INTEGRATED WAVEGUIDE CAVITY ANTENNA AND REFLECTOR DISH

• US 20100149061A1
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ORR Partners I,. L.P.
• Original Assignee: ORR Partners I,. L.P.
• Inventors: HAZIZA, Dedi David
• Granted Patent: US 8,743,004 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/779
• 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 13/0233 Horns fed by a slotted waveguide array biconical horns H01Q13/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/16 curved in two dimensions, e.g. paraboloidal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0043 Slotted waveguides combination with horns H01Q13/0233
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/45 using two or more feeds in association with a common reflecting, diffracting or refracting device

Abstract

A feed assembly for a parabolic dish reflector is described. The feed assembly includes a waveguide cavity locatable at the focal point, or any other desired off-boresight location corresponding point, of the parabolic dish, at least one first radiating element optimized for operation at a first frequency band and provided on a top surface of the waveguide cavity, and a plurality of second radiating elements each optimized for operation at a second band of frequencies and provided on the top surface of the waveguide cavity.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a reflector dish defining a focal point; and

a feed assembly at the focal point, the feed assembly comprising a parallel-plate waveguide cavity, wherein a top plate of the parallel-plate waveguide cavity has at least one opening and a radiating element disposed about each opening.

2. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the top plate has a plurality of openings and at least one radiating element is sized to couple energy at Ka frequency band and is provided about one of the openings, and at least one second radiating element is sized to couple energy at Ku frequency band and is provided about a second opening.

3. The antenna of claim 2, wherein the cavity comprises a first height at an area under the at least one radiating element and a second height at an area under the second radiating element.

4. The antenna of claim 3, wherein the first height is optimized for guiding wave energy at the first frequency band and the second height is optimized for guiding wave energy at the second frequency band.

5. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the radiating element is optimized for operation at a first frequency band;

and further comprising a plurality of second radiating elements each optimized for operation at a second band of frequencies and provided on the top surface of the waveguide cavity and having a phase center coinciding with the focal point or any other desired point at the focal plane of the reflector.

6. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising retarders for configuring the radiating element to receive circularly polarized wave energy.

7. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising a second parallel-plate waveguide cavity, wherein a top plate of the second parallel-plate waveguide cavity has a plurality of openings and a plurality of radiating elements each disposed about one of the openings, wherein the phase center of the radiating elements coincides with the focal point.

8. An antenna comprising:

a reflector dish;

a first array of radiating elements configured to operate in a first frequency band, wherein the first array has a first phase center point;

a second array of radiating elements configured to operate in a second frequency band, wherein the second array has a second phase center point coinciding with the first phase center point; and

,

wherein the phase center points of the first and second arrays are located at a focal point of the reflector dish or any other desired point aimed to receive a certain signal from a certain satellite angular location other than boresight reception.

9. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the radiating elements of the first array comprise one of slots, microstrips, patches, or conical sections coupled over an opening in a top plate of a parallel plate cavity.

10. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the second array comprises a single radiating element physically located at the center point of the phase center of the first array.

11. The antenna of claim 8, wherein a separation between two feed elements of the first array can physically accommodate one or more feed elements of the second array.

12. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the first array comprises one or more conical sections each coupled about an opening in a top plate of a first parallel plate cavity, and the second array comprises one or more conical sections each coupled about an opening in a top plate of a second parallel plate cavity, wherein the first parallel plate cavity and the second parallel plate cavity are parallel to each other.

13. The antenna of claim 12, wherein the first parallel plate cavity and the second parallel plate cavity are vertically stacked separate waveguides.

14. The antenna of claim 12, wherein the first parallel plate cavity and the second parallel plate cavity are horizontally stacked portions of a common waveguide.

15. An antenna comprising:

a reflector dish defining a focal point; and

a feed assembly at the focal point, the feed assembly comprising;

a first parallel-plate waveguide cavity having a top surface with at least one opening thereon, and a first-size radiating element provided about the opening;

a second parallel-plate waveguide cavity having a top surface with at least one opening thereon, and a second-size radiating element provided about the opening.

16. The antenna of claim 15, wherein the first-size element is optimized for operation at a first frequency band and the second-size element is optimized for operation at a second frequency band.

17. The antenna of claim 15, wherein the first parallel-plate waveguide cavity comprises a first height and the second parallel-plate waveguide cavity comprises a second height different from the first height.

18. The antenna of claim 15, wherein the at least one first radiating element is sized to couple energy at Ka frequency band, and each of the second radiating elements is sized to couple energy at Ku frequency band.

19. A feed assembly for a parabolic dish comprising:

a parallel-plate waveguide locatable about the focal point of the parabolic dish, a top plate of the parallel-plate waveguide having an aperture thereon;

a radiating element optimized for operation at a first frequency band and provided on the top plate about the aperture and structure to couple wave energy directly from the parallel-plate waveguide via the opening.

20. The feed assembly of claim 19, wherein the radiating element is sized to couple energy at Ka frequency band, and further comprising a second radiating element provided on the top plate about a second aperture and sized to couple energy at Ku frequency band or any other set of bands.

21. The feed assembly of claim 20, wherein the waveguide comprises a first height at an area under the radiating element and a second height at an area under the second radiating element.

22. The feed assembly of claim 21, wherein the first height is optimized for guiding wave energy at the first frequency band and the second height is optimized for guiding wave energy at the second frequency band.

23. The feed assembly of claim 19, further comprising at least one additional radiating element provided on the top plate about another aperture.

24. The feed assembly of claim 19, wherein the waveguide is configured to couple a planar wave onto the radiating element.