JPH0548004B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a balanced mixer that can be used in transmitters and receivers for televisions, radios, stereo tuners, personal radios, and other communication devices in general.

Conventional configurations and their problems In recent years, the number of broadcast waves from televisions and radios and communication waves from communication devices has increased, and the performance of balanced mixers that selectively output desired intermediate frequency signals requires high intermediate frequency tuning accuracy, Stability and reliability requirements are increasing. On the other hand, reducing the manufacturing costs of these receivers, transmitters, and communication devices is also a major issue.
In particular, drastic technological development is required for frequency selective tuners in the intermediate frequency section, which are difficult to rationalize.

A conventional balanced mixer device will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the basic configuration circuit of a balanced mixer device, in which the first unbalanced signal input to the input terminal 1 is converted into a balanced signal by the unbalanced-balanced mode converter 2, and each The balanced signal is fed to mixers 3 and 4. On the other hand, the second unbalanced signal input to input terminal 5 is commonly supplied to mixers 3 and 4. The first balanced signal and the second unbalanced signal are mixed in opposite phase modes in mixers 3 and 4, respectively, to balance a parallel resonant circuit 9 consisting of an inductor 7 and a capacitor 8 having a neutral ground terminal 6. Outputs are provided to terminals 10 and 11. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional balanced tuner, in which a balanced terminal 14 of an inductor 13 having a neutral tap 12 is shown.
and 15, a capacitor 16 was connected by circuit conductors 17 and 18, 19 and 20 were respectively configured as balanced terminals of a balanced tuner, and 21 was configured as a ground terminal.

However, in the above configuration, the inductor parts and capacitor parts are larger in size than other high-frequency parts, and the height dimension in particular hinders miniaturization and thinning of the device.

The inductance of inductor parts tends to shift due to mechanical vibration, and since the ferrite core has a large temperature dependence, the inductance is unstable and the tuning frequency and balance fluctuate greatly.

Inductor parts and capacitor parts each exist as separate parts, and because they are connected by a conductor routing circuit, many lead inductances and stray capacitors occur, making circuit operation unstable and making it difficult to ensure balance.

Since it is a collective circuit of individual parts with independent minimum unit functions, there are limits to reducing the number of parts and rationalizing manufacturing.

Furthermore, due to the above reasons, it becomes impossible to cancel out the odd-order harmonic components of the output intermediate frequency signal, which is the purpose of constructing a balanced mixer device, and the spurious interference elimination characteristics and intermodulation interference elimination become impossible. The characteristics deteriorate and the quality of the output intermediate frequency signal to be converted is significantly deteriorated.

It had problems such as.

Purpose of the Invention The purpose of the present invention is to realize a balanced tuner that enables an integrated configuration of inductor parts and capacitor parts, and to realize a balanced mixer device in which the balanced tuner is installed. Therefore, we have made the form of the balanced tuner ultra-thin and compact.
Furthermore, the tuning frequency and balance are stable against mechanical vibrations, the tuning accuracy of the tuning frequency is improved, the temperature dependence of the tuning frequency and balance is small, and the negative effects of connection leads are eliminated, making it stable at high frequencies. In addition, the present invention aims to provide a mixer device that can rationalize manufacturing by reducing the number of parts, and can also ensure stable and good characteristics such as distortion rate and S/N ratio in an output intermediate frequency signal. There is a particular thing.

