Patent Application
20250096478
This application claims the benefit of priority from CN Application No. 202210217965.0, filed on Mar. 8, 2022 and CN Application No. 202210755280.1, filed on Jun. 29, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention generally relates to radio communications and, more particularly, to base station antennas for cellular communications systems.
Cellular communications systems are well known in the art. In a cellular communications system, a geographic area is divided into a series of regions or “cells” that are served by respective macrocell base stations. Each macrocell base station may include one or more base station antennas that are configured to provide two-way radio frequency (“RF”) communications with subscribers that are within the cell served by the base station. In many cases, each base station is divided into “sectors.” In one common configuration, a hexagonally-shaped cell is divided into three 120° sectors in the azimuth plane, and each sector is served by one or more macrocell base station antennas that have an azimuth Half Power Beamwidth (HPBW) of approximately 65°. So-called small cell base stations may be used to provide service in high-traffic areas within portions of a cell. Typically, the base station antennas are mounted on a tower or other raised structure, with the radiation patterns that are generated by the base station antennas directed outwardly.
Certain components of base station antennas can generate heat. For example, radios can generate heat. In the past, external heat sink fins have been provided in a chassis or body of the radio unit/sub-unit and in housings of base station antennas to help dissipate that generated heat. Further details of example conventional antennas can be found in co-pending WO 2019/236203 and WO 2020/072880, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.
Pursuant to embodiments of the invention, fin structures coupled to reflector bodies are provided that do not require the fin structures to be integrated with a reflector body and/or a reflector primary surface.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to a reflector assembly for a base station antenna that includes: a reflector body with an outer perimeter providing a lip that extends outward from the reflector body; and a plurality of fin structures, stacked in a front to back direction, about the outer perimeter.
The reflector body can have a front surface. The lip can extend laterally and/or longitudinally behind the front surface. The plurality of fin structures can reside in front of the lip.
The reflector body can be rectangular with a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides. The lip can be provided as a plurality of lip segments that extend outward, at least one lip segment that extends outward from each of the long and short sides.
The lip can be defined by at least one fold or bend in a segment of a sheet of metal providing the reflector body.
The lip can have four lip segments. Neighboring end portions of at least first and second ones of the lip segments can be spaced apart and define an open corner space.
The reflector assembly can further include a coupling member extending across the open corner space.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can be provided by stacked sets of U-shaped channels, oriented so that an open end of the U-shaped channels faces outwardly away from the reflector body and a closed end of the U-shaped channels abuts or is in close proximity to a side wall, a top wall or a bottom wall of the reflector body.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can be provided by stacked sets of L-shaped channels, oriented so that a short end of the L-shaped channels abuts or is in close proximity to a side wall, a top wall or a bottom wall of the reflector body.
The reflector body can have a pair of laterally spaced apart side walls and longitudinally spaced apart top and bottom walls, the side walls, the top wall and the bottom wall surrounding a front surface of the reflector body, and wherein the side walls, the top wall and the bottom wall extend rearwardly, in front to back direction, perpendicular to and between the lip and the front surface of the reflector body.
A first subset of the plurality of fin structures can be affixed to the side walls and a second subset of the plurality of fin structures can be affixed to the top wall or the bottom wall.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can be soldered, welded, brazed and/or riveted to one or more of a top wall, a bottom wall or a side wall of the reflector body.
The reflector body can have a plurality of apertures, at least some of which have a lateral extent that is in a range of 20-90% of a lateral extent of the reflector body.
At least some of the plurality of apertures can also have a longitudinal extent that is in a range of 10-60% of a longitudinal extent of the reflector body.
The reflector body can be provided as a frame that provides the lip. The reflector body can be configured to cooperate with one or more substrates for defining a reflector front surface behind radiating elements and in front of a radio.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can be provided by an elongate channel member that is bendable or foldable to define a respective fin structure comprising first and second segments that are co-planar and orthogonal to each other whereby a bend forms a 90 degree bend joint, and wherein the first and second segments of the elongate channel extend in front of the lip.
The lip can extend laterally outward from and perpendicular to a right side wall and a left side wall. The lip can also extend longitudinally from and perpendicular to a top wall and a bottom wall.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can be provided by an extruded or diecast member that is a discrete component from the reflector body.
At least some of the plurality of fin structures can have a fin surface with at least one curvilinear outer facing perimeter defining a recess configured to receive a respective fixation member.
