Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
  • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
  • H01Q9/0407—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna
  • H01Q9/0414—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna in a stacked or folded configuration
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/27—Adaptation for use in or on movable bodies
  • H01Q1/32—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
  • H01Q1/325—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the location of the antenna on the vehicle
  • H01Q1/3275—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the location of the antenna on the vehicle mounted on a horizontal surface of the vehicle, e.g. on roof, hood, trunk
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/36—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith
  • H01Q1/38—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q13/00—Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
  • H01Q13/08—Radiating ends of two-conductor microwave transmission lines, e.g. of coaxial lines, of microstrip lines

Definitions

• the invention relates to a multilayer antenna of planar design according to the preamble of claim 1.
• Patch antennas or so-called microstrip antennas are well known. They usually comprise an electrically conductive base area, a dielectric carrier material arranged above them and an electrically conductive radiation area provided on the upper side of the dielectric carrier material.
• the upper radiation surface is usually excited by a transverse to the above-mentioned planes and layers feed line.
• the main cable used is a coaxial cable whose outer conductor is electrically connected at one connection to the ground conductor, whereas the inner conductor of the coaxial cable is electrically connected to the overhead radiation surface.
• Layered antennas of planar design are known, for example, as so-called "stacked" patch antennas. Service.
• stacked patch antennas Service.
• By such antennas and the antenna gain can be improved.
• the patch antenna has e.g. in addition to the underlying ground surface and the offset thereto arranged and excited via a feed line radiation surface above the radiation surface with a lateral offset thereto arranged patch surface.
• the carrier material between the ground and the radiation surface and between the radiation surface and the patch surface located above each consist of a substrate with the same dielectric constant.
• a patch antenna with carrier layers with different dielectric constants is known, for example, from the publication IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 47, NO. 12, DECEMBER 1999, pages 1780 - 1784 become known.
• Foam is used as the upper carrier layer for the upper metallic surface (patch surface). The distance between the upper patch surface and the underlying radiating surface corresponds to the distance between the radiating surface and the lower mass surface.
• a generic antenna with multi-layered structure has become known, for example, from US Pat. No. 5,880,694 A. It comprises a lower ground surface, a dielectric support body seated thereon with a radiator surface located on the upper side. Above the radiator surface, a further dielectric body is arranged, on which an electrically conductive patch surface is provided on the side remote from the lower ground surface.
• the antenna according to the invention has a significant improvement in the antenna properties, compared with simple normal patch antennas. This is all the more surprising since the radiation structure provided at the top of the patch antenna is arranged at an extremely small distance above the radiation surface of the patch antenna and, in a preferred embodiment, may even have a longitudinal and transverse extent which is greater than the radiation surface underneath. In such a case, it would be expected that the the uppermost patch surface adversely affects the radiation pattern.
• Another essential advantage of the antenna according to the invention is that commercially available patch antennas with a ground plane and a radiation surface and a dielectric located between them, preferably, for example so-called ceramic patch antennas, can be used which need not be structurally modified. It is only necessary to fix the inventive three-dimensional electrically conductive structure of the uppermost patch surface on a commercially available patch antenna by means of a suitable adhesive and / or attachment layer.
• an adhesive layer in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in the form of a comparable adhesive or adhesive device is used as an adhesive structure between a commercially available patch antenna and the uppermost three-dimensional conductive patch element, whereby a problem-free attachment of the uppermost patch element on a conventional Patch antenna is possible.
• the distance between the three-dimensional patch element and the radiation surface of a patch antenna at a distance which is greater than 0.5 mm, in particular greater than 1 mm, for example, by 1.5 mm.
• the distance can be even greater, in principle such a small dimensioned distance between the three-dimensional patch element and the radiation surface of a multilayer patch antenna is fully sufficient.
• the three-dimensional structure of the patch element can be realized for example by a so-called solid, which in addition to its planar extent (for example, comparable to conventional metal flakes or metal layers) also has a significantly greater height or thickness of one or more millimeters.
• such a three-dimensional patch element arranged above the radiation surface is equipped with a completely or partially circumferential edge or web edge, whereby a three-dimensional structure is virtually realized.
