Conformal load-bearing antenna system that excites aircraft structure
First Claim
1. An aircraft antenna system structurally integrated into a load-bearing structural member of an aircraft, the antenna comprising:
- an antenna notch formed from non-conductive material and positioned between two adjacent conductive regions of an aircraft structural load-bearing member, wherein the notch and the two adjacent conductive regions are structurally integrated to perform mechanical functions of the load-bearing member, and wherein the notch extends from a narrow region to a flared wider region; and
an antenna feed terminating at a feed point located in the narrow region of the notch, to couple transmitted energy into the notch and to couple received energy out of the notch;
and wherein the adjacent conductive regions and other conductive regions of the entire aircraft structure function as a radiating and receiving component of the antenna system, which provides an omnidirectional radiation pattern supporting vertically and horizontally polarized communication functions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An antenna system structurally integrated into a load-bearing structural member of an aircraft, such as a wing (30), horizontal tail section (36), or vertical tail fin (20) in such a way as to cause practically no added aerodynamic drag and to add minimal weight to the aircraft. The antenna system includes a flared notch (22, 32, 34 or 38) of non-conductive material and an antenna feed (12) that excites conductive portions of the structural member on opposite sides of the notch at a selected feed point (40). The conductive portions of the structural member and other conductive portions of the entire aircraft are excited by signals applied to the antenna feed. As a result, the antenna performance provides high gain omnidirectionally, and supports both vertically and horizontally polarized communication functions over a wide range of VHF and UHF bands.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. An aircraft antenna system structurally integrated into a load-bearing structural member of an aircraft, the antenna comprising:
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an antenna notch formed from non-conductive material and positioned between two adjacent conductive regions of an aircraft structural load-bearing member, wherein the notch and the two adjacent conductive regions are structurally integrated to perform mechanical functions of the load-bearing member, and wherein the notch extends from a narrow region to a flared wider region; and an antenna feed terminating at a feed point located in the narrow region of the notch, to couple transmitted energy into the notch and to couple received energy out of the notch; and wherein the adjacent conductive regions and other conductive regions of the entire aircraft structure function as a radiating and receiving component of the antenna system, which provides an omnidirectional radiation pattern supporting vertically and horizontally polarized communication functions. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An aircraft antenna system structurally integrated into a load-bearing structural member of an aircraft, the antenna comprising:
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an antenna notch formed from non-conductive material and positioned between two adjacent conductive regions of an aircraft structural load-bearing member, wherein the notch and the two adjacent conductive regions are structurally integrated to perform mechanical functions of the load-bearing member, and wherein the notch extends from a narrow region to a flared wider region; and an antenna feed terminating at a feed point located in the narrow region of the notch, to couple transmitted energy into the notch and to couple received energy out of the notch; and wherein the adjacent conductive regions and other conductive regions of the entire aircraft structure function as a radiating and receiving component of the antenna system, which provides an omnidirectional radiation pattern supporting vertically and horizontally polarized communication functions; and wherein the load-bearing structural member into which the antenna is integrated is a wing section, and the antenna notch extends from a narrow region at an edge of the wing section to a wider region located on the same edge. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5)
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6. An aircraft antenna system structurally integrated into a load-bearing structural member of an aircraft, the antenna comprising:
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an antenna notch formed from non-conductive material and positioned between two adjacent conductive regions of an aircraft structural load-bearing member, wherein the notch and the two adjacent conductive regions are structurally integrated to perform mechanical functions of the load-bearing member, and wherein the notch extends from a narrow region to a flared wider region; and an antenna feed terminating at a feed point located in the narrow region of the notch, to couple transmitted energy into the notch and to couple received energy out of the notch; and wherein the adjacent conductive regions and other conductive regions of the entire aircraft structure function as a radiating and receiving component of the antenna system, which provides an omnidirectional radiation pattern supporting vertically and horizontally polarized communication functions; and wherein the load-bearing structural member into which the antenna is integrated is a horizontal tail section, and the antenna notch extends from a narrow region at a leading edge of the horizontal tail section to a wider region located on the same edge.
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Specification