Patent Application
20250112373
The present disclosure relates to an antenna device, a communication device, and a method for manufacturing an antenna device.
A communication device such as a mobile terminal is desired to have functions of receiving radio waves from various directions, and radiating radio waves in various directions. To satisfy this desire, antennas are needed to be disposed on many surfaces of the housing. A known antenna device includes two flat board portions having different normal directions and connected with a bent portion (Patent Document 1). The two flat board portions and the bent portion are manufactured by processing a single flat board to have a thin portion, and bending the board at the thin portion.
The two flat board portions include multiple protrusions raised above the bent portion and protruding toward the bent portion from a boundary between the flat board portions and the bent portion. The multiple protrusions have a protruding length set not to spatially interfere with one another in a state where the board has not been bent at the bent portion (FIG. 20 in Patent Document 1). Alternatively, the protrusions on one of the flat board portions and the protrusions on the other flat board portion alternate in the direction parallel to the intersection line of the two planes along which the two flat board portions extend (FIG. 22 in Patent Document 1). A radiating element is disposed on each of the protrusions on the two flat board portions.
Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2020/170722
In the known antenna device (FIG. 20 in Patent Document 1), the multiple protrusions have a protruding length restricted not to spatially interfere with one another in a state where the board has not been bent at the bent portion. The restriction on the protruding length of the protrusions also restricts the size of the radiating elements disposed on the protrusions.
In the known antenna device (FIG. 22 in Patent Document 1), the protrusions on one of the flat board portions and the protrusions on the other flat board portion alternate in the direction parallel to the above intersection line to ease the restriction on the protruding length of the protrusions. However, the multiple radiating elements disposed on the protrusions on one of the flat board portions are not allowed to be disposed within the range, in the direction parallel to the intersection line, in which the protrusions on the other flat board portion are disposed. This structure thus restricts the freedom of arrangement of the radiating elements.
A feature of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna device that eases the upper limit on the dimensions of multiple radiating elements disposed on two surfaces, having different normal directions, connected to each other with a bent portion, and that has higher freedom of arrangement, and to provide a method for manufacturing the antenna device. Another feature of the present disclosure is to provide a communication device including the antenna device.
A first aspect of the present disclosure provides an antenna device that includes
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication device that includes
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an antenna device that includes
The first portion and the second portion do not spatially interfere with each other regardless of when the bent portion is deformed into a flat board shape while being connected to a connection portion. This structure thus allows the first portion and the second portion to be fixed to the connection portion while the connection portion is in a flat state. After the first portion and the second portion are fixed to the connection portion, the connection portion is allowed to be bent. This structure can improve the workability in the manufacturing process further than a method with which the first portion and the second portion are fixed to a bent connection portion.
The sum of the maximum value of the first distance and the maximum value of the second distance is longer than the third distance. This structure further eases the restriction on the dimensions of the first radiating element disposed on the first extension portion than the known antenna device illustrated in FIG. 20 in Patent Document 1. At least a part of the first extension portion and at least a part of the second extension portion are located at the same position in a direction parallel to an intersection line of a plane along which the first flat board portion extends and a plane along which the second flat board portion extends. Thus, unlike in the known antenna device illustrated in FIG. 22 in Patent Document 1, the first radiating element and the second radiating element can be disposed at the same position in the direction parallel to the intersection line. Thus, the radiating element can be arranged more freely.
With reference to
The connection portion 23 is a board-shaped member having a first surface 23P and a second surface 23S opposite to the first surface 23P. The connection portion 23 includes a flat-board-shaped first flat board portion 23A, a bent portion 23C extending from the first flat board portion 23A and bent to have the first surface 23P facing outward, and a flat-board-shaped second flat board portion 23B further extending from the bent portion 23C. The first surface 23P in the bent portion 23C has a prismatic surface, such as a cylindrical surface or a cylindroid surface. Hereafter, the direction in which the first surface 23P of the connection portion 23 faces may be referred to as “an outward direction”, and the direction in which the second surface 23S of the connection portion 23 faces may be referred to as “an inward direction”.
