Conductive structures including aircraft antennae and associated methods of formation
First Claim
1. An aircraft system, comprising:
- an aircraft antenna that includes;
a flexible substrate material; and
at least one flexible conductive material positioned adjacent to at least one surface of the substrate material, wherein at least portions of the flexible substrate material and the conductive material are disposed in a generally cylindrical manner about an elongated axis.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Conductive structures, including aircraft antennae and associated methods of formation, are disclosed. An antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the invention can include a flexible circuit material having a substrate and at least one conductive layer adjacent to the substrate. The flexible circuit material can be rolled to form a cylindrical or partially cylindrical antenna, such as a dipole antenna. The conductive material can further include circuit elements, such as leads, conductive lines, vias, and/or other elements electrically coupled to the antenna. The flexible circuit material can also support a transmitter and/or receiver that is coupled to the antenna via the circuitry. Accordingly, the antenna can be formed integrally with the circuitry and can be configured and positioned for enhanced signal reception and/or transmission.
-
Citations
54 Claims
-
1. An aircraft system, comprising:
an aircraft antenna that includes;
a flexible substrate material; and
at least one flexible conductive material positioned adjacent to at least one surface of the substrate material, wherein at least portions of the flexible substrate material and the conductive material are disposed in a generally cylindrical manner about an elongated axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
11. An aircraft system, comprising:
an aircraft antenna that includes;
a flexible substrate material having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;
a first conductive layer positioned adjacent to the first surface of the substrate; and
a second conductive layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the substrate, wherein at least portions of the flexible substrate material, the first conductive layer, and the second conductive layer are rolled about an axis into an at least partially cylindrical shape elongated along the axis. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
19. An aircraft antenna assembly, comprising:
-
a flexible substrate material substrate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
a first conductive layer positioned adjacent to the first side of the substrate, the first conductive layer including at least one ground portion coupleable to ground;
a second conductive layer positioned adjacent to the second side of the substrate, the second conductive layer including a transmitter portion and a receiver portion electrically isolated from the transmitter portion, the transmitter portion being positioned to be electrically coupled to a signal transmitter, the receiver portion being positioned to be electrically coupled to a signal receiver; and
at least one antenna in electrical communication with at least one of the transmitter portion and the receiver portion, the at least one antenna being formed from at least a portion of the first and second conductive layers. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. An aircraft antenna assembly, comprising:
-
a flexible substrate material having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first side;
a first conductive layer positioned adjacent to the first surface of the substrate material, the first conductive layer including at least one ground plane and at least one antenna overlap connector;
a second conductive layer positioned adjacent to the second surface of the substrate material, the second conductive layer including at least one antenna conductor portion, a transmitter portion, and a receiver portion;
a third conductive layer positioned adjacent to the second conductive layer, the third conductive layer being electrically coupled to the first conductive layer and electrically isolated from the second conductive layer; and
at least one antenna in electrical contact with at least one of the transmitter portion and the receiver portion, the at least one antenna including at least a portion of the substrate material, the first conductive layer, and the second conductive layer rolled about an axis with the at least one antenna overlap connector in contact with the at least one antenna conductor portion. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A aircraft system, comprising:
-
an unmanned aircraft including a lifting surface having a winglet;
an antenna package releasably positioned inside the winglet; and
at least one antenna releasably positioned in the antenna package. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A method of forming an aircraft antenna, comprising:
-
providing a flexible substrate material having a first surface, a second surface facing opposite the first surface, and at least one flexible conductive material adjacent to at least one surface of the substrate material; and
rolling at least a portion of the substrate material and at least a portion of the conductive material as a unit about an axis to form an at least partially cylindrical antenna elongated along the axis. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
-
48. A method of forming an aircraft antenna, comprising:
-
providing a flexible substrate material having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, a first conductive layer adjacent to the first surface and a second conductive layer adjacent to the second surface, the first conductive layer including at least one ground plane and at least one antenna overlap connector, the second conductive layer including at least one antenna conductor portion, a transmitter portion, and a receiver portion; and
forming at least one generally cylindrical antenna by rolling at least a portion of the substrate material, the first conductive layer, and the second conductive layer as a unit about an axis until the at least one antenna overlap connector contacts the at least one conductor portion. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
-
-
51. A method of assembling an aircraft system, including:
-
removably installing at least one antenna in an antenna package;
removably installing the antenna package in a winglet of a lifting surface of an unmanned aircraft; and
electrically coupling the antenna with an electrical system of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
-
Specification