Antenna beam steering and tracking techniques

• US 7,463,191 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2005
• Issued: 12/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aerospace Corporation
• Original Assignee: New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Dybdal, Robert B., Pidhayny, Denny D., Hinshilwood, Don J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Issing; Gregory C
• Application Number:
  US11/273,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20060077097A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 342/424, 342/359, 342/367, 343/757
• US Class Current: 342/373
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/325 Automatic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/42 the desired condition being maintained automatically
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/17 the primary radiating source comprising two or more radiating elements H01Q19/15, H01Q25/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/19 comprising one main concave reflecting surface associated with an auxiliary reflecting surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/04 for varying one co-ordinate of the orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/28 varying the amplitude

Abstract

A method includes determining if a dynamics requirement for an antenna positioner is exceeded, and employing a combination of mechanical and electronic beam steering techniques to steer a single antenna beam if the dynamics requirement is exceeded.

Claims

1. An antenna system with electronic beam steering, comprising:

multiple antenna feeds;

power dividers (PD) for each of the multiple antenna feeds configured to divide each of the multiple antenna feeds into two equal components;

a plurality of first quadrature hybrids, each having a first and second output port;

a plurality of phase shifters configured to provide a range of 0 to 180°

of phase shift;

a plurality of second quadrature hybrids, each having outputs that are a sum (Σ

) and difference (Δ

) of inputs to each of the plurality of second quadrature hybrids;

a data selector switch; and

a tracking selector switch,

wherein one output from adjacent antenna feeds is combined in each of the plurality of first quadrature hybrids,

wherein for each of the plurality of first quadrature hybrids the first output port is connected directly to an input of each of the plurality of second quadrature hybrids and the second output port is connected to one of the plurality of phase shifters,

wherein an output of each one of the plurality of phase shifters is connected to another input of each of the plurality of second quadrature hybrids, the sum output of each of the second quadrature hybrids are connected to the data selector switch and the difference output of each of the second quadrature hybrids connected to the tracking selector switch.

2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the beams of the multiple antenna feeds are spaced to overlap at half power (−

3 dB) points.

3. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the beams of the multiple antenna feeds are spaced to overlap at −

6 dB points.