The first flat board portion 23A and the bent portion 23C are smoothly continued at their boundary, and the bent portion 23C and the second flat board portion 23B are also smoothly continued at their boundary. A bending angle of the bent portion 23C is, for example, 90°. The bending angle may be a different degree.
The first portion 21 and the second portion 22 are respectively connected to the first surface 23P of the connection portion 23 in the first flat board portion 23A, and the first surface 23P of the connection portion 23 in the second flat board portion 23B. For example, a metal pattern (not illustrated) is disposed on the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A, a part of the inner surface of the first portion 21, the first surface 23P in the second flat board portion 23B, and a part of the inner surface of the second portion 22. The first portion 21 and the first flat board portion 23A are soldered to each other, and the second portion 22 and the second flat board portion 23B are soldered to each other.
The first portion 21 includes a first extension portion 21E extending toward the bent portion 23C from a boundary between the first flat board portion 23A and the bent portion 23C. Similarly, the second portion 22 includes a second extension portion 22E extending toward the bent portion 23C from a boundary between the second flat board portion 23B and the bent portion 23C. The first extension portion 21E and the second extension portion 22E are raised above the first surface 23P in the bent portion 23C. A portion of the first portion 21 bonded to the connection portion 23 (a portion other than the first extension portion 21E) is referred to as a first bonded joint 21M. Similarly, a portion of the second portion 22 bonded to the connection portion 23 (a portion other than the second extension portion 22E) is referred to as a second bonded joint 22M.
The first extension portion 21E extends throughout from a first end portion to a second end portion of the first portion 21 in a direction DI parallel to the intersection line (hereinafter may also be simply referred to as “an intersection line” below) of the plane along which the first flat board portion 23A extends and the plane along which the second flat board portion 23B extends. Similarly, the second extension portion 22E extends throughout from a first end portion to a second end portion of the second portion 22 in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. A virtual plane obtained by extending an inner surface of the second portion 22 from the end of the second extension portion 22E passes through the first extension portion 21E of the first portion 21.
The multiple first radiating elements 31 are arranged on the surface of the first portion 21 facing outward, side by side in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. The multiple second radiating elements 32 are arranged on the surface of the second portion 22 facing outward, side by side in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. At least a part of each of the multiple first radiating elements 31 is disposed on the first extension portion 21E. Similarly, at least a part of each of the multiple second radiating elements 32 is disposed on the second extension portion 22E. The multiple first radiating elements 31 and the multiple second radiating elements 32 may be covered with, for example, a protection film without being exposed.
A first ground conductor 35 is disposed in the first portion 21, and each of the multiple first radiating elements 31 and the first ground conductor 35 form a patch antenna. A part of the first ground conductor 35 is disposed in the first extension portion 21E. A second ground conductor 36 is disposed in the second portion 22, and each of the multiple second radiating elements 32 and the second ground conductor 36 form a patch antenna. A part of the second ground conductor 36 is disposed in the second extension portion 22E. A direction from the first ground conductor 35 to the first radiating elements 31 is the same as the direction in which the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A faces. The direction from the second ground conductor 36 to the second radiating elements 32 is the same as the direction in which the first surface 23P in the second flat board portion 23B faces.
The first portion 21 and the second portion 22 do not spatially interfere with each other regardless of when the bent portion 23C is flattened while the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 are connected to the connection portion 23, and are shaped to overlap each other when viewed in a plan while the bent portion 23C is flattened. “Spatially interfering with each other” indicates that multiple members hit against each other in a space and fail to be arranged with an intended positional relationship. Hereinbelow, the shapes of the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 are described.
The surface of the first portion 21 facing inward has a first cliff 21S extending in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. A portion of the first extension portion 21E located closer to the end with respect to the first cliff 21S has a smaller thickness than a portion of the first extension portion 21E connected to the first flat board portion 23A. The thickness of the second extension portion 22E is equal to or smaller than a height H1 of the first cliff 21S. The first cliff 21S may be located at the same position as the boundary between the first extension portion 21E and the first bonded joint 21M, or in the first extension portion 21E.