• the patch element provided with a three-dimensional structure can be formed by a sheet metal or stamped part, in which edge portions extending from a flat element are placed upwards, which are oriented transversely and preferably perpendicular to the plane of the patch element.
• the individual flange or edge sections need not necessarily be connected to one another electrically or electrically galvanically. The given electrical connection from an erected edge element to an adjacent edge element takes place via the central section of the patch element oriented essentially parallel to the radiation and ground surface located underneath.
• the aforementioned three-dimensional structure (which is called a "three-dimensional" structure because it has a significantly greater material thickness or material height than prior art metal plates or foils) does not necessarily require that the entire body be formed as a so-called solid or as mentioned circumferential edge must be formed circumferentially in the entire edge portion of the patch structure circumferentially. Even sections of edge or web elements are sufficient.
• recesses or even, for example, a concave deformation of the patch surface facing the radiation surface underneath may be provided in the patch surface itself.
• recesses may also be incorporated in the patch surface which, for example, protrude from the peripheral edge into the patch surface.
• a dielectric body made of plastic which is coated with an electrically conductive layer.
• a thickness or height of, for example, more than preferably 0.5 mm or 1 mm, in particular more than 1.5 mm, this should at least on a side parallel to the radiation surface, preferably on the radiation surface be provided adjacent side and at its peripheral wall or edge portions with an electrically conductive layer.
• the upper side of the electrically nonconductive body modified to the radiation surface of the patch antenna can also be equipped with an electrically conductive layer.
• Figure 1 a schematic axial cross-sectional view through a commercially available patch antenna according to the prior art
• FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the known in the prior art patch antenna according to Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a schematic cross or side view of a stacked patch antenna according to the invention.
• Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the embodiment of Figure 3;
• Figure 5 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 4 on a patch antenna according to the invention with a different embodiment for the top-mounted patch element;
• FIG. 6 shows a side view or cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 of the patch antenna according to the invention, showing a carrying device used for the upper patch element;
• FIG. 7 shows an embodiment deviating from FIG. 6 in a schematic side and / or cross-sectional representation
• Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of a patch element, as it comes in further processing in the embodiment of Figure 7 is used;
• FIG. 9a shows an embodiment deviating from FIG. 7
• Figure 9b is a plan view of the embodiment of Figure 9a;
• FIG. 10 shows an embodiment deviating from FIGS. 7, 9a and 9b;
• FIG. 11 shows an embodiment deviating from FIGS. 7, 9a, 9b and 10;
• Figure 12 shows a further modified embodiment with significantly greater height or thickness of the patch element.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view
• FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the basic structure of a commercially available patch radiator A (patch antenna), which is expanded to a multilayer patch antenna (stacked-patch-antenna) on the basis of FIGS.
• patch radiator A patch antenna
• stacked-patch-antenna multilayer patch antenna
• the patch antenna shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a plurality of surfaces and layers arranged one above the other along an axial axis Z, which will be discussed below.
• the patch antenna A has an electrically conductive ground surface 3 on its so-called under or mounting side 1.
• a dielectric carrier 5 Arranged on the ground surface 3 or with a lateral offset therefrom is a dielectric carrier 5, which usually has an outer contour 5 'in plan view, which corresponds to the outer contour 3' of the ground surface 3.
• this dielectric support 5 can also be dimensioned larger or smaller and / or provided with outer contour 5 1 deviating from the outer contour 3 'of the ground surface 3.
• the outer contour 3 1 of the ground plane may be n-polygonal and / or even provided with curved sections or be curved, although this is unusual.
• the dielectric support 5 has a sufficient height or thickness, which generally corresponds to a multiple of the thickness of the mass surface 3, that is, in contrast to the ground surface 3, which consists approximately only of a two-dimensional surface, the dielectric support 5 as a three-dimensional body with sufficient height and thickness designed.
• an electrically conductive radiation surface 7 is formed, which likewise can again be understood approximately as a two-dimensional surface.
• This radiation surface 7 is fed and excited electrically via a feed line 9, which preferably extends in the transverse direction, in particular perpendicular to the radiation surface 7, from below through the dielectric carrier 5 in a corresponding bore or channel 5c.
