Broadband antenna having a three-dimensional cast part

• US 20040155831A1
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huber + Suhner AG
• Original Assignee: Huberag
• Inventors: Goebel, Uhland, Hesselbarth, Jan, Graeni, Mischa, Wagner, Martin, Nuechter, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 6,995,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/775
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1207 for fastening a rigid aerial element
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/26 Turnstile or like antennas comprising arrangements of three or more elongated elements disposed radially and symmetrically in a horizontal plane about a common centre
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/26 with folded element or elements, the folded parts being spaced apart a small fraction of operating wavelength resonant loop antennas H01Q7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/265 Open ring dipoles; Circular dipoles

Abstract

An antenna (10) having an emitter element which is positioned in front of a conductive reflector (13) and has a three-dimensional cast part. The cast part is implemented as conductive and has a closed peripheral structure (11) having alternating constrictions and bulges. The peripheral structure (11) spans an imaginary surface (14) which is intersected by at least two planes of symmetry (15.1, 15.3) of the cast part. At least two fastening elements (12.1, 12.2) are provided, which extend essentially perpendicular to the imaginary surface (14) and support the peripheral structure (11) at two points which lie on one of the planes of symmetry (15.1; 15.3). At the lower ends (16), the fastening elements (12.1, 12.2) are connected to the reflector (13), the fastening elements (12.1, 12.2) also being used for electrical excitation of the emitter element.

Claims

1. An antenna having an emitter element which is positioned in front of a conductive reflector,

characterized in that the emitter element includes a three-dimensional cast part,

which has at least two planes of symmetry,

which is conductive and has a closed peripheral structure having alternating constrictions and bulges, the peripheral structure spanning an imaginary surface which is intersected by at least two planes of symmetry, and

which has at least two fastening elements, which extend essentially perpendicularly to the imaginary surface and support the peripheral structure at points which lie on at least one of the planes of symmetry and are connected to the reflector at their ends, at least one of the two fastening elements being used for electrical excitation of the emitter element.

2. The antenna according to claim 1,

characterized in that the reflector has a flat surface which has a conductive side facing toward the cast part.

3. The antenna according to claim 1,

characterized in that the imaginary surface spanned by the peripheral structure extends essentially parallel to the reflector.

4. The antenna according to claim 2,

characterized in that the imaginary surface spanned by the peripheral structure extends essentially parallel to the reflector.

5. The antenna according to claim 1,

characterized in that the imaginary surface spanned by the peripheral structure is flat or curved.

6. The antenna according to claim 2,

characterized in that the imaginary surface spanned by the peripheral structure is flat or curved.

7. The antenna according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the cast part is a plastic cast part which is partially or completely provided with a conductive coating, or the cast part is a metallized plastic injection molded part.

8. The antenna according to one of claims 1 through 6,

characterized in that the cast part is a metal cast part.

9. The antenna according to one of claims 1 through 6,

characterized in that the reflector has a supply circuit on the side facing away from the cast part.

10. The antenna according to claims 9,

characterized in that the supply circuit includes a network in order to connect two supply inputs to the two fastening elements in such a way that they may be activated with opposite phases.

11. The antenna according to claim 10,

characterized in that the supply circuit is designed in such a way that, depending on the feed at the supply inputs, the polarization of the signals emitted from the emitter element may be influenced.

12. The antenna according to claim 9,

characterized in that the supply circuit includes two in-phase power dividers, each connecting neighboring fastening elements, which may in turn be activated with opposite phases by a balanced transformer.

13. The antenna according to claim 9,

characterized in that the supply circuit on the side is implemented in planar, coaxial, or waveguide line technology.

14. The antenna according to one of claims 1-6,

characterized in that the cast part is enclosed by a shield arrangement which is preferably metallized.

15. The antenna according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the at least two fastening elements lie in the cylinder surface of an imaginary cylinder whose longitudinal axis stands vertically on the conductive reflector.

16. A group antenna having multiple antennas according to one of claims 1-6,

characterized in that the antennas are positioned in rows and columns and there is a supply matrix, through which the antennas may be combined in rows and/or columns.

17. The group antenna according to claim 16,

characterized in that each of the antennas has a supply circuit with supply inputs.

18. The group antenna according to claim 15,

characterized in that connections between overall inputs of the group antenna and the supply inputs of the supply circuits may be produced by the supply matrix.