Structure of the Invention The mixer device of the present invention includes a mixer that outputs an intermediate frequency signal in a balanced mode using a first input signal in a balanced mode or an unbalanced mode and a second input signal in an unbalanced mode or a balanced mode, With respect to the main electrode, which is driven by the balanced mode intermediate frequency signal with respect to the ground terminal set at the end or the center, respectively,
The earth terminal is set so as to be opposite to the main electrode, and the tuner is provided with a sub-electrode that is either placed opposite to each other via a dielectric or placed in parallel on the surface of the dielectric. ,
As a result, each main electrode that excites signals with different phases acts as a distributed inductor, and each main electrode and sub-electrode face each other to form a distributed constant circuit with an open tip. Distributed capacitance is realized by negative reactance, and it acts in parallel with each of the above distributed inductors to obtain balanced resonance characteristics, and this is connected to the balanced intermediate frequency output terminal of the balanced mixer to perform balanced mode mixing function. This is what you get.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram of a balance mixer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The unbalanced signal input to input terminal 22 is converted into a balanced signal by unbalanced-balanced mode converter 23 and supplied to mixers 24 and 25;
The unbalanced signal input to 6 is directly sent to mixer 24.
and 25. The respective signals are mixed in opposite phase modes by the mixers 24 and 25, and the balanced mode intermediate frequency signal output obtained by the mixing action is sent to the balanced terminals 28 and 29 of the balanced tuner 27. Supplied. In the balanced tuner 27, 30 is a main electrode forming a distributed inductor having a neutral ground terminal 31 and having balanced terminals 28 and 29. On the other hand, the sub-electrode 32, which faces each other via a dielectric (not shown), has both ends connected to ground terminals 33 and 34.
is set to . In this case, the main electrode 30
It is possible to generate a virtual neutral point without providing a special ground terminal 31, and it is possible to equivalently realize a ground terminal and achieve the desired purpose. The balanced terminals 28 and 29 can be set not only at the ends of the main electrode 30 but also at any arbitrary position that provides the required impedance. Furthermore, the ground terminals 33 and 34 of the sub-electrode 32 can also be set at any desired position. In the case of this embodiment, a balanced tuner can be constructed with a simple configuration of a single main electrode and a sub-electrode.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of a balance mixer device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The unbalanced signal inputted to the input terminal 35 is converted into a balanced signal by the unbalanced-balanced mode converter 36 and supplied to the mixers 37 and 38, while the unbalanced signal inputted to the input terminal 39 is left unchanged. Mixers 37 and 38 are fed. The respective signals are mixed in opposite phase modes by the mixers 37 and 38, and the balanced mode intermediate frequency signal output obtained by the mixing action is sent to the balanced terminals 41 and 42 of the balanced tuner 40. Supplied. In the balanced tuner 40, 43 and 44 are main electrodes having neutral ground terminals 45 and 46 and having balanced terminals 40 and 42. Sub-electrode 4 facing one side via a dielectric (not shown)
The ground terminal 48 of No. 7 is set at a position substantially opposite to the balanced terminals 41 and 42 of the main electrodes 43 and 44. Balanced terminals 41 and 42 are the main electrodes 4
It is also possible to set it not only at the ends of 3 and 44 but also at any position that provides the required impedance. In this embodiment, balanced terminals 41 and 42
can be installed in close proximity, and the signal input/output leads can be configured to be short.

FIG. 5 shows a circuit diagram of a balance mixer device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The unbalanced signal inputted to the input terminal 49 is converted into a balanced signal by the unbalanced-balanced mode converter 50 and supplied to the mixers 51 and 52, while the unbalanced signal inputted to the input terminal 53 is left unchanged. It is supplied to mixers 51 and 52. The respective signals are mixed in opposite phase modes by the mixers 51 and 52, and the balanced mode intermediate frequency signal output obtained by the mixing action is output from the balanced terminals 54 and 55 of the balanced tuner 53. supplied to A main electrode 5 with a neutral ground terminal 56 and balanced terminals 54 and 55 in a balanced tuner 53
The configuration of 7 is similar to that described in FIG. 3, but the configuration of the other sub-electrode is divided into sub-electrodes 60 and 61 having ground terminals 58 and 59. Earth terminals 58 and 59 and 56, and balanced terminal 5
Settings 4 and 55 can be configured as described in FIG. The sub-electrodes 60 and 61 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and the embodiment shown in FIG.
By cutting the required positions on the open terminal side of each of the auxiliary electrodes 47 and 47, the distributed capacitance can be changed, the tuning frequency can be variably set, and the equilibrium state can also be adjusted. be.

FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram of a double balance mixer device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The unbalanced signal input to input terminal 62 is converted into a balanced signal by unbalanced-balanced mode converter 63 and supplied to mixers 64 and 65, while the unbalanced signal input to input terminal 66 is unbalanced. Equilibrium -
It is converted into a balanced signal by balanced mode converter 67 and supplied to mixers 64 and 65. The respective signals are mixed in opposite phase modes by mixers 64 and 65, and a balanced mode intermediate frequency signal output obtained by the mixing action is sent to balanced terminals 69 and 70 of balanced tuner 68. Supplied. In the balanced tuner 68, the main electrode 7
1. Sub-electrode 72, ground terminals 73, 74 and 7
5. The settings of the balanced terminals 69 and 70 are similar to those shown in FIG. 3 above.

