US-12620702-B2 - Reconfigurable antenna and control method therefor, and router and signal transceiving device

Abstract

A reconfigurable antenna, a control method therefor, a router, and a signal transceiving device are disclosed. The reconfigurable antenna may include: a horizontal polarization antenna including a patch structure arranged on an upper surface of a first dielectric plate and a first reflector arranged on a lower surface of the first dielectric plate; a vertical polarization antenna arranged below the horizontal polarization antenna and including a third dielectric plate and a fourth dielectric plate which are perpendicular to the first dielectric plate; and an antenna board, including a fifth dielectric plate.

Inventors

• Jianqiang Chen
• Fei Cao
• Dianping Xu

Assignees

• ZTE CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20220713

Priority Date

20210813

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A reconfigurable antenna, comprising: a horizontal polarization antenna comprising a patch structure arranged on an upper surface of a first dielectric plate and a first reflector arranged on a lower surface of the first dielectric plate, wherein a plurality of first slots are provided on the first reflector, the first reflector is electrically connected at each of the first slots to a first diode on the upper surface of the first dielectric plate, and the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of first diodes; a vertical polarization antenna arranged below the horizontal polarization antenna and comprising a third dielectric plate and a fourth dielectric plate which are perpendicular to the first dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are snap-fitted along a snap line perpendicular to the first dielectric plate to form a unity; a radiation patch is arranged on a back side of the third dielectric plate at the snap line, and at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the radiation patch; at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the snap line on a back side of the fourth dielectric plate; at least one second slot is provided on each of the second reflectors, and a second diode is connected across the second slot; and the vertical polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of second diodes; and an antenna board, comprising a fifth dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are inserted in the fifth dielectric plate, and a first conductor plate is arranged on an upper surface of the fifth dielectric plate.
2. 2 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein the patch structure comprises a plurality of Alford loop antennas arranged discretely, an annular segment is cut off from a tail of each of the Alford loop antennas, and a head of each of the Alford loop antennas is connected to a feed point through an impedance transformer.
3. 3 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 2 , wherein four first slots are provided on the first reflector, the second reflector is connected to four first diodes, and the four first diodes are adjacent in pairs; and in response to all the four first diodes being in an off state, the horizontal polarization antenna radiates the omnidirectional beam; or in response to two adjacent first diodes of the four first diodes being in the off state and the other two first diodes being in the on state, the horizontal polarization antenna radiates a directional beam.
4. 4 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 2 , wherein the horizontal polarization antenna further comprises a second dielectric plate arranged on a lower surface of the first reflector, a ring-shaped metal patch is arranged on a lower surface of the second dielectric plate, and a plurality of third slots are etched along a radius of the ring-shaped metal patch.
5. 5 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein four first slots are provided on the first reflector, the second reflector is connected to four first diodes, and the four first diodes are adjacent in pairs; and in response to all the four first diodes being in an off state, the horizontal polarization antenna radiates the omnidirectional beam; or in response to two adjacent first diodes of the four first diodes being in the off state and the other two first diodes being in the on state, the horizontal polarization antenna radiates a directional beam.
6. 6 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein the reconfigurable antenna further comprises a plurality of sets of first bias lines arranged on the first dielectric plate, the third dielectric plate, and the fourth dielectric plate, each set of first bias lines is configured for applying a bias voltage to the plurality of first diodes, and the bias voltage is configured for controlling on or off of the plurality of first diodes.
7. 7 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 6 , wherein the reconfigurable antenna further comprises a plurality of sets of second bias lines arranged on the third dielectric plate or the fourth dielectric plate, the second bias lines are configured for applying a bias voltage to the plurality of second diodes, and the bias voltage is configured for controlling on or off of the plurality of second diodes.
8. 8 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 7 , wherein the first bias lines or the second bias lines comprise two or more short bias lines spaced apart, and a choke inductance element is connected across a spacing between two short bias lines.