The reflector body and the plurality of fin structures can have an anti-corrosion surface treatment such as galvanization and/or a coating or plating.
Some embodiments are directed to an active antenna unit that includes the reflector assembly as well as a radio behind the reflector assembly, a radio housing holding the radio, and radiating elements in front of the reflector assembly.
Some embodiments are directed to a base station antenna that includes the reflector assembly described herein.
Yet other embodiments are directed to a reflector assembly for a base station antenna that includes: a reflector body having a front with a perimeter and a thermally conductive fin structure that includes a plurality of stacked channel members. The stacked channel members are coupled to the reflector body and extend laterally and/or longitudinally outward from the perimeter of the reflector body.
The reflector assembly can further include a lip extending outwardly from and behind the perimeter of the front of the reflector body.
The reflector body can have/be formed of sheet metal and the lip can be formed by at least one bend in a segment of the sheet metal.
The stacked channel members can include sheet metal U-shaped or L-shaped channels.
The stacked channel members can be provided as extruded or die cast members.
The reflector assembly can also include a dielectric gasket positioned between the plurality of stacked channel members and a facing segment of the reflector body.
Other embodiments are directed to an active antenna unit for a base station antenna that includes: a reflector body with an outer perimeter providing a lip that extends outward from the reflector body; a radome coupled to and in front of the reflector body; and a radio coupled to and behind the reflector body.
The reflector body has a front surface and the lip can extend laterally and/or longitudinally behind the front surface. The reflector body can have a plurality of side wall walls extending behind the front surface that couples the front surface to the lip. In use, the side walls are directly exposed to environmental conditions.
All of the side walls can be devoid of outwardly projecting thermal fins and can define a thermal outlet for a thermal path from heat source(s) in the radio.
The reflector body can be rectangular with a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides. The lip can be provided as a plurality of lip segments that extend outward with at least one lip segment extending outward from each of the long sides and/or each of the short sides.
The lip can be defined by at least one fold or bend in a segment of a sheet of metal providing the reflector body.
The lip can have four lip segments. Neighboring end portions of at least first and second ones of the lip segments can be spaced apart and define an open corner space.
The active antenna unit can include a coupling member extending across the open corner space.
The radome can have an outer perimeter portion with an internal groove that can hold a seal member. The radome can be sealably coupled to a front surface of the reflector body.
The side walls can have a height that is in a range of about 20 mm to about 50 mm.
At least one of the side walls can have outwardly projecting thermal fins that reside in front of the lip.
The reflector body can have a primary surface that has a bend defining a lip segment that can extend forward.
The lip segment can have at least one (heat dissipation) fin structure.
The reflector body can have a primary surface that has a bend defining a lip segment that extends rearward.
The lip segment can have at least one (heat dissipation) fin structure.
The reflector body can have an environmentally exposed primary surface between the radome and the lip thereby providing a heat conduction path from the radio.
Yet other aspects of the invention are directed to an active antenna unit for a base station antenna that includes: a radome; a reflector body having a primary surface that is behind the radome with an outer perimeter providing a lip that extends outward from the radome; and a radio coupled to and behind the reflector body.
The radome can have an outer perimeter with a scallop shape. The reflector body can have a plurality of spaced apart apertures for receiving fixation members to couple the radome, the reflector body and the radio together.
The lip can have at least one lip segment that is orthogonal to the primary surface of the reflector body and can define a thermal heat dissipation pathway from the radio.
The reflector body can have an environmentally exposed primary surface between the radome and the lip thereby providing a heat conduction path from the radio.
The lip can extend forward to terminate at a plane that is substantially in line with a front surface of the radome.
The lip can define at least one heat sink structure that extends laterally outward and/or laterally inward.
The lip can define at least one heat sink structure that extends laterally outward and at least one heat sink structure that extends laterally inward.
The reflector body can include a plurality of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced apart heat sink structures that can project forward from the primary surface.
It should be noted that various aspects of the present disclosure described for one embodiment may be included in other different embodiments, even though specific description is not made for the other different embodiments. In other words, all the embodiments and/or features of any embodiment may be combined in any manner and/or combination, as long as they are not contradictory to each other.
The demand for cellular communications capacity has been increasing at a high rate. As a result, the number of base station antennas has proliferated in recent years. Base station antennas are both relatively large and heavy and, as noted above, are typically mounted on antenna towers. Due to the wind loading on the antennas and the weight of the antennas and associated radios, cabling and the like, antenna towers must be built to support significant loads. This increases the cost of the antenna towers.