FIG. 7 shows a circuit diagram of a double balance mixer device according to another embodiment of the present invention. An unbalanced signal input to input terminal 76 is converted into a balanced signal by balanced tuner 77 and output to balanced terminals 78 and 79 and supplied to mixers 80 and 81, while input to input terminal 82. The unbalanced signal is converted into a balanced signal by a balanced tuner 83, output to balanced terminals 84 and 85, and supplied to mixers 80 and 81. The respective balanced signals are mixed in antiphase with each other in mixers 80 and 81, and balanced mode intermediate frequency signal outputs obtained by the mixing action are supplied to balanced terminals 87 and 88 of a balanced tuner 86.
The structure of the balanced tuners 77, 83 and 86, consisting of the main electrodes 89, 90 and 91 and the sub electrodes 92, 93 and 94, is the same as that explained in FIG.
Voltage variable capacitance diodes 95, 96, 97 are provided at 4 and 85, and 87 and 88, respectively.
and 98, and 99 and 140 are connected, respectively. 141, 142 and 143 are control voltage terminals, and 144 is an unbalanced secondary output tap terminal. In the case of this embodiment, it is possible to configure a balanced variable tuner that can variably control the tuning frequency and can be connected to an unbalanced signal circuit system. Here voltage variable capacitance diodes 95 to 99 and 140
It goes without saying that a variable air condenser may be used in place of this to achieve the desired purpose.

Here, the balanced tuners 68, 77, 83 in the mixer device of the embodiment shown in FIGS.
and 86, in addition to those shown in Figure 3,
The one shown in the figure or FIG. 5 can also be used. When the balanced tuners 68, 77, 83, and 86 shown in FIG. It can be set arbitrarily, and the balance can also be adjusted. Further, the required functions of the mixer device can be performed without installing the voltage variable capacitance diodes 99 and 140 installed in the intermediate frequency output section in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIGS. 8 to 15 represent examples of the structure of the main and sub-electrodes and dielectric material of the balanced tuner 27 described in FIG. 3. In FIG. 8, a shows a front view, b shows a side view, and c shows a back view. (The same applies to Figures 9 to 15 below)
In FIG. 8, 100 is a dielectric substrate, and 10
1 and 102 are main electrodes forming a distributed constant circuit to realize a distributed inductor and a distributed capacitor. The ground terminals of the electrodes 101 and 102 are set so that the opposing main and sub-electrodes are on arbitrary opposite sides, as shown in FIG. (The same applies in Figures 9 to 15 below)A shown in Figure 8a
The A side and B side shown in FIG. 8c correspond to the A side and B side, respectively. (The same applies to FIGS. 9 to 15 below) In FIG.
Electrodes 104 and 105 having bent portions are placed opposite each other.

In FIG. 10, electrodes 107 and 108 each having a plurality of bent portions are placed facing each other with a dielectric substrate 106 in between.

In FIG. 11, meander-shaped electrodes 110 and 111 are placed facing each other with a dielectric substrate 109 in between.

In FIG. 12, spiral-shaped electrodes 113 and 114 are placed facing each other with a dielectric substrate 112 in between.

In FIG. 13, electrodes 116 and 117 are installed on the surface of a dielectric substrate 115, facing each other laterally.

In FIG. 14, electrodes 119 and 120 are provided inside a dielectric substrate 118, facing each other.

In FIG. 15, an electrode 122 is installed inside a dielectric substrate 121, an electrode 124 is installed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 121, and the electrodes 122 and 123 are opposed to each other.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 to 15, the electrodes that are installed facing each other or installed in parallel have the same shape and completely face each other, but any one electrode may have a different equivalent length compared to the other electrode. It can also be realized by having the mating electrodes partially face each other. Further, the shapes of the electrodes used in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 can also be realized using the shapes shown in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 to 12.

In each of the above embodiments, the one shown in FIG. 8 can be constructed with a simple electrode pattern,
The ones shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 can form a relatively large distributed inductance and distributed capacitance with a small area occupied by the tuner, and therefore can construct a tuner with a relatively low tuning frequency. The one shown in Figure 13 can be easily constructed because the electrode is formed on only one side of the dielectric.
The ones shown in Figures 14 and 15 can be used with multilayer boards, and because the electrodes are built in, the performance of the tuner is less affected by external factors and can be constructed as a stable one. It has the following characteristics.

200 to 2 in Figures 8 to 15
15 are balanced terminals.

Next, the basic operating principle of the tuner used in the mixer device of the present invention will be explained.

16a to 16g are equivalent circuits for explaining the basic operation of the tuner used in the mixer device of the present invention. In Figure 16a, the electrical length l
A signal source 272 that generates a voltage e is connected to the transmission line electrode 270 with respect to the transmission line formed by the respective transmission line electrodes 270 and 271 whose ground terminals are set in opposite directions. shall be used to supply the signal. As a result, a traveling wave voltage e _A is excited at the open terminal at the tip of the transmission line electrode 270. On the other hand, since the transmission line electrode 271 is disposed close to and facing the transmission line electrode 270, a voltage is induced by mutual induction. Let e _B be the traveling wave voltage induced in the open terminal at the tip of the transmission line electrode 271.

Since the respective ground terminals of the transmission line electrodes 270 and 271 are set in opposite directions, the induced traveling wave voltage e _B has an opposite phase to the excited traveling wave voltage e _A. Since the tips of the transmission paths of the traveling wave voltages e _A and e _B are open, voltage standing waves are formed in the transmission path formed by the transmission path electrodes 270 and 271. Here, the voltage distribution coefficient indicating the distribution mode of the voltage standing wave in the transmission line electrode 270 is K.
The voltage distribution coefficient at the transmission line electrode 271 can be expressed as (1-K).

Next, the potential difference V generated at any opposing portion of the transmission line electrodes 270 and 271 can be expressed as V=Ke _A -(1-K)e _B (1). Here, if each transmission line electrode 270 and 271 has the same electrical length l, then e _B = -e _A ...(2), so the potential difference V in the first equation is V = Ke _A + (1 -K) e _A = e _A ...(3). That is, a potential difference V can be generated in all parts where the transmission line electrodes 270 and 271 face each other.

Here, it is assumed that the transmission line electrodes 270 and 271 have an electrode width W (the thickness of the electrodes is thin), and are opposed to each other at a distance d with a dielectric material having a dielectric constant ε _s interposed therebetween. In this case, the capacitance C _O formed per unit length of the transmission path is C _O =Q/V=Q/e _A ...(4) Q=ε _{p ε s} W・V/d=ε _p ε _s W・e _A /d……(5
), and therefore C _O = ε _p ε _s W/d ……(6).

Therefore, the transmission path shown in FIG. 16a becomes a transmission path including a distributed capacitor 273 of C _O determined by the formula 6 per unit length as shown in FIG. 16b. Furthermore, since the voltage standing wave distribution (or current standing wave distribution) in each transmission line electrode 270 and transmission line electrode 271 are in an antiphase relationship with each other as described above, this transmission line is equivalently It will operate as a balanced mode transmission line. This results in transmission line electrodes 275 and 276 being excited in a balanced mode by a balanced signal source 274 having a balanced voltage e', as shown in FIG. 16c.
This is equivalent to a balanced mode transmission line formed by Needless to say, its electrical length is the same as the electrical length l shown in FIG. 16a. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16(d), this balanced mode transmission line is composed of integrated distributed inductors 277 and 278 and distributed capacitor 273, which are composed of a distributed inductor component of the transmission line and a lumped inductor component generated by the bent shape of the transmission line, respectively. It can be equivalently expressed as a distributed constant circuit.

Next, the relationship between the formation of the distributed capacitor 273 and the electrical length l of the transmission path will be explained.
The characteristic impedance Z _O per unit length in a balanced mode transmission line as shown in Figure 17a is
It can be expressed by the equivalent circuit shown in Figure b. Its characteristic impedance Z _O is generally becomes. If the transmission path is lossless, then becomes. This assumption can be applied to many of the embodiments of the tuner of the present invention, and to simplify the explanation, the characteristic impedance Z _O
Use. The capacitance C _O in the eighth equation is the same as the capacitance C _O per unit in the transmission line found in the sixth equation. In other words, the characteristic impedance per unit length in the transmission line
Z _O is a function of the capacitance C _O , which is also a function of the permittivity ε _s of the dielectric material involved in the capacitor C _O , the width W of the transmission line electrodes and the installation spacing d of the respective transmission line electrodes.

As described above, the characteristic impedance per unit length in the transmission line is Z _O , the electrical length is l, and the equivalent reactance X generated at the terminal of the transmission line with the end open is X = -Z _O cotθ can be expressed as (9). Here, θ=2πl/λ...(10), and especially in the case of θ=O~π/2...(11), the equivalent reactance X becomes X≦O...(12). That is, the equivalent reactance at the terminal of the transmission line can be the capacitance reactus. Therefore, depending on the electrical length l of the transmission path, θ becomes the
When formula 11 is satisfied, for example, a capacitor can be formed by setting the electrical length l to λ/4 or less. And the capacitance C of the capacitor that can be formed is As expressed by , any capacitance C can be realized by changing θ, that is, by setting the electrical length l of the transmission path.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the operation mode of the electrical transmission line explained in Equations 9 to 13 above. FIG. 18 shows how the equivalent reactance X generated at the terminal changes in accordance with the change in the electrical length l of the transmission line with its tip open. As is clear from Fig. 17, the electrical length l of the transmission line is λ/4 or less or λ/2 ~
In cases such as at 4λ/3, it is possible to form a negative terminal reactance, ie equivalently to form a capacitor.
Furthermore, by arbitrarily setting the electrical length l of the transmission path under conditions that generate negative terminal reactance, it is possible to realize the capacitance C to an arbitrary value.

The capacitor C thus formed is a lumped constant capacitor 279 shown in FIG. 16e.
can be equivalently replaced as . and,
The inductor formed by the sum of the distributed inductor component existing in the transmission line and the lumped inductor component generated by bending the transmission line can be equivalently replaced as the lumped constant inductor 280. Then, if the virtual balanced signal source 274 and the ground in each transmission line are replaced so that they are equivalent to the state shown in FIG. 16a, the state shown in FIG. 16f is obtained. Become. If the ground terminal is expressed as a common ground terminal in FIG. 16f, it will eventually become equivalent to a parallel resonant circuit consisting of a lumped constant capacitor 279 and a lumped constant inductor 280, as shown in FIG. 16g. , a tuner can be realized.

Although the configuration and operation described above realize the tuner of the present invention, the configuration of the tuner of the present invention and its operating principle are completely different from those of conventional tuners.

Therefore, in order to prove that the tuner according to the present invention is completely different from conventional tuners or those having other configurations even if they use the same transmission line as the tuner of the present invention. The structure and operation of a conventional tuner or a tuner with other transmission line configurations will now be described and compared. This clarifies the difference from the tuner according to the present invention and also clarifies the novelty of the tuner according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows the operation when the transmission line electrode is made of the same material as that used in the tuner of the present invention, but the difference is that the ground terminals are set in the same direction. be. In FIG. 19a, transmission line electrodes 281 and 282
It is assumed that a transmission line with an open end is driven by a signal source 283 that generates voltage e. As a result, a standing wave voltage e _A is excited at the open terminal at the tip of the transmission line electrode 281, and a standing wave voltage e _B is excited at the open terminal at the tip of the transmission line electrode 282, which is installed opposite or in parallel. shall be induced. Here, since the ground terminals of the transmission line electrodes 281 and 282 are set in the same direction, the standing wave voltages e _A and e _B are in phase with each other. Therefore, the respective voltage distribution coefficients at transmission line electrodes 281 and 282 have the same K. As a result, the potential difference V at any part where the transmission line electrodes face each other becomes V=Ke _A -Ke _B (14). Here, if the electrical lengths of the respective transmission line electrodes 281 and 282 are the same length, e _A = e _B ... (15), so the potential difference V in Equation 14 is V = Ke _A - Ke _A = O...(16). In other words, no potential difference occurs in any part of the transmission path. FIG. 19b shows a configuration in which the signal source 283 in FIG. 19a is replaced at the end of the transmission line, and is equivalent to installing an unbalanced signal source 284 that generates voltage e'. In this equivalent circuit, there are only parallel transmission lines with no potential difference between them. In other words, it is clear that this is equivalent to the case where only one transmission path 286 exists, as shown in FIG. 19c. Then, by equivalently replacing the signal source 283 and the ground terminal with the original circuit as shown in FIG. 19a, the circuit shown in FIG. 19d is obtained. In other words, only an equivalent lumped constant inductor 286 is formed, which is composed of a distributed inductor component of the transmission line and a lumped inductor component generated by the curved shape of the transmission line. As is clear from the above, since a capacitor cannot be formed in parallel with an inductor, the intended parallel resonant circuit tuner cannot be realized.

