Beam steering antenna structure and electronic device comprising said structure
地域：
Shenzhen
摘要
A beam steering antenna structure comprising a printed circuit board and a conductive component, a first wall and a second wall of the printed circuit board being juxtaposed with a first surface of the conductive component, the second wall abutting and being galvanically connected to the first surface. A second surface of the conductive component extends at an angle from the first surface. A connecting surface extends between the first wall and the second wall such that a groove is formed, the groove being partially juxtaposed to the first surface. The groove comprises a first antenna array and a second antenna array transmitting or receiving, respectively, a first radiation beam and a second radiation beam having orthogonal polarizations. The second surface steers at least one of the first or second radiation beam in a direction away from or towards the connecting surface.
說明書
This application is a U.S. National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/083153 filed on Nov. 30, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to a beam steering antenna structure comprising a printed circuit board and a conductive component, as well as an electronic device comprising a beam steering antenna structure.
Electronic devices need to support more and more radio signal technology such as 2G/3G/4G radio. For coming 5G radio technology, the frequency range will be expanded from sub-6 GHz to so called mmWave frequency, e.g. 28 GHZ and 42 GHz. For mmWave frequencies, an antenna array will be necessary in order to form a radiation beam with higher gain which overcomes the higher path loss in the propagation media. However, radiation beam patterns with higher gain result in a narrow beam width, wherefore beam steering techniques such as the phased antenna array is used to steer the beam in a specific, desired direction.
Mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, may however be oriented in any arbitrary direction. Therefore, such electronic devices need to exhibit an as near full spherical beam coverage as possible. Such coverage is difficult to achieve, i.a. due to the beam being blocked by a large display and/or by the hand of the user holding the device.
權(quán)利要求
The invention claimed is:1. A beam steering antenna structure comprising:a conductive component comprising:a first surface; and a second surface; and a printed circuit board comprising:a first wall juxtaposed with the first surface; a second wall abutting and galvanically connected to the first surface; a connecting surface located between the first wall and the second wall to form a groove between the first wall and the second wall, wherein the groove is partially juxtaposed with the first surface; a first antenna array disposed in the groove and configured to:transmit a first radiation beam having a first polarization in a first direction towards the second surface; or receive the first radiation beam in a second direction from the second surface; and a second antenna array disposed in the groove and configured to:transmit a second radiation beam having a second polarization in the first direction, wherein the second polarization is orthogonal to the first polarization; or receive the second radiation beam in the second direction, and wherein the second surface extends at an angle (α) from the first surface in a third direction from the first wall and is configured to steer at least one of the first radiation beam or the second radiation beam in a fourth direction away from or towards the connecting surface. 2. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the second surface forms an increasing gap between the first wall the conductive component. 3. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the first wall comprises a first recess, wherein the second wall comprises a second recess partially aligned with the first recess, and wherein the first recess and the second recess extend perpendicular to a longitudinal extension of the groove. 4. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 3 , wherein the first wall forms a conductor element extending adjacent to the first recess, and wherein the conductor element is tapered in a direction perpendicular to the connecting surface. 5. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 3 , wherein the second antenna array comprises a second antenna element, and wherein the second antenna element comprises:a conductor; a second signal feeding connection coupled to the conductor; and a reflector formed using a bottom edge of the first recess that extends in parallel with the connection surface. 6. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 5 , wherein the second antenna element is a dipole antenna comprising two conductors extending in parallel with the reflector. 7. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 5 , wherein the second antenna element is a slot antenna comprising one conductor extending in parallel with the reflector across the first recess. 8. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 3 , wherein the first antenna array comprises at least two first antenna elements, and wherein the second antenna array comprises at least two second antenna elements, and wherein the at least two first antenna elements and the at least two second antenna elements are arranged alternately along the longitudinal extension. 9. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the first antenna array comprises a first antenna element, and wherein the first antenna element comprises:a waveguide formed using the first wall, the second wall, the connecting surface, the first surface, and the second surface; and a first signal feeding connection coupled to the first wall. 10. The beam steering antenna structure of claim 9 , wherein a dimension of the waveguide in a direction parallel to the connecting surface increases from a first dimension to a second dimension, wherein the first dimension is measured between the first wall and the second wall adjacent to the connecting surface, and wherein the second dimension is measured between the first wall and the second surface at an end of the second surface located farthest away from the connecting surface. 11. An electronic device comprising:a display; a housing; and a beam steering antenna structure enclosed by the display and the housing and comprising:a conductive component comprising:a first surface; and a second surface; and a printed circuit board comprising:a first wall juxtaposed with the first surface; a second wall abutting and galvanically connected to the first surface; a connecting surface located between the first wall and the second wall to form a groove between the first wall and the second wall, wherein the groove is partially juxtaposed with the first surface; a first antenna array disposed in the groove and configured to:transmit a first radiation beam having a first polarization in a first direction towards the second surface; or receive the first radiation beam in a second direction from the second surface; and a second antenna array disposed in the groove and configured to:transmit a second radiation beam having a second polarization in the first direction, wherein the second polarization is orthogonal to the first polarization; or receive the second radiation beam in the second direction, wherein the second surface extends at an angle (α) from the first surface in a third direction from the first wall and is configured to steer at least one of the first radiation beam or the second radiation beam in a fourth direction away from or towards the connecting surface, and wherein, the beam steering antenna structure is configured to steer the first radiation beam and the second radiation beam to radiate in a fifth direction perpendicular to the display in at least one of a sixth direction from or towards the beam steering antenna structure and past the display. 12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the housing is conductive, wherein the electronic device further comprises a dielectric gap separating the display and the beam steering antenna structure from the housing, and wherein the dielectric gap comprises a dielectric material. 13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the housing comprises:a back cover; and a metal frame located between peripheral edges of the display and the back cover, wherein the beam steering antenna structure further comprises a waveguide located between the conductive component and the first wall, and wherein the first wall is separated from the metal frame using the dielectric gap. 14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the waveguide comprises a conductor element tapering in a seventh direction towards the display, wherein the beam steering antenna structure further comprises a gap formed between the first wall and the conductive component increases in the seventh direction. 15. The electronic device of claim 13 , further comprising a third antenna array connected to the metal frame, wherein the third antenna array is separated from the first wall using the dielectric material. 16. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the display is connected to the waveguide. 17. The electronic device of claim 13 , further comprising a reflection passage formed within the dielectric gap and between the first wall and the metal frame, wherein the reflection passage comprises a reflective structure arranged at a predetermined distance from the first antenna array, and wherein the reflective structure is configured to reflect a radiation propagated from the beam steering antenna structure into the reflection passage back to the beam steering antenna structure. 18. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined distance is a quarter wavelength (λ/4)±25 percent (%). 19. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the first antenna array is further configured to transmit and receive the first radiation beam extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the display, and wherein the second antenna array is further configured to transmit and receive the second radiation beam. 20. The electronic device claim 11 , wherein the conductive component is at least one of a camera, a further printed circuit board, a device chassis, or a display shielding conductor.
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