In the description that follows, active antenna units for base station antennas and the components thereof are described using terms that assume that the base station antennas are mounted for use on a tower with the longitudinal axis of the antenna extending along a vertical (or near vertical) axis and the front surface of the antenna mounted opposite the tower or other mounting structure pointing toward the coverage area for the antenna.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed in greater detail with reference to the attached figures.
Die cast or extruded reflector structures with integrated heat sinks in an active antenna unit are described in co-pending PCT/CN2021/116847, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. However, integrating heat sinks into the reflector structure may require relatively expensive tooling and/or manufacturing techniques. The present inventive concept provides alternative reflector assembly configurations that can reduce cost and/or weight of the reflector structure.
Referring to
In some embodiments, there are a plurality of fin surfaces 25f, typically 3-10, more typically 3-6, extending from all four sides (right and left side and top and bottom sides) of the reflector body 10b. However, the fin structures 25 may be provided on a subset of the sides, such as two or three sides rather than all four as shown.
The fin surfaces 25f can extend out a distance from the primary reflector body 10b that is equal to, greater than, or less than a distance that the lip 15 extends from the reflector body 10b. Different fin surfaces 25f can have different extension lengths.
The reflector body 10b can be formed of shaped sheet metal, such as metal comprising or defined by aluminum. The lip 15 can be formed by bending segments of the sheet metal providing the reflector body 10b. The lip 15 can have open corner spaces 11 between adjacent end portions of neighboring 15n lip segments 15s.
In some embodiments, at least some of the fin structures 25 can be formed of metal, such as sheet metal.
The reflector assembly 10 can include at least one coupling member 29 extending between and over and/or behind a corresponding open corner 11. The coupling member 29 may be square or rectangular but other shapes may be used. As shown, there are four coupling members 29 at four corners and the coupling members 29 can cooperate with the lip 15 to define a closed reflector perimeter surface to isolate the radio 50 from the radiating elements 40 (
The (primary) reflector body 10b can have a rectangular shape with a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides surrounding a front surface 10f. In operative position (
The fin structures 25 can be provided by cooperating fin structures that are attached to at least one of a side wall 10s, a top wall 10t or a bottom wall 10w of the reflector body 10b. The fin structures 25 can be metal-stamped or other metal shaped and formed members and can be separate components from the reflector body 10b. The fin structures 25 are not required to be die cast or extruded fins but may be so configured (
The fin structures 25 can be attached to the reflector body 10b using any suitable attachment configuration including, for example, rivets, welds, solder joints, brazing, chemical bonding and the like. For soldering or welding, one or more spaced apart solder or weld joints may be provided along an outer facing surface of one or all of each side wall or each end wall 10t, 10w and each facing fin structure 25. For riveting, a TOX® riveting process may be used to facilitate a suitable seal configuration. The TOX riveting process is a cold joining process also known as “TOX®-Clinching” where during clinching or press joining, the sheet metals to be joined are connected force-and positive-locked with each other in a continuous forming process.
In some embodiments, subsets of the fin structures 25 can be attached together and attached to the lip 15 without requiring soldering, welding or riveting to the side wall 10s, the top wall 10t or the bottom wall 10w. For example, the cooperating components can be clamped together using suitable configurations and/or frictional engagement and the like. In yet other embodiments, the fin structures 25 can be attached to the reflector body in other manners and the reflector body may be provided without the lip 25.
Referring to
As shown in
Referring to
The radiating elements 40 can be configured as a massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) array that can operate in a 3-4 GHz frequency range, in some embodiments. The radio housing 50h can include rearwardly extending thermally/heat conductive fins 50f.
It is noted that the term “active antenna unit” is interchangeably referred to herein as an “active antenna module”. Active antenna modules may be deployed as standalone base station antennas or may be deployed in base station antennas configured as larger antenna structures that include additional active antenna modules and/or conventional “passive” antenna arrays that may be connected to radios that are external to the antenna structures.
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
One or more bridges 128 can provide at least part of the front surface 10f and can extend between adjacent/neighboring apertures 28.
The apertures 28 can reside in front of one or more cavity filters 60 and behind feed boards 40f with radiating elements 40. The front surface 10f can surround a perimeter of the feed boards 40f and the cavity filters 60 can have front surfaces that cooperate with the reflector body 10b to provide reflective surfaces to provide a reflector function. The cavity filters 60 can be resonant cavity filters as is well known to those of skill in the art. The radio can have a metal cover 50c.
The cavity filters 60 can cooperate with the radio cover 50c, and the reflector body 10b to define a reflector for the radiating elements 40 thus eliminating the need for a separate reflector behind the feed boards 40f and in front of the cavity filters 60 as in conventional active antenna units.
Referring to
The dielectric gasket 210 may reduce the risk that the interface between the wall 10t, 10w, 10s and a corresponding fin structure 25, 25′, 125 (shown by way of example with a U-shaped channels 25u) may act as a source of passive intermodulation distortion.
In some embodiments, as shown in
The term “close proximity” refers to a position of 0-1 mm from the adjacent wall, e.g., bottom wall 10w, top wall 10t or side wall 10s to facilitate conductive heat transfer. This distance can vary if a dielectric gasket is positioned between the components so that the fin structure 25, 25′, 125 and reflector body 10b abuts the dielectric gasket and the close proximity dimension increases by a width of the dielectric gasket.
Turning now to
Referring to
Using multi-sided folded/bent fin channel structure, particularly, a two-sided, a three-sided, or a four-sided bent channel fin structure may provide increased rigidity to the reflector body 10b over single sided fin structures and may allow the use of a thinner reflector body 10b.
The active antenna unit 110 with the radio 50 can be configured as a 5G module in some embodiments. With the introduction of fifth generation (“5G”) cellular technologies, base station antennas are now routinely being deployed that have active beamforming capabilities. Active beamforming refers to transmitting RF signals through a multi-column array of radiating elements in which the relative amplitudes and phases of the sub-components of an RF signal that are transmitted (or received) through the different radiating elements of the array are adjusted so that the radiation patterns that are formed by the individual radiating elements constructively combine in one or more desired directions to form narrower antenna beams that have higher gain. With active beamforming, the shape and pointing direction of the antenna beams generated by the multi-column array may, for example, be changed on a time slot-by-time slot basis of a time division duplex (“TDD”) multiple access scheme. Moreover, different antenna beams can be generated simultaneously on the same frequency resource in a multi-user MIMO scenario. More sophisticated active beamforming schemes can apply different beams to different physical resource blocks that are a combination of time and frequency resources by applying the beam vector in the digital domain. Base station antennas that have active beamforming capabilities are often referred to as active antennas. When the multi-column array includes a large number of columns of radiating elements (e.g., sixteen or more), the array is often referred to as a massive MIMO array. A module that includes a multi-column array of radiating elements and associated RF circuitry (and perhaps baseband circuitry) that implement an active antenna is referred to herein as an active antenna module.
Referring to
The active antenna unit 110 can be held against a rear 100r of a housing 100h of the base station antenna 100 comprising the passive antenna assembly with a bracket assembly 112 having first and second laterally extending spaced apart brackets 113, 114. The housing 100h has a front surface 100f defining a radome and sides 100s and a rear 100r. The bracket assembly 112 can also mount the base station antenna housing 100h with the active antenna unit 110 to a target structure such as a pole 10.
The base station antenna 100 can include one or more arrays of low-band radiating elements, one or more arrays of mid-band radiating elements, and one or more arrays of high-band radiating elements. The radiating elements may each be dual-polarized radiating elements. Further details of radiating elements can be found in co-pending WO 2019/236203 and WO 2020/072880, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. For further details regarding example active antenna modules and base station antenna housings with passive antenna assemblies, see, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/209,562 and corresponding PCT Patent Application Serial Number PCT/US2021/023617, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.
The linear arrays (of the active antenna unit 110) and/or 111 of the passive antenna assembly 190, can be provided as low, mid or high band radiating element. The high-band radiating elements may be configured to transmit and receive signals in the 3.3-4.2 GHz frequency band or a portion thereof and/or in the 5.1-5.8 GHz frequency band or a portion thereof. The mid-band radiating elements may be configured to transmit and receive signals in, for example, the 1.427-2.690 GHz frequency band or a portion thereof. The low-band radiating elements may be configured to transmit and receive signals in, for example, the 0.616-0.960 GHz frequency band or a portion thereof.
It will be appreciated that other types of radiating elements may be used, that more or fewer linear arrays may be included in the antenna, that the number of radiating elements per array may be varied, and that planar arrays or staggered linear arrays may be used instead of the “straight” linear arrays illustrated in the figures in other embodiments.
Referring to
As discussed above, the reflector assembly 10′ can include at least one coupling member 29 extending between and over and/or behind a corresponding open corner 11. The coupling member 29 may be square or rectangular but other shapes may be used. As shown, there are four coupling members 29 at four corners and the coupling members 29 can cooperate with the lip 15 to define a closed reflector perimeter surface to isolate the radio 50 from the radiating elements 40 (
The radome 30 can be a polymeric or copolymeric material. The radio housing 50h and reflector body 10b and lip 15 can be metal.
Referring to
Referring to
The radio housing 50h can be sealably attached to the lip 15 of the reflector body 10b. One or both components may include a seal member, such as a gasket or O-ring, that can facilitate a water-resistant seal therebetween. The radio housing 50h can have an outer perimeter with an outwardly projecting planar edge 50e that surrounds a recess 50r of the housing 50h and abuts a primary surface of the lip 15. The cover 50c can reside in the recess 50r. The cavity filters 60 can reside in front of the radio 50 at least partially inside the reflector body 10b.
The side walls 10s of the reflector body 10b can have a height “h” that is typically in a low-profile range of about 20-60 mm, such as about 30-50 mm, e.g., about 38 mm, in some embodiments. The lip 15 can project outward from the side walls 10s a distance that is less than the height h of the side walls 10 (the height measured in a front-back direction as shown in
The long side of the reflector body 10b can have lips 15 and side walls 10s that can have a length “L” that extends longitudinally and that is greater than the width/lateral extent “W” of the lips 15 on the short side of the reflector body 10b, i.e., at the top and bottom thereof. In some embodiments, the long side lips 15 and side walls 10s are 1.5 to three times the width W. Different side walls 10s can have different size lips 15 (not shown).
The radio fins 50f can have an outwardly projecting extent that is greater than the outwardly projecting extent of the fins 25f of the reflector 10, typically 2-20 times greater, where used. The radio fins 50f can have an outwardly projecting extent that is greater than the height “h” of the reflector side walls 10s.
Referring to
As discussed before with respect to other embodiments, the reflector assembly 10 has a reflector body 10b with at least one lip segment 15s extending laterally outward from the reflector body 10b and laterally outward behind the radome 30. The lip segment 15s can have first 151 and second 152 lip segments 15s that extend longitudinally and laterally outward. The lip segments 15s can extend only two long sides as shown but may optionally also have third and fourth lip segments 15s that can extend laterally outward from the reflector body 10b at shorter top and bottom sides thereof and of the radome 30, respectively.
As shown, the reflector body 10b can have a primary planar surface 10p that is behind the radome 30 and from which radiating elements 40 (
The radome 30 can have an outer perimeter with a scalloped pattern 33 aligned with apertures 30a for receiving fixation members 230 (
The radio housing 50h can be sealably attached to a rear 10pr of the primary surface 10p of the reflector body 10b. An outer perimeter edge segment 30e can abut the primary surface of the reflector body 10b. The radome 30 can be sealably attached to a front 10pf of the primary surface 10p of the reflector body 10b. One or both components may include a seal member, such as a gasket or O-ring 130 (
The radio housing 50h can have an outer perimeter with an outwardly projecting planar edge 50e that surrounds a recess 50r (
As shown in
Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
In the discussion above, reference is made to the linear arrays of radiating elements that are commonly included in base station antennas. It will be appreciated that herein the term “linear array” is used broadly to encompass both arrays of radiating elements that include a single column of radiating elements that are configured to transmit the sub-components of an RF signal as well as to two-dimensional arrays of radiating elements (i.e., multiple linear arrays) that are configured to transmit the sub-components of an RF signal. It will also be appreciated that in some cases the radiating elements may not be disposed along a single line. For example, in some cases a linear array of radiating elements may include one or more radiating elements that are offset from a line along which the remainder of the radiating elements are aligned. This “staggering” of the radiating elements may be done to design the array to have a desired azimuth beamwidth. Such staggered arrays of radiating elements that are configured to transmit the sub-components of an RF signal are encompassed by the term “linear array” as used herein.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (i.e., “between” versus “directly between”, “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent”, etc.).
The term “about” with respect to a number, means that the stated number can vary by +/−20%.
Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer or region to another element, layer or region as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Aspects and elements of all of the embodiments disclosed above can be combined in any way and/or combination with aspects or elements of other embodiments to provide a plurality of additional embodiments.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202210217965.0 | Mar 2022 | CN | national |
| 202210755280.1 | Jun 2022 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2022/118993 | 9/15/2022 | WO |