Figure 20 shows a general microstrip line formed with the same transmission line electrode as that used in the tuner of the present invention as one side of the transmission line electrode, but the electrode facing the transmission line electrode has a sufficiently wide ground. This shows the operation when the curved points are different. In FIG. 20a, a transmission line electrode 287 faces a sufficiently wide ground electrode 288, is driven by a signal source 89 that generates a voltage e, and a standing wave voltage e _A is excited at the open terminal at the tip of the transmission line. Let K be the voltage distribution coefficient. On the other hand, assuming that a standing wave voltage e _B having a voltage distribution coefficient K is virtually generated at the ground electrode 288, the transmission line electrode 287 and the ground electrode 28
The potential difference V at any part where 8 faces each other is expressed as: V=Ke _A −Ke _B (17). However, the standing wave voltage e _B at the ground electrode 288 is uniformly at the ground potential (zero potential), and e _B =O (18). Therefore, there is no voltage distribution coefficient on the ground electrode 288 either. As a result, the potential difference V becomes V=Ke _A (19). This makes it possible to form a distributed capacitor between the transmission line electrode 287 and the ground electrode 288. However, the transmission line electrode 28
7 closely faces the ground electrode 288, the two ends of the transmission line electrode 287 are almost in a shot state due to mutual induction. Therefore, the Q performance of the inductor component in the transmission line electrode 287 is significantly degraded. That is, this microstrip line has an equivalent loss resistance 29 as shown in FIG. 20b.
A parallel resonant circuit is formed of a lumped constant inductor 291 and a lumped constant capacitor 292, each including zero. Here, the equivalent loss resistance 290 actually has a considerably large resistance value, so
Losses in the resonant circuit become very large. Therefore, it is obvious that only a tuner with very low Q performance can be realized, and is not suitable for practical use.

Figure 21 shows the circuit configuration of a λ/4 resonator, which is most commonly used in the past. This shows that the tuner is completely different from the tuner of Second
In FIG. 1, the balanced mode transmission line electrodes 293 and 294 have an electrical length l set equal to λ/4 at the resonance frequency, and have shortened tips. and a balanced signal source 2 that generates a voltage e
95, each transmission line electrode is driven in a balanced mode. The ground terminal is set at the neutral point of the balanced signal source 295, and does not specifically ground any terminal in the transmission line electrode. In this case, the equivalent terminal reactance X generated at the terminal of the transmission line is as follows, where Z _O is the characteristic impedance of the transmission line: X=Z _O tanθ (20). Here, the characteristic impedance Z _O is the same as that shown in the 8th equation, and θ is also the same as that shown in the 10th equation. In this resonator, the electrical length l of the transmission path is l = λ/4 (21), so θ = π/2 (22). Therefore, _the terminal reactance X in Equation 20 is as follows: However, when comparing the configuration of this λ/4 resonator with the configuration of the tuner of the present invention, first of all, regarding the terminal conditions of the transmission line, the tuner of the present invention is in an open state, whereas the conventional λ/4 resonator has an open state. It is clear that the /4 resonator is in a short state and therefore has a completely different configuration in terms of terminal conditions. Furthermore, regarding the setting of the electrical length l of the transmission line, in the tuner of the present invention, it is set to λ/4 or less of the tuning frequency, and in practice it is set to a very short value of about λ/16. However, the conventional λ/4
In the resonator, the resonant frequency is strictly set to λ/4, and it is therefore clear that the configuration is fundamentally different in setting the electrical length l of the transmission path. Also, the electrical length l of the transmission path in the configuration
Due to the difference in λ/
In the case of four resonators, it is necessary to provide a very long transmission path, which has the disadvantage of increasing the size. Conventional λ/
4.In order to downsize the resonator, there are some cases in which the length of the transmission path is shortened by interposing a dielectric material with a very high permittivity, but the dielectric material with a high permittivity used for this purpose generally has a dielectric loss tanδ. It is very large, and therefore has the disadvantage that the Q performance as a resonator is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant of a dielectric material having a high dielectric constant is generally large, and therefore, there is also the disadvantage that it is difficult to ensure the stability of the resonant frequency.

Next, in order to clarify the superiority of the performance of the tuner of the present invention, experimental results will be shown and explained in comparison with the performance of a conventional tuner. FIG. 22 is a graph showing the experimental results of measuring the temperature dependence of the tuning frequency. FIG. 23 is a graph showing the experimental results of measuring the temperature dependence characteristics of resonance Q. In FIGS. 22 and 23, characteristic A is the temperature dependence of the tuner according to the present invention, and is an experimental result when an alumina ceramic material or a resin-based printed circuit board is used as the dielectric material. On the other hand, characteristic B is as shown in FIG.
This is the temperature-dependent characteristic of the tuner most commonly used in the past. From these experimental results, it is clear that the tuner of the present invention, which is constructed using a general dielectric, has an extremely stable tuning frequency, a high resonance Q, and is stable. On the other hand, in conventional tuners, the tuning frequency and It was difficult to ensure the stability of resonance Q. Thereby, other temperature compensation components or other self-stabilizing compensation circuits were added to compensate for the instability.

