. Further, a plurality of such memories may be included in the electronic device.
In addition, the programs may be stored in an attachable storage device which may access the electronic device through communication networks such as the Internet, Intranet, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide LAN (WLAN), and Storage Area Network (SAN) or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may access the electronic device via an external port. Further, a separate storage device on the communication network may access a portable electronic device.
While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0139564 | Oct 2021 | KR | national |
| 10-2022-0011067 | Jan 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under § 365 (c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2022/015550, filed on Oct. 14, 2022, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Korean patent application number 10-2021-0139564, filed on Oct. 19, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and of a Korean patent application number 10-2022-0011067, filed on Jan. 25, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20230163488 A1 | May 2023 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2022/015550 | Oct 2022 | WO |
| Child | 18152311 | US |