9. 9 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 7 , wherein a first capacitor element is further connected between the first bias line and the first diode; and/or a second capacitor element is connected between the second bias line and the second diode.
10. 10 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein the horizontal polarization antenna further comprises a second dielectric plate arranged on a lower surface of the first reflector, a ring-shaped metal patch is arranged on a lower surface of the second dielectric plate, and a plurality of third slots are etched along a radius of the ring-shaped metal patch.
11. 11 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein two second reflectors are arranged on the back side of the third dielectric plate, two second reflectors are arranged on the back side of the fourth dielectric plate, one second slot is provided on each of the second reflectors, and four second diodes connected across the four second slots are adjacent in pairs; and in response to all the four second diodes being in the off state, the vertical polarization antenna radiates the omnidirectional beam; or in response to two adjacent first diodes of the four first diodes being in the off state and the other two first diodes being in the on state, the vertical polarization antenna radiates a directional beam; or in response to three of the four first diodes being in the off state and the other one first diode being in the on state, the vertical polarization antenna radiates a directional beam.
12. 12 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein a feeding patch is arranged at a center line of a front surface of the third dielectric plate to coupling-feed the radiation patch.
13. 13 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein the radiation patch is a monopole patch, and a fourth slot is provided on the monopole patch.
14. 14 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , wherein the reconfigurable antenna further comprises a choke plate inserted in the antenna board to counteract a secondary radiation of a surface current of a first coaxial cable, and the first coaxial cable is configured for feeding the horizontal polarization antenna.
15. 15 . The reconfigurable antenna of claim 14 , wherein the choke plate comprises a sixth dielectric plate and a second conductor plate arranged on a top layer of the sixth dielectric plate, and a pair of fifth slots are provided on the second conductor plate.
16. 16 . A method for controlling a reconfigurable antenna, wherein the reconfigurable antenna is the reconfigurable antenna of claim 1 , the method comprising: receiving a beam switching signal; controlling a bias voltage according to the beam switching signal; controlling on or off of the first diodes according to the bias voltage, wherein the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled by on or off of the first diodes to switch between radiating an omnidirectional beam and radiating a plurality of directional beams; and controlling on or off of the second diodes according to the bias voltage, wherein the vertical polarization antenna is controlled by on or off of the second diodes to switch between radiating an omnidirectional beam and radiating a plurality of directional beams.
17. 17 . A router, comprising a reconfigurable antenna, the reconfigurable antenna comprising: a horizontal polarization antenna comprising a patch structure arranged on an upper surface of a first dielectric plate and a first reflector arranged on a lower surface of the first dielectric plate, wherein a plurality of first slots are provided on the first reflector, the first reflector is electrically connected at each of the first slots to a first diode on the upper surface of the first dielectric plate, and the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of first diodes; a vertical polarization antenna arranged below the horizontal polarization antenna and comprising a third dielectric plate and a fourth dielectric plate which are perpendicular to the first dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are snap-fitted along a snap line perpendicular to the first dielectric plate to form a unity; a radiation patch is arranged on a back side of the third dielectric plate at the snap line, and at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the radiation patch; at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the snap line on a back side of the fourth dielectric plate; at least one second slot is provided on each of the second reflectors, and a second diode is connected across the second slot; and the vertical polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of second diodes; and an antenna board, comprising a fifth dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are inserted in the fifth dielectric plate, and a first conductor plate is arranged on an upper surface of the fifth dielectric plate.
18. 18 . A signal transceiving device, comprising a reconfigurable antenna, the reconfigurable antenna comprising: a horizontal polarization antenna comprising a patch structure arranged on an upper surface of a first dielectric plate and a first reflector arranged on a lower surface of the first dielectric plate, wherein a plurality of first slots are provided on the first reflector, the first reflector is electrically connected at each of the first slots to a first diode on the upper surface of the first dielectric plate, and the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of first diodes; a vertical polarization antenna arranged below the horizontal polarization antenna and comprising a third dielectric plate and a fourth dielectric plate which are perpendicular to the first dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are snap-fitted along a snap line perpendicular to the first dielectric plate to form a unity; a radiation patch is arranged on a back side of the third dielectric plate at the snap line, and at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the radiation patch; at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the snap line on a back side of the fourth dielectric plate; at least one second slot is provided on each of the second reflectors, and a second diode is connected across the second slot; and the vertical polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of second diodes; and an antenna board, comprising a fifth dielectric plate, wherein the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are inserted in the fifth dielectric plate, and a first conductor plate is arranged on an upper surface of the fifth dielectric plate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of international application number PCT/CN2022/105526, filed Jul. 13, 2022, which claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202110928285.5, filed Aug. 13, 2021. The contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the technical field of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) communication, and more particularly, to a reconfigurable antenna, a control method therefor, a router, and a signal transceiving device. BACKGROUND With the ongoing development of IEEE 802.11 suite of standards, a Multi-User Multi-Input Multi-Output (MU-MIMO) technology which has a physical layer rate of up to 10 Gbit/s has been introduced in the latest standards released in recent years, and WLAN systems have higher requirements on the antenna performance. Nowadays, WLAN systems mainly face three problems: 1) Coverage of edge users: most WLAN systems currently use omnidirectional antennas which have low gain, failing to provide satisfactory wireless signal coverage for distant users; 2) Loss caused by obstacles: electromagnetic waves emitted by antennas experience great loss when passing through some complex terrain environments; and 3) Link interference: in areas with high user density, the simultaneous use of multiple users leads to interference between communication links. To address these issues, in some cases, a scheme is to introduce a beam reconfiguration technology to realize power allocation to specific areas by controlling the deflection direction of directional beams, so as to ensure the reliability of communication systems. However, due to the complex layout of these areas and the change of user density, the deployed WLAN needs to have satisfactory environmental adaptability and flexibility, making it difficult to design antenna devices. Currently, most antennas are capable of providing only a limited number of directional beams in a single polarization direction. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a reconfigurable antenna, a control method therefor, a router, and a signal transceiving device. In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a reconfigurable antenna, including: a horizontal polarization antenna, including a patch structure arranged on an upper surface of a first dielectric plate and a first reflector arranged on a lower surface of the first dielectric plate, where a plurality of first slots are provided on the first reflector, the first reflector is electrically connected at each of the first slots to a first diode on the upper surface of the first dielectric plate, and the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of first diodes; a vertical polarization antenna, arranged below the horizontal polarization antenna and including a third dielectric plate and a fourth dielectric plate which are perpendicular to the first dielectric plate, where the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are snap-fitted along a snap line perpendicular to the first dielectric plate to form a unity; a radiation patch is arranged on a back side of the third dielectric plate at the snap line, and at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the radiation patch; at least one second reflector is arranged on each of two sides of the snap line on a back side of the fourth dielectric plate; at least one second slot is provided on each of the second reflectors, and a second diode is connected across the second slot; and the vertical polarization antenna is controlled to radiate an omnidirectional beam or a plurality of directional beams by controlling on or off of the plurality of second diodes; and an antenna board, including a fifth dielectric plate, where the third dielectric plate and the fourth dielectric plate are inserted in the fifth dielectric plate, and a first conductor plate is arranged on an upper surface of the fifth dielectric plate. In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a method for controlling a reconfigurable antenna. The reconfigurable antenna is the reconfigurable antenna described above. The method includes: receiving a beam switching signal; controlling a bias voltage according to the beam switching signal; controlling on or off of the first diodes according to the bias voltage, where the horizontal polarization antenna is controlled by on or off of the first diodes to switch between radiating an omnidirectional beam and radiating a plurality of directional beams; and controlling on or off of the second diodes according to the bias voltage, where the vertical polarization antenna is controlled by on or off of the second diodes to switch between radiating an omnidirectional beam and radiating