US-12627064-B2 - Radiation pattern shaping of radiating element by housing model providing deflecting wave features

Abstract

An antenna system includes a board with an antenna configured to radiate power and a housing. The housing surrounds the board and is configured to protect the board from an environment. The housing includes an opening with at least one metallic wall extending towards the board. The at least one metallic wall is configured to redirect the power radiated by the antenna into a predetermined system radiation direction and in a predetermined radiation pattern.

Inventors

• Piotr Kanios
• Łukasz Baruś
• Karol Zimolag
• Mateusz Pulapa
• Przemyslaw Piprek

Assignees

• Aptiv Technologies AG

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240425

Priority Date

20230428

Claims (17)

1. 1 . An antenna system comprising: a board with an antenna configured to radiate power; and a housing surrounding the board and configured to protect the board from an environment, wherein: the housing includes an opening provided at an edge of the housing with at least one metallic wall extending towards the board up to a predetermined spacing from the board, the at least one metallic wall is configured to redirect the power radiated by the antenna into a predetermined system radiation direction and in a predetermined radiation pattern, the opening is configured to expose the antenna when seen from a plan view, and at least one of the housing or the at least one metallic wall is electrically connected to an electrical ground of the board.
2. 2 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the antenna is an omnidirectional antenna configured to radiate power in all directions perpendicular to a predetermined antenna axis.
3. 3 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the antenna is a directional antenna configured to radiate power in a predetermined antenna radiation direction perpendicular to a predetermined antenna axis.
4. 4 . The antenna system of claim 2 wherein a surface of the at least one metallic wall is parallel to the predetermined antenna axis.
5. 5 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein: the opening includes at least two metallic walls extending towards the board; the at least two metallic walls form an edge; and an angle between the at least two metallic walls is less than 180 degrees.
6. 6 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein: the at least one metallic wall extends towards the board with a predetermined angle relative to a top surface of the board; and the predetermined angle is greater than or equal to 45 degrees.
7. 7 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the antenna is configured to emit radio waves in a frequency band of 2.4 GHz to 2.85 GHz.
8. 8 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the opening is provided at an edge of the housing and is constituted by one, two, three, or four metallic walls extending towards the board.
9. 9 . The antenna system of claim 8 wherein each metallic wall is planar having a four sided shape of an area from a point of view perpendicular to a respective metallic wall.
10. 10 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein: the board includes a plurality of antennas; each antenna of the plurality of antennas is configured to radiate power; the housing includes a plurality of openings; each opening of the plurality of openings is arranged for a corresponding antenna of the plurality of antennas; each opening of the plurality of openings has at least one metallic wall extending towards the board, and the at least one metallic wall is configured to redirect the power radiated by a corresponding antenna into a predetermined system radiation direction and in a predetermined radiation pattern.
11. 11 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the housing is constituted by a metallic insert providing the opening with the at least one metallic wall extending towards the board.
12. 12 . An automotive vehicle comprising: the antenna system of claim 1 .
13. 13 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the at least one metallic wall is electrically connected to the electrical ground of the board.
14. 14 . The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the at least one metallic wall and the board define a gap therebetween.
15. 15 . A method of manufacturing a housing for surrounding a board of an antenna system, the housing configured to protect the board from an environment, the method comprising: providing a location of the board and an antenna of the board; providing a manufacturing technology for providing the housing; and supplying a metallic material to the manufacturing technology, wherein: the manufacturing technology includes a structure for forming the housing with an opening provided at an edge of the housing and having at least one metallic wall extending towards the location of the board up to a predetermined spacing from the board, the at least one metallic wall is configured to redirect power to be radiated by the antenna into a predetermined system radiation direction in a predetermined radiation pattern, the opening is configured to expose the antenna when seen from a plan view, and at least one of the housing or the at least one metallic wall is electrically connected to an electrical ground of the board.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 wherein the at least one metallic wall is electrically connected to the electrical ground of the board.
17. 17 . The method of claim 15 wherein the at least one metallic wall and the board define a gap therebetween.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to EP 23 170 761 filed Apr. 28, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. FIELD The present invention generally relates to an antenna system, and specifically relates to an antenna system with a microstrip, strip line or stamped metal antenna radiating element arrangement and a design of its housing in such a way that increased performance of radiating signal is achieved. BACKGROUND In recent years the development of modern wireless systems, such as automotive connectivity, caused interest in advanced antenna technology, a radiating element such as a microstrip radiating element or antenna radiating element such as microstrip, strip line, stamped metal antenna (the terms may be used interchangeably) is used. Such microstrip radiating elements or antennas, strip line, stamped metal antenna are arranged on a board such as a printed circuit board to enable electronic components such as a microchip to radiate and receive radio signals for wireless communication. To protect the system constituted by antenna, board and electronic components, a plastic housing is typically provided to surround the system. The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. SUMMARY A generic antenna design does however radiate power in no particular direction making it not feasible for long range communication. A specific antenna design has thus been conceived to better direct the radiated power. This specific antenna design improves directionality, but there is however still an issue of antenna efficiency in case of some applications at long range. An alternative solution is to provide an antenna array with a plurality of radiating elements or antennas and to use beam-forming methods to direct the radiated power. This solution does however require complex radio signal control. Therefore, the present disclosure has an object to address the technical problems of the prior art. The subject-matter of the independent claims solves these problems. The dependent claims describe further embodiments, and this description exemplifies how to carry out the present invention. Generally, the proposed solution according to the present disclosure involves a housing model to re/direct radiated power and/or to modify the radiation pattern of the antenna in such a way to improve gain of the antenna in desired direction and to improve coverage by the signal at a long range compared to the case without the housing and its de-/reflecting features. Simultaneously, it leads to miniaturization since the housing model is used to increase the gain of the antenna instead of using an antenna with a larger aperture or complex design. Specifically, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an antenna system comprising a board with an antenna configured to radiate power, a housing surrounding the board and configured to protect the board from an environment. Herein the housing comprises an opening with at least one metallic wall extending towards the board, and the at least one metallic wall is configured to redirect the power radiated by the antenna into a predetermined system radiation direction in a predetermined radiation pattern. According to a second aspect of the present invention the antenna is an omnidirectional antenna configured to radiate power in all directions perpendicular to a predetermined antenna axis e.g., azimuthal directions. According to a third aspect of the present invention the antenna is a directional antenna configured to radiate power in a predetermined antenna radiation direction/s perpendicular to a predetermined antenna axis. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention a surface of the at least one metallic wall is parallel to the predetermined antenna axis. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention the opening comprises at least two metallic walls extending towards the board. Herein the at least two metallic walls form an edge with an angle between the at least two metallic walls that is smaller than 180°, ideally is greater than or equal to 45° smaller than or equal to 135°, more ideally smaller than or equal to 90°. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention the at least one metallic wall extends towards the board with a predetermined angle relative to a top surface of the board, the predetermined angle being an angle greater than or equal to 45° and smaller than or equal to 135°, and more ideally being an angle of 90°. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention the at least one metallic wall extends towards the b