Dielectric antenna

• US 8,354,970 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2010
• Issued: 01/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Krohne Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Krohne Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG
• Inventors: Armbrecht, Gunnar, Zietz, Christian, Denicke, Eckhard
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, ANH Q
• Application Number:
  US12/786,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20100295745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 343/785
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/225 used in level-measurement devices, e.g. for level gauge measurement
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/24 constituted by a dielectric or ferromagnetic rod or pipe H01Q13/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/08 for modifying the radiation pattern of a radiating horn in which it is located corrugated horns H01Q13/0208; producing a circular polarisation H01Q13/0241

Abstract

Described and shown is a dielectric antenna (1) having a dielectric feeding section (2), a first transition section (3) comprising a dielectric rod, a dielectric emitting section (5) and, a further, second transition section (4) forming a dielectric horn, wherein the feeding section (2) can be struck with electromagnetic radiation (6), electromagnetic radiation (6) can be guided with the first transition section (3) and the second transition section (4) and the electromagnetic radiation can be emitted from the emitting section (5) as airborne waves.

The object of the present invention is to provide a dielectric antenna, which is adaptable as low-loss as possible to different mounting situations, which additionally is as low-reflection as possible and, at the same time is highly bundling.

The object of the above-mentioned dielectric antenna is met in that the emitting section (5) is designed as dielectric tube connecting to the second transition section (4).

Claims

1. Dielectric antenna, comprising:

a dielectric feeding section,

a first transition section comprising a dielectric rod and a dielectric emitting section for emitting electromagnetic radiation as airborne waves, and

a second transition section forming a dielectric horn,

wherein the feeding section is adapted to be struck with electromagnetic radiation,

wherein the electromagnetic radiation is guidable by the first transition section and the second transition section, and

wherein the emitting section is a dielectric tube connected to the second transition section.

2. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric tube has a wall thickness which will propagate only electromagnetic radiation in hybrid basis mode HE₁₁ along the dielectric tube.

3. Dielectric antenna according to claim 2, wherein the wall thickness of the dielectric tube is at most 5% of the outer diameter of the dielectric tube.

4. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric horn of the second transition section has a non-linear inner contour that opens increasingly in a direction of emission.

5. Dielectric antenna according to claim 4, wherein the non-linear inner contour is describable by an exponential function with fractional exponents in a range of 1.09 to 1.13 in dependence on location coordinates in the direction of emission of the antenna.

6. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric horn of the second transition section has a linear outer contour opening in a direction of emission.

7. Dielectric antenna according claim 1, wherein the inner contour of the dielectric horn of the second transition section is continuous with an inner contour in the dielectric rod of the first transition section.

8. Dielectric antenna according to claim 7, wherein the inner contour of the dielectric rod is describable by an exponential function with fractional exponents in the range of 1.09 to 1.13 in dependence on the coordinates in a direction of emission of the antenna.

9. Dielectric antenna according to claim 4, wherein the inner contour of the dielectric rod of the first transitional section and the inner contour of the dielectric horn of the second transitional section are described by the same exponential function.

10. Dielectric antenna according to claim 7, wherein inner contour of the dielectric rod of the first transitional section forms a staged impedance converter in a transition to a feed-side solid rod according to the principle of a quarter wave transformer.

11. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric feeding section is a staged impedance converter according to the principle of a quarter wave transformer.

12. Dielectric antenna according to claim 11, wherein at least one stage of the staged impedance converter has an inner contour with a cross section that tapers in the direction of emission.

13. Dielectric antenna according to claim 11, wherein at least one stage of the staged impedance converter has a hexagonal inner profile.

14. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric tube of the emitting section is formed toward a free space as a staged impedance converter according to the principle of a quarter wave transformer, wherein the staged impedance converter has an inner contour with a cross section that increases in a direction of emission.

15. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the feeding section, in a mounted state of the dielectric antenna, forms a radial gap between the feeding section and a feeding waveguide into which the feeding section extends.

16. Dielectric antenna according to claim 1, wherein the first transition section of the dielectric rod is surrounded by a metallic horn hub that opens in a direction of emission of the antenna.

17. Dielectric antenna according to claim 16, wherein the metallic horn hub is outside of a range of a non-continuous impedance converter formed in the dielectric feeding section a range of a staged impedance converter in the first transition section.

18. Dielectric antenna according to claim 17, wherein a maximum outer diameter of the metallic horn hub exceeds an outer diameter of the dielectric rod in the first transition section by at the most a factor of 2.5.

19. Dielectric antenna according to claim 17, wherein the metallic horn hub is surrounded by a dielectric casing.

20. Dielectric antenna according to claim 17, wherein a cylindrical metal sleeve is formed on the metallic horn hub as transition to a feeding, metallic waveguide.