Antenna structure and associated method
First Claim
1. An antenna assembly, comprising:
- a support structure having first and second opposing surfaces;
a first circuit board coupled to the first surface of the support structure, the first circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry; and
a second circuit board coupled to the second surface of the support structure, the second circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An antenna structure and associated method are disclosed that provides a lightweight and reduced-cost antenna element. The antenna structure may include a printed circuit board material coupled to a support structure. The printed circuit board may include electrical circuitry patterns and may have components mounted thereon to provide desired transmit and receive functionality, for example, to provide radio frequency transmit/receive functionality along with phase shifter and control circuitry. The support structure may be a light-weight material, for example, a space-qualified foam material that is strong and light-weight. The combined antenna structure of the present invention may thereby form a strong, rigid and light-weight antenna structure that may be used as sub-array elements in an antenna array, such as an ESA system.
40 Citations
37 Claims
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1. An antenna assembly, comprising:
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a support structure having first and second opposing surfaces;
a first circuit board coupled to the first surface of the support structure, the first circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry; and
a second circuit board coupled to the second surface of the support structure, the second circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An antenna array, comprising:
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a plurality of antenna assemblies, each comprising;
a support structure having first and second opposing surfaces;
a first circuit board coupled to the first surface of the support structure, the first circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry; and
a second circuit board coupled to the second surface of the support structure, the second circuit board comprising two opposing surfaces and including antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry;
wherein the plurality of antenna assemblies communicate to provide an antenna array. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for operating an antenna array, comprising:
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transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic radiation signals with a plurality of antenna assemblies, each comprising a support structure having a first and second opposing surfaces, a first circuit board coupled to the first surface of the support structure and a second circuit board coupled to the second surface of the support structure, the first and second circuit boards each having two opposing surfaces and each having antenna circuitry defined on at least one of the two opposing circuit board surfaces, the antenna circuitry comprising ground plane circuitry; and
utilizing the signals received and/or transmitted by the antenna assemblies to form an array of transmitted and/or received signals. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A radio frequency (RF) antenna assembly, comprising:
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a substantially light weight support structure having first and second opposing support structure surfaces;
a first circuit board having first and second opposing circuit board surfaces, at least a portion of said second surface of said first circuit board being coupled to at least a portion of said first surface of said support structure, at least one of said first or second surfaces of said first circuit board having conductive RF transmission circuitry defined thereon, and at least one of said first or second surfaces of said first circuit board having conductive ground plane circuitry defined thereon, said RF transmission circuitry and said ground plane circuitry being spaced in operative relationship to form at least one antenna radiating element;
an antenna radiating element coupled to at least a portion of said first or second surfaces of said first circuit board in operative relationship with said RF transmission circuitry and said conductive ground plane circuitry; and
a second circuit board having first and second opposing circuit board surfaces, at least a portion of said second surface of said second circuit board being coupled to at least a portion of said support structure second surface, at least one of said first or second surfaces of said second circuit board having conductive RF transmission circuitry defined thereon, and at least one of said first or second surfaces of said second circuit board having conductive ground plane circuitry defined thereon, said RF transmission circuitry and said ground plane circuitry being spaced in operative relationship to form at least one antenna radiating element. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An electronically scanned array, comprising:
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a plurality of subarray elements, each of said subarray elements comprising;
a substantially lightweight support structure having first and second opposing support structure surfaces, a first circuit board having first and second opposing circuit board surfaces, at least a portion of said second surface of said first circuit board surface being coupled to at least a portion of said first surface of said support structure, said first surface of said first circuit board having copper RF transmission circuitry and said second surface of said first circuit board having copper ground plane circuitry defined thereon, said RF transmission circuitry and said ground plane circuitry being spaced in operative relationship to form first antenna radiating elements, a second circuit board having first and second opposing circuit board surfaces, at least a portion of said second surface of said second circuit board being coupled to at least a portion of said second surface of said support structure surface, said first surface of said second circuit board having copper RF transmission circuitry and said second surface of said second circuit board having copper ground plane circuitry defined thereon, said RF transmission circuitry and said ground plane circuitry being spaced in operative relationship to form second antenna radiating elements, control and DC power circuitry defined on said first surfaces of said first and second circuit boards, and an RF T/R component electronically coupled to each of said antenna radiating elements, each of said T/R components comprising at least one of a transmitting component, a receiving component, or a mixture thereof. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification