ANTENNA ASSEMBLY

• US 20150280328A1
• Filed: 04/01/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ubiquiti Inc.
• Original Assignee: John R. Sanford, Jude Lee
• Inventors: SANFORD, John R., LEE, Jude, SUN, Yanwei
• Granted Patent: US 9,912,034 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/06 Means for the lighting or illuminating of antennas, e.g. for purpose of warning
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/405 Radome integrated radiating elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/42 Housings not intimately mechanically associated with radiating elements, e.g. radome
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/421 Means for correcting aberrations introduced by a radome
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/0258 Orthomode horns orthomode transducers H01P1/161
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/16 curved in two dimensions, e.g. paraboloidal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/19 comprising one main concave reflecting surface associated with an auxiliary reflecting surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/193 with feed supported subreflector splash plate feeds H01Q19/134
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/245 provided with means for varying the polarisation polarising devices H01Q15/24; tracking by comparing linear polarisation compounds G01S3/146; reducing depolarisation effects H04B7/00; polarisation diversity H04B7/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/001 Crossed polarisation dual antennas orthomode horns H01Q13/0258; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; orthomode transducers H01P1/161
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/04 Multimode antennas corrugated horns H01Q13/0208
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence

Abstract

Antenna assemblies are described herein. Any of these assemblies may include a primary feed that includes a single patterned emitting surface from which multiple different beams of RF signals are emitted corresponding to different antenna input feeds each communicating with the patterned antenna emitting surface. The antenna assembly may include a primary reflector, a secondary reflector, and a primary feed that is feed by multiple antenna input feeds so that different regions of the primary and secondary antenna correlate with different beams emitted by the primary feed. The antenna assembly is capable of emitting beams in the same direction having different polarizations using a single primary feed. Also described herein are methods of operating an antenna assembly. Access point devices that have a single primary feed configured to emit multiple beams are also described.

Claims

1. An antenna assembly comprising:

a primary reflector having a concave reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy;

a secondary reflector within the primary reflector having a convex reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy toward the primary reflector;

a primary feed having a patterned emitting surface;

three or more antenna input feeds each connected to the patterned antenna emitting surface of the primary feed; and

three or more connectors exposed on an external surface of the antenna assembly wherein each connector is configured to couple to one of the three or more antenna input feeds and configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals at a different polarization to each of the antenna input feeds.

2. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising a radio circuit coupled to the three or more connectors and configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals at a different polarization to each of the antenna input feeds.

3. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first radome extending across the concave reflecting surface of the primary reflector and a second radome having a curved surface and extending within the concave reflecting surface of the primary reflector from an outer edge of the concave reflecting surface to the secondary reflector.

4. The antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising a feed horn surrounding the primary feed.

5. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the primary reflector has a parabolic interior surface.

6. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the secondary reflector comprises a reflective hyperbolic exterior surface.

7. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the first reflector, second reflector and primary feed are configured so that radio frequency signals at different polarizations are emitted from different regions of the primary reflector.

8. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the first reflector, second reflector and primary feed are configured so that radio frequency signals at different polarizations are emitted in the same direction from the antenna assembly but from different regions of the primary reflector.

9. An antenna assembly comprising:

a primary reflector having a concave reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy;

a secondary reflector within the primary reflector having a convex reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy toward the primary reflector;

a primary feed having a patterned emitting surface;

a first radome extending across the concave reflecting surface of the primary reflector;

a second radome having a curved surface and extending within the concave reflecting surface of the primary reflector from an outer edge of the concave reflecting surface to the secondary reflector;

three or more antenna input feeds each connected to the patterned antenna emitting surface of the primary feed; and

three or more connectors exposed on an external surface of the antenna assembly wherein each connector is configured to couple to one of the three or more antenna input feeds and configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals at a different polarization to each of the antenna input feeds.

10. The antenna assembly of claim 9 wherein the secondary radome is shaped so that signals emitted from the antenna assembly to have a uniform phase front.

11. An antenna assembly comprising:

a primary reflector having a concave reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy;

a secondary reflector within the primary reflector having a convex reflecting surface configured to direct electromagnetic energy toward the primary reflector;

a primary feed having a patterned emitting surface; and

three or more antenna input feeds each connected to the patterned antenna emitting surface of the primary feed, wherein each of the three or more antenna input feeds are independent and electrically isolated from each other; and

radio circuitry coupled to each of the three or more antenna input feeds and configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals at a different polarization to each of the antenna input feeds,

wherein the patterned emitting surface of the primary feed emits a separate beam corresponding to each of the different polarizations, and wherein each of the beams reflect from the secondary reflector onto a different portion of the primary reflector.

12. A method of transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals from an antenna assembly, the method comprising:

transmitting a first RF signal at a first polarization from an emitting surface of a primary feed towards a secondary reflector, reflecting the first RF signal from the secondary reflector to a first portion of a primary reflector, reflecting the first RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the first RF signal from the antenna assembly in a first direction; and

transmitting a second RF signal at a second polarization from the emitting surface of the primary feed towards the secondary reflector, reflecting the second RF signal from the secondary reflector to a second portion of the primary reflector, reflecting the second RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the second RF signal from the antenna assembly in the first direction.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting a third RF signal at a third polarization from the emitting surface of the primary feed towards the secondary reflector, reflecting the third RF signal from the secondary reflector to a third portion of the primary reflector, reflecting the third RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the third RF signal from the antenna assembly in the first direction.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising passing the first and second RF signals through a shaped radome within a parabolic cavity formed by the primary reflector.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising passing the first and second RF signals through a shaped radome within a parabolic cavity formed by the primary reflector and through a flat radome covering the parabolic cavity of the primary reflector.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising passing the first and second RF signals through a shaped radome so that first and second RF signals emitted from the antenna assembly have a uniform phase front.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting the first RF signal from a radio circuit through a first antenna input feed to the emitting surface of the primary feed and transmitting the second RF signal from the radio circuit to a second antenna input feed to the emitting surface of the primary feed.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the first portion of a primary reflector and the second portion of the primary reflector comprise different but overlapping regions.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the first portion of a primary reflector and the second portion of the primary reflector comprise non-overlapping regions.

20. A method of transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals from an antenna assembly, the method comprising:

transmitting a first RF signal at a first polarization from an emitting surface of a primary feed towards a secondary reflector, reflecting the first RF signal from the secondary reflector to a first portion of a primary reflector, reflecting the first RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the first RF signal from the antenna assembly in a first direction;

transmitting a second RF signal at a second polarization from the emitting surface of the primary feed towards the secondary reflector, reflecting the second RF signal from the secondary reflector to a second portion of the primary reflector, reflecting the second RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the second RF signal from the antenna assembly in the first direction;

transmitting a third RF signal at a third polarization from the emitting surface of the primary feed towards the secondary reflector, reflecting the third RF signal from the secondary reflector to a third portion of the primary reflector, reflecting the third RF signal from the primary reflector to emit the third RF signal from the antenna assembly in the first direction; and

passing the first, second and third RF signals through a curved radome to adjust the phase front of the first, second and third RF signals so that they are uniform.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting the first RF signal from a radio circuit through a first antenna input feed to the emitting surface of the primary feed and transmitting the second RF signal from the radio circuit to a second antenna input feed to the emitting surface of the primary feed.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the first portion of a primary reflector and the second portion of the primary reflector comprise different but overlapping regions.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the first portion of a primary reflector and the second portion of the primary reflector comprise non-overlapping regions.