Six degrees of freedom ground exploiting vector sensor antenna (6Ge antenna)

• US 10,141,647 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture
• Inventors: Rockway, John W., Meloling, John H., Daly, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Han, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US15/263,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20180076522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 343895, 343774, 343742
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/14 for wire or other non-rigid radiating elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/225 used in level-measurement devices, e.g. for level gauge measurement
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/48 Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/00 Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/22 varying the orientation in accordance with variation of frequency of radiated wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

An antenna comprising: a ground plane having a center; six receive ports mounted to the ground plane in a circular configuration around the center and separated from each other by approximately 60 degrees; three conductive half-loops, disposed in mutually orthogonal planes, wherein each half-loop has two ends that are connected to separate receive ports; and three 180° hybrids, each 180° hybrid having two input ports, a delta output port, and a sum output port, wherein the two input ports of each 180° hybrid are connected to the two receive ports of one of the half-loops.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a ground plane having a center;

six receive ports mounted to the ground plane in a circular configuration around the center and separated from each other by approximately 60 degrees;

three conductive half-loops, each respectively disposed in one of three mutually orthogonal planes, wherein each half-loop has two ends and wherein each end is respectively connected to one of the six receive ports; and

three 180°

hybrids, each 180°

hybrid having two input ports, a delta output port, and a sum output port, wherein the two input ports of each 180°

hybrid are respectively connected to the two receive ports of one of the half-loops.

2. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising six 4:

1 impedance transformers, one of which connected between each receive port and corresponding input port.

3. The antenna of claim 2, wherein each of the 4:

1 impedance transformers is an unbalanced-unbalanced transformer.

4. The antenna of claim 1, wherein each half-loop is a half-octagon.

5. The antenna of claim 4, wherein each half-loop has a 0.5 meter radius.

6. The antenna of claim 5, wherein each half-loop is made of copper tubing having a 1.254 cm diameter.

7. The antenna of claim 1, wherein each half-loop is a half-circle.

8. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the half-loops are positioned such that they do not touch each other.

9. The antenna of claim 1 wherein each of the three mutually orthogonal planes is approximately positioned at a 54°

angle from the ground plane.

10. An antenna comprising:

a ground plane having a center;

six receive ports mounted to the ground plane in a circular configuration around the center and separated from each other by approximately 60 degrees;

three conductive half-loops, each respectively disposed in one of three mutually orthogonal planes, wherein each half-loop has two ends and wherein each end is respectively connected to one of the six receive ports;

three 180°

hybrids, each 180°

hybrid having two input ports, a delta output port, and a sum output port, wherein the two input ports of each 180°

hybrid are respectively connected to the two receive ports of one of the half-loops;

six 4;

1 impedance transformers, one of which connected between each receive port and corresponding input port; and

six low noise amplifiers (LNAs), each LNA being connected to a respective delta output port or sum output port such that every delta output port and every sum output port is connected to a corresponding LNA, and wherein an output of each LNA is provided to a separate receiver.

11. The antenna of claim 10, wherein each 4:

1 impedance transformer is connected to its corresponding input port via a 0.5 meter cable, each sum output port is connected to its corresponding LNA via a 2 meter cable, each delta output port is connected to its corresponding LNA via a 2 meter cable, and the output of each LNA is provided to its corresponding receiver via a 30 meter cable.

12. An antenna comprising:

a ground plane having a center;

six receive ports mounted to the ground plane in a circular configuration about the center and separated from each other by approximately 60 degrees, each receive port having an impedance;

three conductive, ground symmetric half-loops, disposed in mutually orthogonal planes in which each half-loop is approximately positioned at a 54°

angle from the ground plane, wherein each half-loop has two ends, and each end is connected to a separate receive port;

six transformers, one connected to every receive port;

three 180°

hybrids, one for every half-loop, each 180°

hybrid having an impedance, two input ports, a delta output port, and a sum output port, wherein the two input ports of each 180°

hybrid are connected to the two transformers that are connected to the two receive ports of one of the half-loops, and wherein each transformer is configured to transform the impedance of the receive port to match the impedance of the 180°

hybrid to which each transformer is connected;

six low noise amplifiers (LNAs), wherein each delta output port and sum output port is connected to a different LNA, wherein each LNA is configured to produce an amplified signal; and

six receivers, wherein each receiver is configured to receive the amplified signal from one of the six LNAs.

13. The antenna of claim 12, wherein the transformers are 4:

1 impedance transformers.

14. The antenna of claim 13, wherein each of the 4:

1 impedance transformers is an unbalanced-unbalanced transformer.

15. The antenna of claim 14, wherein each 4:

1 impedance transformer is connected to its corresponding input port via a 0.5 meter cable, each sum output port is connected to its corresponding LNA via a 2 meter cable, each delta output port is connected to its corresponding LNA via a 2 meter cable, and the amplified signal of each LNA is provided to its corresponding receiver via a 30 meter cable.

16. The antenna of claim 12, wherein each half-loop is a half-octagon.

17. The antenna of claim 12, wherein each half-loop is a half-circle.

18. The antenna of claim 17, wherein each half-loop has a 0.5 meter radius.

19. The antenna of claim 18, wherein each half-loop is made of copper tubing having a 1.254 cm diameter.

20. The antenna of claim 12, wherein the half-loops are positioned such that they do not touch each other.