Method and apparatus for increasing antenna efficiency for hand-held mobile satellite communications terminal
First Claim
1. An antenna structure, comprising:
- a plurality of transmit linear elements arranged parallel to one another;
a plurality of receive linear elements arranged parallel to one another; and
individual ones of said plurality of transmit linear elements are spaced apart from one another and have one of said plurality of receive linear elements disposed therebetween;
whereina width of each of said plurality of transmit linear elements varies periodically along a length of the transmit linear element and a width of each of said plurality of receive linear elements varies periodically along a length of the receive linear element, and wherein, for a given one of the plurality of transmit linear elements, a narrowest width portion of the transmit linear element is disposed next to a widest width portion of an adjacently disposed receive linear element and a widest width portion of the transmit linear element is disposed next to a narrowest width portion of the adjacently disposed receive linear element.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An antenna structure (10) that includes a plurality of transmit linear elements (22a-22d) arranged parallel to one another and a plurality of receive linear elements (24a-24d) also arranged parallel to one another. Individual ones of the plurality of transmit linear elements are spaced apart from one another and have one of the plurality of receive linear elements disposed therebetween. A width of each of the plurality of transmit linear elements and the plurality of receive linear elements varies periodically along a length of the linear element, thereby also periodically impedance modulating each element. Furthermore, a narrowest width portion of a transmit linear element is disposed adjacent to a widest width portion of an adjacently disposed receive linear element, and vice versa, thereby minimizing coupling between the elements. The transmit amplifiers (16a, 16b) and the receive amplifiers (30a, 30b) are located at opposite ends of an antenna stalk body (36) such that the transmit amplifiers and receive amplifiers are intimately associated with their respective antenna elements, thereby further minimizing losses. Also, because the transmit amplifiers may generate considerable heat, the construction technique thermally isolates the lower power receive amplifiers from the higher power transmit amplifiers. Also, the transmit amplifiers are preferably located at the end of the antenna stalk that is nearest to the user transceiver, thereby providing improved heat sinking.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An antenna structure, comprising:
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a plurality of transmit linear elements arranged parallel to one another; a plurality of receive linear elements arranged parallel to one another; and individual ones of said plurality of transmit linear elements are spaced apart from one another and have one of said plurality of receive linear elements disposed therebetween;
whereina width of each of said plurality of transmit linear elements varies periodically along a length of the transmit linear element and a width of each of said plurality of receive linear elements varies periodically along a length of the receive linear element, and wherein, for a given one of the plurality of transmit linear elements, a narrowest width portion of the transmit linear element is disposed next to a widest width portion of an adjacently disposed receive linear element and a widest width portion of the transmit linear element is disposed next to a narrowest width portion of the adjacently disposed receive linear element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An antenna coupled to a user terminal in a satellite communication system, the satellite communication system comprising:
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at least one communication satellite; at least one ground station comprising a transceiver for transmitting and receiving communication signals with said at least one communication satellite; and at least one user terminal comprising a transceiver for transmitting and receiving communication signals with said at least one communication satellite;
whereinsaid user terminal is further comprised of said antenna, said antenna being bidirectionally coupled to said transceiver and comprised of a spiral wound four arm interleaved structure having a plurality of transmit elements and a plurality of receive elements, each of said plurality of transmit elements being impedance modulated between a maximum impedance and a minimum impedance in a periodic manner along a length of said transmit element and each of said plurality of receive elements being impedance modulated between a maximum impedance and a minimum impedance in a periodic manner along a length of said receive element, and wherein a region of maximum impedance of a given one of said transmit elements is disposed next to a region of minimum impedance of an adjacently disposed receive element and a region of minimum impedance of said transmit element is disposed next to a region of maximum impedance of said adjacently disposed receive element. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A terminal for use in a satellite communication system of a type wherein communication satellites rise above the horizon and set below the horizon relative to a location of the terminal, comprising:
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a transceiver for transmitting and receiving communication signals with at least one communication satellite; and an antenna that is bidirectionally coupled to said transceiver, said antenna being comprised of a spiral wound interleaved structure having a plurality of transmit elements and a plurality of receive elements, each of said plurality of transmit elements being impedance modulated between a maximum impedance and a minimum impedance in a periodic manner along a length of said transmit element and each of said plurality of receive elements being impedance modulated between a maximum impedance and a minimum impedance in a periodic manner along a length of said receive element, and wherein a region of maximum impedance of a given one of said transmit elements is disposed next to a region of minimum impedance of an adjacently disposed receive element and a region of minimum impedance of said transmit element is disposed next to a region of maximum impedance of said adjacently disposed receive element. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification