Dual vertical beam cellular array
View Patent ↗A dual vertical beam cellular array is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a cellular array includes discrete radiators coupled in pairs and arranged in-line. The radiators are connected to hybrid couplers configured to sum the output from the pairs of discrete radiators. A first power distribution network is configured to receive a first output from the hybrid couplers and produce a first beam, and a second power distribution network configured to receive a second output from the hybrid couplers and produce a second beam. According to some embodiments, the first beam is a main beam with high gain and the second beam is a coverage beam with a large coverage area.
1. A cellular antenna array, comprising:
a plurality of pairs of discrete radiators, all of the discrete radiators in the cellular antenna array aligned in a single column;
a plurality of hybrid couplers, each of the hybrid couplers coupled to outputs from a respective one of the pairs of discrete radiators;
a first power distribution network coupled to a first output from each of the hybrid couplers for producing a first beam; and
a second power distribution network coupled to a second output from each of the hybrid couplers for producing a second beam.
2. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is orthogonal to the second beam.
3. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein each of the hybrid couplers produces a 90° phase shift between its first output and its second output.
4. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein a gain of the first beam is greater than a gain of the second beam.
5. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the second beam is a wide and/or fan-shaped beam.
6. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is narrower than the second beam.
7. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam and the second beam have a cross-over point between −7 dB and −12 dB.
8. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam and the second beam overlap such that vertical sidelobes where the beams overlap are below −18 dB.
9. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is produced to point near the Earth's horizon.
10. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the second beam is produced at a larger down-tilt angle than the first beam.
11. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the second beam is optimized for broad signal coverage in a near-range.
12. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first and second beam operate simultaneously.
13. The cellular antenna array of claim 12 , wherein the first beam and second beam operate in two independent channels.
14. The cellular antenna array of claim 13 , wherein the first beam and second beam use a same frequency spectrum.
15. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the discrete radiators are broadband patch antennas.
16. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the discrete radiators are broadband dipole antennas.
17. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is pencil shaped.
18. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam is a main beam and the second beam is a coverage beam.
19. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein the first beam and second beam are produced to point in a same vertical plane.
20. The cellular antenna array of claim 1 , wherein each of the hybrid couplers is coupled to non-adjacent ones of the discrete radiators.