When the bent portion 23C is deformed into a flat shape, the end surface of the second extension portion 22E faces the surface of the first cliff 21S. When the first surface 23P is viewed in a plan while the bent portion 23C is deformed into a flat shape, a portion of the first extension portion 21E located closer to the end with respect to the first cliff 21S overlaps the second portion 22. The first cliff 21S prevents the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 from spatially interfering with each other while the bent portion 23C is deformed into a flat shape. “Deforming the bent portion 23C into a flat shape” includes a case where the bent portion 23C is deformed into a flat shape as a thought experiment, in addition to the case where the bent portion 23C is actually deformed into a flat shape regardless of whether the bent portion 23C can be actually deformed into a flat shape. When the bent portion 23C is deformed into a flat shape, the dimension in a bending direction is not changed.
With reference to
As illustrated in
Pads (not illustrated) are disposed on the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 to be bonded to the connection portion 23. Multiple lands (not illustrated) are disposed on the first surface 23P of the connection portion 23. These structures may be manufactured by a method for manufacturing, for example, a known print-circuit board or a low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate.
As illustrated in
The connection portion 23 is bent as indicated with an arrow in
Preferable effects of the first embodiment are described now.
In the first embodiment, the direction normal to the first flat board portion 23A of the connection portion 23 and the direction normal to the second flat board portion 23B of the connection portion 23 are different. Boresights of the first radiating elements 31 are parallel to the direction normal to the first flat board portion 23A, and boresights of the second radiating elements 32 are parallel to the direction normal to the second flat board portion 23B. Thus, the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 having different boresight directions can be respectively disposed on the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 connected to each other with the connection portion 23.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
At least a part of each first radiating element 31 and at least a part of each second radiating element 32 are respectively disposed on the first extension portion 21E and the second extension portion 22E. Thus, when the antenna device 20 is disposed at a corner of the inner surface of the housing, the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 can be located near the corner. Thus, the corner space in the housing can be effectively used.
Preferable effects of the first embodiment are described now in comparison with an antenna device according to a comparison example illustrated in
In the comparison example illustrated in
In contrast, in the first embodiment, the first extension portion 21E is disposed throughout from a first end to a second end of the first portion 21 in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. Thus, the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 can be located at the same position in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line. In addition, the multiple first radiating elements 31 can be arranged at smaller intervals. Similarly, the multiple second radiating elements 32 can be arranged at smaller intervals. Thus, when the multiple first radiating elements 31 and the multiple second radiating elements 32 are operated as a phased array antenna, occurrence of grating lobes can be reduced.
With reference to
The plane orthogonal to the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A and parallel to the direction DI parallel to the intersection line is referred to as a first reference plane 21R, and the plane orthogonal to the first surface 23P in the second flat board portion 23B and parallel to the direction DI parallel to the intersection line is referred to as a second reference plane 22R. A distance from the first reference plane 21R to a surface 21F of the first extension portion 21E intersecting the thickness direction at a height h1 from the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A is referred to as a first distance L1. Similarly, a distance from the second reference plane 22R to a surface 22F of the second extension portion 22E intersecting the thickness direction at a height h2 from the first surface 23P in the second flat board portion 23B is referred to as a second distance L2. In
The sum of the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 at a position where the height h1 and the height h2 are equal to each other (h1=h2) is smaller than or equal to the third distance L3. In the range where the height h1 is greater than or equal to the height h2 (h1≥h2), the first distance L1 may be longer than the third distance L3.
When the dimensional relationship between the first extension portion 21E, the second extension portion 22E, and the connection portion 23 is set as described above, the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 do not spatially interfere with each other in the state before being bent as illustrated in
The sum of a maximum value L1max of the first distance L1 and a maximum value L2max of the second distance L2 is longer than the third distance L3. For example, the sum of the maximum value L1Max of the first distance L1 at a portion higher than the height of the first cliff 21S when viewed from the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A and the maximum value L2max of the second distance L2 of the second portion 22 is longer than the third distance L3. This structure can be implemented by employing a structure where a relatively thin portion of one side of the first portion 21 (located closer to the end of the first extension portion 21E) with respect to the first cliff 21S overlaps a part of the second portion 22 when the first surface 23P is viewed in a plan in the state illustrated in
A modification example of the first embodiment is described now.
In the first embodiment, the first extension portion 21E is disposed throughout from a first end portion to a second end portion of the first portion 21 in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line (
In the first embodiment, the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 each form a patch antenna respectively with the first ground conductor 35 and the second ground conductor 36, but may form an antenna other than a patch antenna. For example, at least the first radiating elements 31 or the second radiating elements 32 may each form a dipole antenna.
An antenna device according to a second embodiment is described now with reference to
With respect to the second cliff 22S, in a relatively thick region of the outer surface of the second portion 22, multiple second radiating elements 32 are disposed. A part of the second ground conductor 36 is also disposed in a portion located closer to the end of the second extension portion 22E with respect to the second cliff 22S.
Preferable effects of the second embodiment are described now.
In the first embodiment (
Disposing a part of the second ground conductor 36 in the second extension portion 22E can increase the area of the second ground conductor 36. Thus, patch antennas formed from the second radiating elements 32 and the second ground conductor 36 can achieve high gains.
With reference to
When the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 are manufactured as one unit as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Subsequently, an antenna device according to a third embodiment may be described with reference to
A method for manufacturing the antenna device 20 according to the third embodiment is described now with reference to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Preferable effects of the third embodiment are described now.
As in the second embodiment, the structure according to the third embodiment can widen the band of the patch antennas formed from the second radiating elements 32 and the second ground conductor 36, and the patch antennas formed from the second radiating elements 32 and the second ground conductor 36 can achieve high gains. In addition, the third embodiment involves neither a process of bonding the first portion 21 to the connection portion 23, nor a process of bonding the second portion 22 to the connection portion 23. Thus, the third embodiment can reduce the number of processes.
An antenna device according to a fourth embodiment is described now with reference to
The first ground conductor 35 is bonded to a first ground land 38 disposed on the first surface 23P in the first flat board portion 23A in the connection portion 23 with solder.
Preferable effects of the fourth embodiment are described now.
In the fourth embodiment, at a part of each first radiating element 31, the distance between the first radiating element 31 and the first ground conductor 35 is increased further than in a structure of the first embodiment (
An antenna device according to a fifth embodiment is described now with reference to
A part of each third radiating element 33 is disposed on the outer surface of a relatively thin portion and located closer to the end with respect to the second cliff 22S, and another part of the third radiating element 33 is disposed in the second portion 22. In addition, the third radiating elements 33 extend into the second extension portion 22E. The second ground conductor 36 and the third radiating elements 33 form patch antennas. The third radiating elements 33 function as ground conductors for the second radiating elements 32.
The resonant frequency of the third radiating elements 33 is lower than the resonant frequency of the second radiating elements 32. For example, the resonant frequency of the third radiating elements 33 is 28 GHz, and the resonant frequency of the second radiating elements 32 is 39 GHz.
Preferable effects of the fifth embodiment are described now.
In the fifth embodiment, two radiating elements with different resonant frequencies are disposed on the second portion 22. Thus, the radiating elements disposed on the second portion 22 can cover two frequency bands. The third radiating elements 33 are disposed to extend into the second extension portion 22E, and thus the area of the third radiating elements 33 can be increased. When the antenna device 20 is disposed at a corner of the housing, the third radiating elements 33 can be located near the corner of the housing.
An antenna device according to a sixth embodiment is described now with reference to
Preferable effects of the sixth embodiment are described now.
In the sixth embodiment, the second radiating elements 32 are disposed at a portion closer to the end with respect to the second cliff 22S. Thus, when the antenna device 20 is disposed at the corner of the housing, the second radiating elements 32 can be located closer to the corner of the housing.
With reference to
More specifically, the first ground land 38 and a second ground land 39 are disposed on the first surface 23P of the connection portion 23 respectively in the first flat board portion 23A and the second flat board portion 23B. The first ground land 38 and the second ground land 39 are connected to each other with the ground connection wire 37 disposed in the bent portion 23C. The first ground conductor 35 is disposed on the inner surface of the first bonded joint 21M of the first portion 21, and the second ground conductor 36 is disposed on the inner surface of the second bonded joint 22M of the second portion 22. The second ground conductor 36 further extends to the inner surface of the second extension portion 22E. The first ground conductor 35 and the second ground conductor 36 are respectively connected to the first ground land 38 and the second ground land 39 with solder (not illustrated).
