Antenna Apparatus

• US 20090015499A1
• Filed: 07/08/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: KURODA, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,847,737 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/787
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/008 said selective devices having Sievenpipers' mushroom elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/14 Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures electromagnetic shields H01Q1/526
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40

Abstract

An antenna apparatus includes a patch antenna unit in which a radiation conductor and a ground conductor plate are arranged so as to face each other with an insulating material disposed therebetween, a power-feed point is provided at a position slightly offset from the center of the radiation conductor, and a high-frequency electric field is supplied between the radiation conductor and the ground conductor plate; a surface-wave propagation suppression area in which a surface-wave propagation suppression mechanism for suppressing surface-wave propagation is mounted in an outer surrounding area in the offset direction of the power-feed point in which an electric-field intensity is generally maximum within the end portion of the radiation conductor plate; and an insulating area in which an electric-field intensity between the radiation conductor plate and the ground conductor plate is relatively low and the surface-wave propagation suppression mechanism is not arranged.

Claims

1. An antenna apparatus comprising:

a patch antenna unit in which a radiation conductor and a ground conductor plate are arranged so as to face each other with an insulating material disposed therebetween, a power-feed point is provided at a position slightly offset from the center of the radiation conductor, and a high-frequency electric field is supplied between the radiation conductor and the ground conductor plate;

a surface-wave propagation suppression area in which a surface-wave propagation suppression mechanism for suppressing surface-wave propagation is mounted in an outer surrounding area in the offset direction of the power-feed point in which an electric-field intensity is generally maximum within the end portion of the radiation conductor plate; and

an insulating area in which an electric-field intensity between the radiation conductor plate and the ground conductor plate is relatively low and the surface-wave propagation suppression mechanism is not arranged.

2. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the surface-wave propagation suppression area, a plurality of thumbtack-type artificial magnetic conductor elements, in each of which a plate-shaped conductor is supported by a post-shaped conductor, are arranged.

3. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the surface-wave propagation suppression area, an artificial magnetic conductor element, in which texture is applied to the plate-shaped conductor, is arranged.