Next, the operation of the balanced tuner used in the mixer device of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 24 shows an operational equivalent circuit representative of the balanced tuner 27 shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 24a, the grounding directions of the main electrode 124 and the sub-electrode 125, which are placed opposite each other via a dielectric (not shown) or are placed side by side on the surface of the dielectric (not shown), are set in opposite directions. At the same time, signal sources 128 and 129 of different phases, which are mainly in an opposite phase relationship, are connected to both terminals 126 and 127 of the main electrode 124 to excite a signal current in the main electrode 124. Here, the main electrode 124 and the sub-electrode 125 form a parallel transmission path with the ground terminals set in opposite directions, so that the signal currents of the main electrode 124 and the sub-electrode 125 are transmitted at a certain instant as shown in FIG. 24a. exhibits a signal current phase relationship of opposite phase as shown by the arrow. As a result, the main electrode 124 and the sub-electrode 1 face each other.
A potential difference is generated across each opposing portion of 25 to form a distributed capacitor. and sub-electrode 125
The inductive component of is turned off and becomes equivalent to the ground plane 131 as shown in FIG. 24b, and the main electrode 1
24, a distributed capacitor 131 is realized.
The main electrode 124 is equivalent to a distributed inductor 132 and a distributed capacitor 131 as shown in FIG. 24c.
Together, they form a distributed constant circuit. This is shown as a lumped constant circuit in FIG. Here, since the ground terminal 136 is the neutral point, the capacitors 134 and 135 are connected to the second
As shown in FIG. 4e, they can be integrated into a capacitor 137 to realize a balanced tuner. Further, by installing a variable capacitor (not shown) in parallel with the inductor 133, a balanced variable tuner can be realized.

The above description of the operation can also be applied to the embodiments of the balanced tuners 53, 68 and 86 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and the balanced tuner 4 shown in FIG.
0 also, the ground terminal settings and balance terminal settings are as shown in Figures 3, 5, and 6, respectively.
Although the configuration is reversed to that shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 7, there is no difference in operating principle.

Note that as the electrodes of the balanced tuner in each of the above embodiments, metal conductors, printed metal conductor foils, printed thick film conductors, thin film conductors, etc. can be used, and as the dielectric substrate, alumina ceramic, chitavari, plastic, etc. can be used. , Teflon, glass, mica, resin-based printed circuit boards, etc. can be used.

Furthermore, as the balance mixer or double balance mixer in each of the above embodiments, one constructed of diodes, transistors, FETs, etc. can be used. The unbalanced-balanced mode converter may be a broadband balun, a general tuner with a secondary balanced output coil, or a balanced tuner similar to the balanced tuner 77 or 83 shown in the embodiment of FIG. can be used.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention configures a balanced tuner with balanced electrodes that are placed opposite to each other via a thin dielectric layer or arranged in parallel on the surface of a dielectric, and that is equivalent to the balanced type tuner. Since the device is configured to be connected between the balanced intermediate frequency output terminals of a balanced or double balanced mixer, it is a balanced tuning system that allows the inductor and capacitor components to be integrated with a simple configuration. With this, a very simple balanced mixer device can be constructed.

Since the balanced tuner can be configured to be ultra-thin and compact, the balanced mixer device can be made ultra-thin and compact, and the amount of unnecessary radiation from the balanced tuner can be extremely reduced. This makes it possible to realize a stable mixer system.

Since the inductor and capacitor of a balanced tuner are connected in a leadless manner, there is no influence from lead inductors or stray capacitors, and therefore the operation of the tuner is extremely stable, improving tuning accuracy and achieving perfect balance. can be secured.

Since a modular balanced tuner can be realized, there is no constant variation of the inductor and capacitor due to mechanical vibration, and the tuning frequency and balance are extremely stable.

By using a material with low temperature dependence for the dielectric substrate, it is possible to realize a balanced tuner whose tuning frequency and balance are extremely stable against changes in ambient temperature.

Due to the above effects and, it is possible to maintain balance not only at the initial stage of configuring a balanced mixer device, but also over a very long period of time, so that the odd harmonics of the mixed signal can always be ideally canceled out. This makes it possible to effectively suppress spurious interference and intermodulation interference when a high voltage level signal is input, thereby stably reducing the distortion rate in the intermediate frequency output signal. It is possible to improve the S/N ratio.

It is possible to greatly reduce the number of parts of a balanced tuner, and it is possible to rationalize manufacturing and reduce costs in a balanced mixer device.

If the circuit board constituting the mixer is shared as the dielectric substrate used in the balanced tuner, it is possible to rationalize the mounting form.

This excellent effect can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration circuit diagram of a balanced mixer device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a component configuration of a conventional balanced tuner, and FIGS. 3 to 7 are circuits of a balanced mixer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration diagrams, FIGS. 8 to 15 are configuration diagrams of a balanced tuner according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a front view, b is a side view, c is a back view, and FIGS. 16 a to g. ,
17a, b and 18 are explanatory diagrams showing the basic operating principle of the tuner used in the mixer device of the present invention, and FIGS. 19a to d, 20a and b, and 21 are conventional An explanatory diagram showing the operating principle in the tuner of
FIGS. 22 and 23 are characteristic diagrams of the tuning frequency and resonance Q with respect to temperature changes of the present invention and the conventional tuner, and FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the operating principle of the balanced type tuner in the embodiment of the present invention. 30, 43, 44, 57, 71, 89, 90,
91, 101, 104, 107, 110, 11
3,116,119,122,124...Main electrode, 32,47,60,61,72,92,9
3,94,102,105,108,111,1
14, 117, 120, 123, 125, ... sub-electrode, 24, 25, 37, 38, 51, 52, 6
4,65,80,81... mixer, 95,96,
97, 98, 99, 140...Voltage variable capacitance diode, 100, 103, 106, 1
09,112,115,118,121...Dielectric substrate, 76,82...Unbalanced input terminal, 144
...Unbalanced intermediate frequency output terminal, 28, 29, 4
1, 42, 54, 55, 69, 70, 78, 7
9,84,85,87,88,200 to 21
4...Balanced terminal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first input signal in balanced mode or unbalanced mode and a second input signal in unbalanced mode or balanced mode.
A mixer that outputs a balanced mode intermediate frequency signal is arranged according to the input signal of the main unit, which is driven by the balanced mode intermediate frequency signal with reference to the terminal connected to the ground set at the end or the center. With respect to the electrode, the terminal connected to the ground is installed so that the position of the terminal connected to the ground of the main electrode and the terminal connected to the ground of the main electrode are in a different positional relationship that does not oppose each other, and are arranged opposite to each other with a dielectric material in between. 1. A mixer device characterized in that a tuner is installed, which includes sub-electrodes arranged in parallel on the surface of a dielectric material. 2. The mixer device according to claim 1, wherein a balanced mixer is installed as the mixer, and the main electrodes are driven by balanced mode intermediate frequency signals having mutually opposite phases. 3. The mixer device according to claim 1, wherein a double-balanced mixer is installed as the mixer, and the main electrodes are driven by balanced mode intermediate frequency signals having mutually opposite phases. 4. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the frequencies of the first input signal and the second input signal are variable in relation to outputting an intermediate frequency signal. 5. Claim 1, in which a tuner similar to the tuner described in Claim 1 is provided at the first input signal terminal or the second input signal terminal of the mixer and connected to the main electrode thereof. The mixer device according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a variable reactance element is connected and installed between predetermined terminals of the main electrode or the sub-electrode. 7. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a tap is provided at a predetermined position of the main electrode or the auxiliary electrode to serve as a secondary output terminal. 8. The mixer device according to claim 6, which uses a voltage variable capacitor diode as the variable reactance element. 9. According to any one of claims 1 to 8, the main and auxiliary electrodes have at least one bending angle or bending rate and a bending part exhibiting a predetermined bending direction. mixer equipment. 10. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, using spiral-shaped main and auxiliary electrodes. 11 Claim 1, in which the length of one electrode in the tuner is set shorter than the length of the other electrode, and they are arranged oppositely or in parallel at a predetermined part.
The mixer device according to any one of Items 1 to 10. 12. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a portion or all of each electrode is installed inside a dielectric. 13. The mixer device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a predetermined portion of the main or auxiliary electrode is cut out to control the setting to a predetermined intermediate frequency range.