Quasi-optical coupler
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- emitting, by a transmitter, a focused transmission; and
reflecting, by a reflector, the focused transmission from a focal plane of the reflector to induce a guided wave that propagates along a transmission medium, wherein the focused transmission is directed from the transmitter to the focal plane of the reflector, and wherein the reflector is positioned with respect to the transmission medium to facilitate the reflecting of the focused transmission to the transmission medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A quasi-optical coupling system launches and extracts surface wave communication transmissions from a wire. At millimeter-wave frequencies, where the wavelength is small compared to the macroscopic size of the equipment, the millimeter-wave transmissions can be transported from one place to another and diverted via lenses and reflectors, much like visible light. Transmitters and receivers can be positioned near telephone and power lines and reflectors placed on or near the cables can reflect transmissions onto or off of the cables. The lenses on the transmitters are focused, and the reflectors positioned such that the reflected transmissions are guided waves on the surface of the cables. The reflectors can be polarization sensitive, where one or more of a set of guided wave modes can be reflected off the wire based on the polarization of the guided wave modes and polarization and orientation of the reflector.
276 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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emitting, by a transmitter, a focused transmission; and reflecting, by a reflector, the focused transmission from a focal plane of the reflector to induce a guided wave that propagates along a transmission medium, wherein the focused transmission is directed from the transmitter to the focal plane of the reflector, and wherein the reflector is positioned with respect to the transmission medium to facilitate the reflecting of the focused transmission to the transmission medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus, comprising:
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a reflector; and a transmitter, wherein the transmitter facilitates emitting a focused transmission, and wherein the focused transmission is directed to a focal plane of the reflector; wherein the reflector, positioned with respect to a transmission medium, facilitates reflecting from the focal plane the focused transmission thereby generating a guided wave that propagates along the transmission medium. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus, comprising:
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a reflector having a focal plane, wherein the reflector is positioned with respect to a transmission medium; and a transmitter coupled to a first antenna, wherein the transmitter facilitates emitting a focused transmission, and wherein the focused transmission is directed to the focal plane of the reflector; wherein the reflector facilitates reflecting from the focal plane the focused transmission to generate a guided wave that propagates along the transmission medium. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification