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US-20260128495-A1 - SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR ANTENNA, PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF, AND USE THEREOF

US20260128495A1US 20260128495 A1US20260128495 A1US 20260128495A1US-20260128495-A1

Abstract

A support structure for an antenna, a is connected between a feed tube and a secondary reflective surface of the antenna, and is specifically a hollow support connector. The support connector is made of a foamed material. A size shrinkage rate of the support connector is less than or equal to 1% after the support connector is placed in an environment with a temperature of 70° C. to 100° C. and relative humidity of 50% to 95% for four days. The support connector containing the foamed material is used to support the secondary reflective surface, minimizing impact of obstruction and loss on transmission of electromagnetic waves, so that excellent antenna performance can be ensured, and leading to a low hygrothermal deformation rate.

Inventors

  • Ganlin Zheng
  • Changxu Zeng
  • Hongyu Chen

Assignees

  • HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251229
Priority Date
20230630

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A support connector for an antenna, comprising: a first end configured to be connected to a feed tube, a second end configured to be connected to a secondary reflective surface of the antenna, wherein the support connector is hollow, wherein the support connector is made of a foamed material, and wherein a size shrinkage rate of the support connector is less than or equal to 1% after the support connector is placed in an environment with a temperature of 70° C. to 100° C. and relative humidity of 50% to 95% for four days.
  2. 2 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein the foamed material comprises a dielectric constant less than or equal to 1.2 at a frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz.
  3. 3 . The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the foamed material comprises a dielectric loss less than or equal to 0.005 at the frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz.
  4. 4 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein Shore hardness C of the support connector is greater than or equal to 50.
  5. 5 . The support connector according to claim 1 , further comprising an inner surface or an outer surface, wherein a quantity of exposed cells is less than or equal to 20 in any region of at least 2 cm 2 on the inner surface or the outer surface of the support connector.
  6. 6 . The support connector according to claim 5 , wherein the quantity of exposed cells is less than or equal to 5 in any region of at least 2 cm 2 on the inner surface and the outer surface of the support connector.
  7. 7 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein a percentage of closed cells in the support connector is greater than or equal to 90%.
  8. 8 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein a density of the support connector is 0.5 g/cm 3 or less.
  9. 9 . The support connector according to claim 8 , wherein the density of the support connector ranges from 0.08 g/cm 3 to 0.15 g/cm 3 .
  10. 10 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein transmittance of the support connector is greater than or equal to 90% with a wall thickness of 10 mm or less for a vertically incident microwave in a frequency range of 6 GHz to 86 GHz.
  11. 11 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein a glass transition temperature of the support connector is greater than or equal to 150° C.
  12. 12 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein the glass transition temperature of the support connector is greater than or equal to 190° C.
  13. 13 . The support connector according to claim 1 , wherein the foamed material comprises a polymer with a main chain containing an aromatic structure.
  14. 14 . The support connector according to claim 13 , wherein the polymer comprises one or more of polyimide, polyether sulfone, polyarylether, and polyarylene sulfide with the main chain containing the aromatic structure.
  15. 15 . The support connector according to claim 1 , further comprising an opening having a size which increases in a gradient from first end to the second end, and further comprises a side smooth and curved surface.
  16. 16 . The support connector according to claim 1 , further comprising a wall thickness between 8 mm to 15 mm.
  17. 17 . A foamed material, for a support structure for a secondary reflective surface of an antenna, wherein a dielectric constant of the foamed material at a frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz is less than or equal to 1.2.
  18. 18 . The foamed material according to claim 17 , further comprising a dielectric loss of less than or equal to 0.005 at the frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz.
  19. 19 . The foamed material according to claim 17 , wherein Shore hardness C of the foamed material is greater than or equal to 50.
  20. 20 . The foamed material according to claim 17 , wherein a density of the foamed material is 0.5 g/cm 3 or less.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DISCLOSURES This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2024/095364, filed on May 25, 2024, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.202310801041.X, filed on Jun. 30, 2023. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to the field of microwave antenna technologies, and more specifically, to a support structure for an antenna, a preparation method thereof, and use thereof. BACKGROUND A microwave antenna is an important part of a microwave communication system. An existing microwave antenna is usually a dual-reflective-surface microwave antenna. It offers advantages such as a short feeder length, a long equivalent focal length, and a flexible design, and usually includes a primary reflective surface, a feed, a secondary reflective surface, and a support structure configured to support the secondary reflective surface. The support structure is usually disposed directly on the primary reflective surface or a feed tube, and the support structure is usually a metal bracket. However, the metal bracket has a complex structure and is likely to obstruct transmission of electromagnetic waves, reducing antenna efficiency and affecting an antenna radiation pattern. SUMMARY In view of this, embodiments of this disclosure provide a support structure for a secondary reflective surface that has small impact on performance of a microwave antenna, an antenna, and the like. Specifically, a first aspect of embodiments of this disclosure provides a support structure for an antenna, configured to be connected between a feed tube and a secondary reflective surface of the antenna, where the support structure is a hollow support connector, and the support connector is made of a foamed material, where a size shrinkage rate of the support connector is less than or equal to 1% after the support connector is placed in an environment with a temperature of 70° C. to 100° C. and relative humidity of 50% to 95% for four days. In an embodiment of this disclosure, the hollow support connector made of the foamed material is used to support the secondary reflective surface of the antenna, providing a simple structure, minimizing impact of obstruction and loss on transmission of electromagnetic waves, and further leading to good resistance to heat and humidity, and a small size shrinkage rate, thereby ensuring excellent near-in sidelobe performance of the antenna. In the implementation of this disclosure, a constant Dk of the foamed material at a frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz is less than or equal to 1.2. Using a cell structure of the foamed material, Dk may be reduced to 1.2 or lower, which is lower than that of an unfoamed homogeneous solid material. This can ensure that the support connector has small impact of loss on transmission of electromagnetic waves, ensuring excellent antenna performance. In the implementation of this disclosure, a dielectric loss of the foamed material at the frequency of 6 GHz to 86 GHz is less than or equal to 0.005. When Dk of the foamed material is less than or equal to 1.2, controlling the dielectric loss to be 0.005 or less can further ensure that the support connector has small impact of loss/attenuation on transmission of electromagnetic waves, ensuring more excellent antenna performance. In the implementation of this disclosure, transmittance of the support connector with a wall thickness of 10 mm or less for a vertically incident electromagnetic wave in a frequency range of 6 GHz to 86 GHz is greater than or equal to 90%. This reflects that the support connector has good microwave transmittance. In this way, the support connector has a small microwave loss, so that antenna performance is good. In the implementation of this disclosure, Shore hardness C of the support connector is greater than or equal to 50. This can reflect to some extent that the support connector has high mechanical strength, so that good support effect can be achieved. In the implementation of this disclosure, in any region of at least 2 cm2 on an inner surface or an outer surface of the support connector, a quantity of exposed cells is less than or equal to 20. This indicates a small quantity of cells exposed on the inner and outer surfaces of the support connector, providing excellent resistance to heat and humidity of the support connector. In some implementations of this disclosure, in any region of at least 2 cm2 on an inner surface or an outer surface of the support connector, a quantity of exposed cells is less than or equal to 5. In the implementation of this disclosure, a percentage of closed cells in the support connector is greater than or equal to 90%. A high percentage of closed cells ensures excellent resistance to heat and humidity, and high structural strength of the support connector. In the implementation of this disclosure, a density of the support