Abstract
The present invention relates to an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas and an electronic apparatus, the system comprising a millimeter-wave antenna module and a non-millimeter-wave environment, the millimeter-wave antenna module forming a communication connection with the non-millimeter-wave environment for realizing reusing of the millimeter-wave antenna module to achieve a function of non-millimeter-wave antenna(s). The present invention proposes directly reusing a millimeter-wave antenna module, which is designed so that this module also has an antenna function of a non-millimeter-wave module, while an individual module's own volume does not need to be increased, and the module itself does not need to have additionally-added antenna traces, that is, with the same volume, a function of non-millimeter-wave antenna(s) may be further added. Therefore, it obviously helps to avoid an increase of the device's volume and improve compactness of the system and system design.
Claims
1. An integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas comprising a millimeter-wave antenna module, and a non-millimeter-wave environment with no physical non-millimeter-wave antenna, wherein the millimeter-wave antenna module comprises a module carrier, one or more millimeter-wave antennas, and a conductive region arranged on the module carrier, and wherein the non-millimeter-wave environment with no physical non-millimeter-wave antenna comprises feeding line(s), and feeding source(s), and the feeding source(s) forms a communication connection with the conductive region via the feeding line(s) to cover non-millimeter-wave bands without including any physical non-millimeter-wave antenna.
2. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 1, wherein the millimeter-wave antenna module comprises a millimeter-wave radio frequency chip, and the millimeter-wave radio frequency chip is electrically connected to the millimeter-wave antenna(s).
3. (canceled)
4. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 1, wherein the communication connection is an electrical connection, or a coupling connection, or an inductive connection.
5. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 2, wherein the conductive region is electrically conductive to a conductive ground or a conductive mechanism in the millimeter-wave antenna module.
6. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 5, wherein the feeding line(s) for the non-millimeter-wave antenna(s) is further provided thereon with a matching network and/or a frequency tuning network for non-millimeter-wave antenna(s).
7. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 2, wherein the system is further provided with a thermally conductive or electrically conductive material for conducting heat from a high-heat region of the system out of the system.
8. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 7, wherein the system further comprises other chips which, together with the millimeter-wave radio frequency chip, is the high-heat region, and the other chips are selected from any one or more of a power management chip, an operation processing chip, and a data storage chip.
9. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 1, the millimeter-wave antenna(s) is in the form of any one of a single linearly-polarized antenna, a dual linearly-polarized antenna, a single circularly-polarized antenna, or a dual circularly-polarized antenna working in a single band or multiple bands; or the millimeter-wave antenna(s) constitutes more than one millimeter-wave antenna array; and each of the millimeter-wave antenna array(s) is any one of a linear array, a square array, a rectangular array, a triangular array, a circular array, and a non-equidistant array; or the number of the millimeter-wave antenna array(s) is one, and the millimeter-wave antenna array(s) is a one-dimensional linear array, and a size of each millimeter-wave antenna is less than or equal to 2 equivalent guided wavelengths at its lowest operating frequency, a spacing between two adjacent millimeter-wave antennas is less than or equal to 2 free-space wavelengths at its lowest operating frequency.
10. (canceled)
11. The integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas according to claim 1, wherein the conductive region is selected from a conductive wall, a shielding cover or a shielding layer of the millimeter-wave antenna module, a connector, a connecting base arranged on a side surface of the module carrier.
12. An electronic apparatus comprising: a mainboard; an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas having: a millimeter-wave antenna module; and a non-millimeter-wave environment with no physical non-millimeter-wave antenna, wherein the millimeter-wave antenna module comprises a module carrier, one or more millimeter-wave antennas, and a conductive region arranged on the module carrier, and wherein the non-millimeter-wave environment with no physical non-millimeter-wave antenna comprises feeding line(s), and feeding source(s), and the feeding source(s) forms a communication connection with the conductive region via the feeding line(s) to cover non-millimeter-wave bands without including any physical non-millimeter-wave antenna; and a connecting base provided on the millimeter-wave antenna module, wherein the connecting base is connected to the mainboard of the electronic apparatus, and wherein the non-millimeter-wave environment with no physical non-millimeter-wave antenna is provided on the mainboard of the electronic apparatus.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1A is a front view and FIG. 1B is a rear view of a millimeter-wave antenna module of Example One of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example One of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Two of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 4 is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Three of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 5 is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Four of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 6 is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Five of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 7A is a front view and FIG. 7B is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Six of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Seven of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 9 is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Eight of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 10A is a front view and FIG. 10B is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Nine of the present invention; and
[0030] FIG. 11A is a front view and FIG. 11B is a rear view of an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas of Example Ten of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] In order to enable those ordinarily skilled in the art to be able to understand and implement the present invention, examples of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0032] With reference made to FIGS. 1A to 11B, the present invention provides an integration module system of millimeter-wave and non-millimeter-wave antennas, which comprises a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 and a non-millimeter-wave environment 2, and the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 forms a communication connection with the non-millimeter-wave environment 2 for realizing reusing of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 to achieve a function of non-millimeter-wave antenna(s).
Example One
[0033] As shown in Example One and FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 in this example has (but is not limited to) a one-dimensional linear array formed by four millimeter-wave antennas 11, and the millimeter-wave antenna array 11a is mainly provided on a front long-side vertical face (i.e., on a front face) of a module carrier 12. On a rear long-side vertical face (i.e., on a back face) of the module carrier 12, a chip (comprising chip(s) like a radio frequency chip, i.e., a RFIC, or the former plus a power management IC, i.e., a PMIC, etc.), and/or associated electronic components, and/or a chip shielding facility (e.g., a shielding cover or a shielding layer), and/or a connecting base (connector or socket), etc. may be placed. A radio frequency path of the radio frequency chip is electrically connected to feeding ports of the millimeter-wave antennas 11.
[0034] The millimeter-wave antennas 11 may be in various antenna forms described above, and a size of each millimeter-wave antenna is preferably not greater than 2 equivalent guided wavelengths at its lowest operating frequency, and a spacing of the millimeter-wave antennas is preferably not greater than 2 free-space wavelengths at its lowest operating frequency. Two short-side vertical faces (or a part thereof) of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 in this example are conductive walls or conductive regions 12a, a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into two side walls of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 through an electrical connection via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23, and/or a frequency tuning network), and these conductive walls or conductive regions 12a are electrically conductive to a conductive ground or a conductive structure (preferably a metal ground or a metal structure) in the module carrier 12. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas 11, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to the shielding cover or shielding layer 12b of a chip region to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside. The system setting diagrams of this integration module are shown as FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.
[0035] In the example of the present invention, the non-millimeter-wave environment 2 comprising the non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21, the feeding line(s) 22 for the non-millimeter-wave antenna(s), and matching network(s) 23 (and/or frequency tuning network(s)) for non-millimeter-wave antenna(s) is preferably configured on a mainboard 24 of PCB, and through a combination of the mainboard 24 of PCB, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 and the non-millimeter-wave environment 2, an electronic apparatus that reuses the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 to achieve the function of non-millimeter-wave antenna(s) can be provided. At this time, a coverage region of the module carrier 12 of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 and its extension region on the mainboard 24 of PCB are set as a clearance region 24a of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 without copper plating, and the module carrier 12 is provided thereon with an electric connecting base 12c, which is electrically connected to the mainboard of the electronic apparatus.
Example Two
[0036] As shown in Example Two of FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the example differs from Example One in that: a back long-side vertical face (or a part thereof) of a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 in this example is a conductive wall or a conductive region 12a, a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into this side wall of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 through an electrical connection via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23, and/or a frequency tuning network), and this conductive wall or conductive region 12a is electrically conductive to a conductive ground or a conductive structure (preferably a metal ground or a metal structure) in the module. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to a chip region's shielding cover or shielding layer 12b to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside. The system setting diagram of this integration module is shown as FIG. 3.
Example Three
[0037] As shown in Example Three of FIG. 4, the differences between this example and Example Two are as follows: a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into a shielding cover or shielding layer 12b of a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 and a connector 12d (which is a conductive part covering a connecting base 12c) in a snap-fit relationship with the connecting base 12c through an electrical connection via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23, and/or a frequency tuning network), and this shielding cover or shielding layer 12b and the connector 12d (which is a conductive part) on the connecting base 12c are electrically conductive to a conductive ground or a conductive structure (preferably a metal ground or a metal structure) in the module carrier 12. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to the shielding cover or shielding layer 12b of a chip region to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the environment and system. The system setting diagram of this integration module is shown as FIG. 4.
Example Four
[0038] As shown in Example Four of FIG. 5, the differences between this example and Example One are as follows: a bottom surface (or a part thereof) of a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 in this example is a conductive wall or a conductive region (not shown in the figure), a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into the bottom surface of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 through an electrical connection via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23), and this conductive wall or conductive region is electrically conductive to a metal ground or a metal structure in the module carrier 12. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to a chip region's shielding cover or shielding layer 12b to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside.
Example Five
[0039] As shown in Example Five of FIG. 6, the difference between this example and Example One is that an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be placed significantly eccentrically to reach multiple antennas with different frequency coverage.
Example Six
[0040] As shown in Example Six of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the difference between this example and Example One is that a short-side vertical face (or a part thereof) of a millimeter-wave antenna module in this example is a conductive wall or a conductive region.
Example Seven
[0041] As shown in Example Seven of FIG. 8, the differences between this example and Example One are as follows: two short-side vertical faces (or a part thereof) of a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 in this example have conductive regions 12a, a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into the conductive regions 12a of the two side walls of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 through an electrical connection mechanism (e.g., a spring 25) via an antenna feeding line 22 (and a matching network 23), and the conductive regions 12a are electrically conductive to a metal ground or a metal structure in the module carrier 12. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (multiple) non-millimeter antennas, and a clearance region on the antenna module's board can be eliminated, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced.
Example Eight
[0042] As shown in Example Eight of FIG. 9, the differences between this example and Example Two are as follows: a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can feed energy into a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 by means of coupling (not an electrical connection) with a conductive wall or conductive region 12a of a side wall of the module via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23), a spacing between the antenna feeding line and the antenna module is preferably not greater than one free-space wavelength, and this conductive wall or conductive region 12a is electrically conductive to a metal ground or a metal structure in the module carrier 12. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to a chip region's shielding cover or shielding layer 12b to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside.
Example Nine
[0043] As shown in Example Nine of FIG. 10, the differences between this example and Example One are as follows: a non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can feed energy into a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 by means of coupling (not an electrical connection) with a conductive wall or conductive region 12a of a side wall of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23), a spacing between the antenna feeding line and the antenna module is preferably not greater than one free-space wavelength, and this conductive wall or conductive region 12a is electrically conductive to a metal ground or a metal structure in the millimeter-wave antenna module 1. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, realizing an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to a chip region's shielding cover or shielding layer 12b to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside.
Example Ten
[0044] As shown in Example Ten of FIG. 11, the differences between this example and Example Nine are as follows: one non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can feed energy into a millimeter-wave antenna module 1 by means of coupling (not an electrical connection) with a conductive wall or conductive region 12a of a side wall of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23), a spacing between the antenna feeding line and the antenna module is preferably not greater than one free-space wavelength, another non-millimeter-wave feeding source 21 can be fed into a conductive side wall or conductive region 12a of the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 through an electrical connection mechanism via an antenna feeding line 22 (with a matching network 23), and these conductive walls or conductive regions are electrically conductive to a metal ground or a metal structure in the module. In this way, the millimeter-wave antenna module 1 can have the function of (two) non-millimeter antennas, and because these two antennas are designed in different forms, these two antennas have higher isolation, which is beneficial to improvement in performance of a radio frequency link and radiation characteristics of wireless transmission, and besides, an integration module scheme that achieves a more spatially compact and functionally comprehensive design and hence can cover millimeter wave bands and (multiple) non-millimeter wave bands of 5G is realized without additionally adding space and cost and with the development difficulty reduced. In addition, in order to strengthen heat dissipation, an electrically conductive or thermally conductive material 3 may be added to be connected to a chip region's shielding cover or shielding layer 12b to conduct and remove heat from the chip region to the outside.
[0045] The examples described above only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot thus be understood as a limitation to the scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those ordinarily skilled in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several variants and improvements can be further made, which all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the appended claims.
