Semi-coaxial horn antenna
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An antenna, comprising:
- an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis from a minimum at an input of said antenna to a maximum at an output of said antenna.
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Abstract
A semi-coaxial horn antenna transmits and receives electromagnetic waves, including impulse radio waves. The antenna includes an inner conductor that is surrounded by a cone-shaped dielectric, and an outer conductor that is conformally attached to the cone shaped dielectric. In embodiments, the inner conductor is a hollow metallic cylinder that is able to slide over a separate metal shaft, which may be part of a portable hand-tool device. The dielectric constant of the cone shaped dielectric may be selected to match a target medium. The outer conductor has a cross-section that is substantially an arc shape, and defines a sector angle φ that determines an impedance along the length of the antenna.
155 Citations
53 Claims
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1. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis from a minimum at an input of said antenna to a maximum at an output of said antenna.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An antenna, said antenna having a cross-section comprising:
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a circular inner conductor having a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of the cross-section;
a donut shaped dielectric having an inner surface that surrounds said inner conductor; and
an outer conductor having circular arc shape and coupled to an outer surface of said dielectric, said arc shape covering a sector angle φ
, wherein said sector angle φ
increases in a continuous fashion along said axis from a minimum at an input of said antenna to a maximum at an output of said antenna.- View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An antenna, comprising:
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a inner conductor having a cylinder shape;
a dielectric having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner surface coupled to an outer surface of said inner conductor, and said outer surface having substantially a cone shape; and
an outer conductor conformally attached to said outer surface of said dielectric and having substantially a triangular shape on said outer surface of said dielectric;
wherein an input of said antenna is applied at a vertex of said triangular shape of said outer conductor. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for detecting objects behind a barrier, the system comprising:
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transmitter means for generating an electromagnetic signal;
receiver means for receiving a reflected version of said electromagnetic signal; and
an antenna coupled to said transmitter means and said receiver means, said antenna comprising, an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of said antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section, an outer conductor coupled to said transmitter means and having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, anda second outer conductor, coupled to said receiver means, having a cross-section that is substantially a second circular arc about said axis, said second circular arc having said radius ro. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner reference conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer radiating conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
is less than 360 degrees;
wherein an input of said antenna is applied at a vertex of said outer conductor. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An antenna, comprising:
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a inner conductor having a cylinder shape;
a dielectric having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner surface coupled to an outer surface of said inner conductor, and said outer surface having substantially a cone shape; and
an outer conductor conformally attached to said outer surface of said dielectric and having substantially a triangular shape;
wherein in a cross-section of said antenna, said outer conductor defines an arc having a sector angle φ
that varies so that an impedance along an axis of said antenna is substantially constantwherein an input of the antenna is applied at a vertex of said triangular shape of said outer conductor.
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42. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner ground conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section;
a first outer radiating conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ
1 and having a radius r0 that is greater than said radius ri, said first outer radiating conductor having an input at a vertex of said first outer radiating conductor; and
a second outer radiating conductor having a substantially circular arc cross-section about said axis, said second outer conductor arc having said radius ro, and having a sector angle φ
2, said second outer radiating conductor having an input at a vertex if said second outer radiating conductor.- View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis;
wherein said continuously variable sector angle φ
decreases from a maximum at input of said antenna to a minimum at an output of said antenna.
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48. An antenna, comprising:
an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; - View Dependent Claims (49)
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50. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis;
wherein said outer conductor transmits an EM signal, and wherein said second outer conductor receives a reflected version of said transmitted EM signal.
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51. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section; and
an outer conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ and
having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis;
wherein an impedance of said antenna is determined according to the following system of equations, comprising;
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52. An antenna, said antenna having a cross-section comprising:
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a circular inner conductor having a radius ri about an axis of the antenna that is perpendicular to a plane of the cross-section;
a donut shaped dielectric having an inner surface that surrounds said inner conductor; and
an outer conductor having circular arc shape and coupled to an outer surface of said dielectric, said arc shape covering a sector angle φ
, wherein said sector angle φ
varies in a continuous fashion along said axis;
wherein a dielectric constant of said dielectric substantially matches a dielectric constant of a target medium.
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53. An antenna, comprising:
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an inner ground conductor having a substantially circular cross-section with a radius ri about an axis that is perpendicular to a plane of said cross-section;
a first outer radiating conductor having a cross-section that is substantially a circular arc about said axis, said arc covering a sector angle φ
1 and having a radius ro that is greater than said radius ri; and
a second outer radiating conductor having a substantially circular arc cross-section about said axis, said second outer conductor arc having said radius ro, and having a sector angle φ
2;
wherein said outer conductor transmits an EM signal, and wherein said second outer conductor receives a reflected version of said transmitted EM signal.
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Specification