• a feed line 9 which preferably extends in the transverse direction, in particular perpendicular to the radiation surface 7, from below through the dielectric carrier 5 in a corresponding bore or channel 5c.
• the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, not shown, with the feed line 9 is electrically-galvanic and thus connected to the radiation surface 7.
• the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, not shown is then electrically-galvanically connected to the underlying ground surface 3.
• a patch antenna which has a dielectric 5 and a square shape in plan view.
• this shape or the corresponding contour or outline 5 ' can also deviate from the square shape and generally have an n-polygonal shape. Although unusual, even curvy outer boundaries can be provided.
• the radiation surface 7 seated on the dielectric 5 may have the same contour or outline 7 'as the dielectric 5 located underneath.
• the basic shape is also square in shape, adapted to the contour 5' of the dielectric 5, but has flattened areas 7 at two opposite ends
• the outline 7 1 can also represent an n-polygonal outline or contour or even be provided with a curvilinear outer boundary 7 1 .
• the mentioned ground plane 3 as well as the radiation surface 7 are sometimes referred to as a "two-dimensional" surface, since their thickness is so small that they can not be called quasi “solid".
• the Thickness of the ground surface and the radiating surface 3, 7 usually moves below 1 mm, ie generally below 0.5 mm, in particular below 0.25 mm, 0.20 mm, 0.10 mm.
• the patch antenna A thus formed which may for example consist of a commercially available patch antenna A, preferably of a so-called ceramic patch antenna (in which therefore the dielectric carrier layer 5 consists of a ceramic material), is now in a stacked patch antenna according to the invention according to FIG 3 and 4 in side or height offset to the upper radiation surface 7 additionally arranged a patch element 13 (Figure 3), which compared to the mentioned ground surface 3 and the radiation surface 7, a three-dimensional structure with significantly different, ie greater height or thickness.
• a patch element 13 Figure 3
• the stacked patch antenna described in this way is positioned, for example, on a chassis B indicated only as a line in FIG. 3, which may represent, for example, the base chassis for a motor vehicle antenna in which the antenna according to the invention may optionally be installed alongside other antennas for other services .
• the stacked patch antenna according to the invention can be used, for example, in particular as an antenna for geostationary positioning and / or for the reception of satellite or terrestrial signals, for example the so-called SDARS service.
• SDARS service so-called satellite or terrestrial signals
• the patch element 13 may, for example, an electrically conductive metal body, so for example a Cuboid with appropriate longitudinal and transverse extent and sufficient height or thickness exist.
• this patch element 13 can also have an outline 13 'deviating from a rectangular or square structure.
• a certain adaptation of the patch antenna can be carried out by processing edge regions, for example of corner regions 13a shown in FIG.
• the patch element 13 has a longitudinal extent and a transverse extent which is greater than the longitudinal and transverse extent of the radiation surface 7 and / or greater than the longitudinal and transverse extent of the dielectric carrier 5 and / or the other underlying ground surface 3.
• the patch element 13 can also have completely or partially convex or concave and / or other curved outlines or an n-polygonal outline or hybrid forms of both, as shown only schematically for a different embodiment of Figure 5 in plan view, wherein the patch element 13 in this case has an irregular outer contour or an irregular outline 13 '.
• the thickness of the patch element 13 has a dimension which is not only double, 3, 4 or 5 times, etc., but especially 10 times, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 , 70, 80, 90 and / or 100 times and more of the thickness of the ground plane 3 and / or the thickness of the radiant surface 7 is.
• the thickness or height 114 of the patch element 13 is equal to or greater than a distance 17, which is formed by the underside 13b of the patch element 13 and the top surface 7a of the radiation surface 7.
• this distance 17 should not be less than 0.5 mm, preferably more than 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm or equal to or more than 1 mm. Values around 1.5 mm, ie generally between 1 mm to 2 mm or 1 mm to 3 mm, 4 mm or to 5 mm are fully sufficient.
• the height or thickness 114 of the three-dimensional patch element 13 is preferably smaller than the height or thickness 15 of the dielectric carrier 5.
• the thickness or height 114 of the uppermost patch element 13 has a dimension which is less than 90 %, in particular less than 80%, 70%, 60%, 50% or even less than 40% and optionally 30% or less than 20% of the height or thickness 15 of the support element 5 corresponds.
• the height or thickness 114 of the three-dimensional patch element 13 can also have a greater and above all significantly greater height or thickness than the thickness of the dielectric carrier 5.
• this height or thickness 15 of the carrier element 5 can also have a dimension, for example. which up to 1.5 times, 2 times, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and / or 10 times and more of the height or Thickness 15 of the support element 5 corresponds.
• the thickness or height 114 of the patch element 13 should preferably be greater than the distance 17 between the radiation surface 7 and the underside 13 b of the patch element 13.
• a support device 19, in particular a dielectric support device 19 is used, via which the patch element 13 is held and supported.
• This dielectric support device 19 preferably consists of an adhesive or assembly layer 19 '(FIG. 6), which may be formed, for example, as a so-called double-sided adhesive bonding and assembly layer 19'.
• Double-sided adhesive tapes or double-sided adhesive foam tapes, adhesive pads or the like can be used for this purpose, which have a corresponding thickness mentioned above. This opens up the simple possibility of fixing the above-mentioned patch element 13 on top of a commercially available patch antenna, in particular a commercially available ceramic patch antenna, and to mount it.
• the electrically fully conductive metal body as a patch element 13 but also, for example, a plastic body may be used, which is provided for example with an electrically conductive bottom 13b and electrically conductive circumferential side boundaries 13c, for example by applying an electrically conductive outer layer.
• the upper side 13d does not necessarily have to be electrically conductive, although the entire surface of the thus formed non-conductive patch element 13 with a circumferential electrically conductive layer can be provided.
• a modification is shown with reference to FIG. 7, in which the three-dimensional patch element 13 is configured not as a solid but as a plate-shaped patch element 13 provided with a circumferential side or edge web 14.
• Such a patch element 13 can be produced for example from a metal sheet by punching and edges, as shown in plan view, for example in Figure 8.
• FIG. 8 shows the contour lines of a metal part, for example in approximately square shape, wherein corners 25 are punched out in the corner regions. Subsequently, along edge lines 27, the edge regions or webs 14 thus formed can be placed opposite the base surface 113 of the patch element 13 so that these edge regions or webs 14 extend transversely to the base surface 113 of the patch element 13 and preferably perpendicular thereto.
• the cut lines thus formed between two edge webs 14 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction and perpendicular to one another in the illustrated embodiment need not be electrically-galvanically connected to each other at their cutting and / or touching lines, for example by soldering.
• the electrical connection via the planar central portion 113 of the patch element 13 is sufficient.
• the patch element 13 thus formed is connected with its underside 13b by means of a carrying device, for example by means of a layered dielectric layer.
• fixed support device 19 preferably in the form of an adhesive or mounting support 19 'on top of a commercially available patch antenna A, for example, wherein a commercially available patch antenna A on the top of its radiation surface 7 may be coated with a dielectric layer but need not be.
• FIG. 9a a schematic plan view is shown in schematic cross-section and with reference to FIG. 9b that the patch element 13 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, for example, may be provided with a recess or a hole 29 in its flat underside 13b.
• This recess or hole 29 is preferably provided in that region in which the feed line 9 is connected to the radiation surface 7 usually by soldering. Because at this point usually over the surface of the radiation surface 7 protruding Löterhebung 31 is formed. Even if only a very thin support device 19 is preferably used in the form of an adhesive or mounting support 19 ', this ensures on the one hand a good mechanical bond between the patch element 13 via the support device 19, preferably in the form of the adhesive.
• the carrying means 19, preferably in the form of an adhesive and / or assembly layer 19 ' has not been shown in better illustration.
• the upper patch 13 is quasi "transparent". has been so that the mentioned recess or the hole 29 is characterized only by a corresponding outline.
• an upwardly convexly protruding deformation 33 is incorporated in the electrically conductive lower level 13b of the patch element 13, which preferably lies above the electrically conductive connection between the feed line 9 and the feed surface 7, that is to say generally there, where a Löterhebung 31 is formed.
• edge sections 14 which are provided in each case on the peripheral outer edge 113 'of the patch surface of the patch element 13, do not have to be aligned perpendicular to the base surface 113 of the patch element 13, but for example as described 11, may be provided in a direction opposite to the vertical deviating angular orientation.
• the edge side boundaries 14 are divergent along the axial mounting direction A (in FIG. 1), that is, they are oriented away from the base or central surface 113 in the direction of radiation. In the same way, however, the edge side sections can also be aligned with each other.
• the side boundaries 14, for example in the other direction A may be bent more towards the central portion 113 of the patch 13 and may be aligned at a different side away from the central surface 113.
• these webs or edge sections 14 do not necessarily have to be connected to the external
• the outline edge or outline edge 113 'to be provided, as can be seen, for example, in FIG. 11 for webs extending transversely to the base surface 113 or in elevations 14' in dashed lines, which border the outer boundary 113 'further inwardly staggered lying on the patch element are arranged.
• these webs or elevations 14 ' shown in FIG.
• peripheral boundary surfaces 13 '(side boundaries 13c) do not have to be aligned perpendicular to the bottom or top 13b, 13d of the patch element 13, but can also be configured with inclined side surfaces, comparable to the inclined edges or webs 14 in FIG. 11.
• the stacked patch antenna according to the invention can preferably be used as an antenna in the context of a motor vehicle antenna in addition to other antennas for other services.
• the commercially available patch antenna A used in the context of this stacked patch antenna according to the invention preferably consists - as explained - of a dielectric carrier 5, des- sen top or bottom of a metallic or electrically conductive layer 7 or 3 is formed and fixed on the carrier 5.
• FIG 12 in which a further embodiment is shown.
• an overhead patch element 13 is used, which - as is “from the figure - a thickness or height 14, which is even greater than the thickness or height of the dielectric substrate 5.
• the patch antenna thus formed also has improved electrical properties.
• the patch element 13 is greater than or equal to the dielectric carrier 5.
• the patch element 13 is also larger than the ground plane 3 and larger than the radiation surface 7.
• the arrangement should be chosen so that the Patch element 13 is up to 100% larger than the dielectric support 5 and / or up to 200% larger than the ground plane 3 and / or up to 200% larger than the radiation surface 7.
• the orders of magnitude can alternatively or additionally also be selected in a further preferred variant such that the patch element (which is generally larger than the dielectric carrier 5) should have a minimum size that is 20% smaller than the dielectric carrier 5 and / or is up to 5% smaller than the ground plane 3 and / or up to 5% smaller than the radiation surface 7.
• the corresponding orders of magnitude are greater than the above-mentioned lowest values.
• Preferred values are for example such that the patch element 13 is larger by 4% to 16%, in particular by 6% to 12% and in particular by 8%, than the electrical carrier 5 and / or the patch element 13 by 8% to 34% and in particular by 12% to 28%, namely by 17% greater than the mass surface 3 and / or by 21% to 84%, in particular by 30% to 60%, especially by 42% greater than the radiation surface. 7

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Remote Sensing (AREA)
• Waveguide Aerials (AREA)
• Details Of Aerials (AREA)
• Support Of Aerials (AREA)

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• 2006
  • 2006-06-14 DE DE102006027694A patent/DE102006027694B3/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2007
  • 2007-06-06 RU RU2008145907/07A patent/RU2424605C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-06-06 AT AT07725883T patent/ATE453227T1/de active
  • 2007-06-06 PL PL07725883T patent/PL2027626T3/pl unknown
  • 2007-06-06 JP JP2009514680A patent/JP2009540708A/ja active Pending
  • 2007-06-06 KR KR1020087028414A patent/KR101011310B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-06-06 ES ES07725883T patent/ES2337098T3/es active Active
  • 2007-06-06 DE DE502007002430T patent/DE502007002430D1/de active Active
  • 2007-06-06 WO PCT/EP2007/005035 patent/WO2007144104A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2007-06-06 CN CN200780021906XA patent/CN101467304B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-06-06 EP EP07725883A patent/EP2027626B1/fr active Active

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