Preferable effects of the seventh embodiment are described now.
In the seventh embodiment, the second ground conductor 36 is connected to the first ground conductor 35, and the second ground conductor 36 is disposed to extend to the second extension portion 22E to be located closer to the first radiating elements 31. Thus, the second ground conductor 36 can operate as a ground for the first radiating elements 31. To substantially increase the ground area of the first radiating elements 31, the gain of the patch antennas including the first radiating elements 31 can be enhanced.
A communication device according to an eighth embodiment is described now with reference to
The communication device according to the eighth embodiment includes a baseband integrated circuit (BBIC) 80, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) 60, and an antenna device 20. The antenna device 20 according to any of the first to seventh embodiments is used as the antenna device 20. The antenna device 20 includes multiple first radiating elements 31 and multiple second radiating elements 32. When the antenna device 20 (
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The radio frequency integrated circuit 60 includes an intermediate-frequency amplifier 61, an up-down converter mixer 62, a transmission reception switch 63, a power divider 64, multiple phase shifters 65, multiple attenuators 66, multiple transmission reception switches 67, multiple power amplifiers 68, multiple low-noise amplifiers 69, and multiple transmission reception switches 70. The multiple transmission reception switches 70 are connected to the multiple first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 with feeders 34.
First, the transmission function is described. An intermediate-frequency signal is input from the baseband integrated circuit 80 into the up-down converter mixer 62 through the intermediate-frequency amplifier 61. The up-down converter mixer 62 upconverts the intermediate-frequency signal to generate a high frequency signal. The generated high frequency signal is input into the power divider 64 through the transmission reception switch 63. Each of high frequency signals divided by the power divider 64 is input into the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 through the corresponding phase shifter 65, the corresponding attenuator 66, the corresponding transmission reception switch 67, the corresponding power amplifiers 68, the corresponding transmission reception switch 70, and the corresponding feeder 34.
The reception function is then described. The high frequency signals received by the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 are input into the power divider 64 through the feeders 34, the transmission reception switches 70, the low-noise amplifiers 69, the transmission reception switches 67, the attenuators 66, and the phase shifters 65. A high frequency signal combined by the power divider 64 is input into the up-down converter mixer 62 through the transmission reception switch 63. The up-down converter mixer 62 downconverts the high frequency signal to generate an intermediate-frequency signal. The generated intermediate-frequency signal is input into the baseband integrated circuit 80 through the intermediate-frequency amplifier 61. Instead, the up-down converter mixer 62 may employ a direct conversion, or directly down-converting a high frequency signal to a baseband signal.
Preferable effects of the eighth embodiment are described now.
The antenna device 20 according to any of the first to seventh embodiments is used as the antenna device 20 included in the communication device according to the eighth embodiment. Thus, the first radiating elements 31 and the second radiating elements 32 can cover a wide range including the direction in which the component mount surface of the board 85 (
An antenna device according to a ninth embodiment is described now with reference to
As in the case of the first embodiment, the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 respectively include the first extension portion 21E and the second extension portion 22E. The total length of the first extension portion 21E and the second extension portion 22E in the extension direction is shorter than the length of the antenna device 20 according to the first embodiment in the extension direction.
Preferable effects of the ninth embodiment are described now.
As in the first embodiment, also in the ninth embodiment, the multiple first radiating elements 31 and the multiple second radiating elements 32 can be located at the same position in the direction DI parallel to the intersection line (direction perpendicular to the plan in
The above embodiments are mere examples, and components between different embodiments may naturally be partially replaced or combined with each other. The same operation effects in the same structures between multiple embodiments are not redundantly described for each embodiment. The present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. It would be apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art that, for example, various modifications, improvement, or combinations may be made in the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-127797 | Aug 2022 | JP | national |
This is a continuation application of PCT/JP2023/025306, filed on Jul. 7, 2023, designating the United States of America, which is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2022-127797 filed on Aug. 10, 2022. The entire contents of the above-identified applications, including the specifications, drawings and claims, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2023/025306 | Jul 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18977955 | US |
