Antenna beam control elements, systems, architectures, and methods for radar, communications, and other applications
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- at least one antenna, the antenna being a phased array where the antenna is configured to steer the radiation both azimuthally and by elevation; and
,a beam control element positioned along a perimeter of the at least one antenna at a first azimuth angle offset from an azimuth reference axis perpendicular to a plane of a surface of the antenna that emits radiation such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of the antenna and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the antenna and the main lobe, the beam control element comprising;
a reflective material; and
an absorptive material positioned between the antenna and the reflective material configured to attenuate signals emitted or received by the antenna at a second azimuth angle that is greater than the first azimuth angle relative to at least one signal emitted or received by the antenna at a third azimuth angle less than the first angle.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides, among other things, antenna beam control devices, systems, architectures, and methods for radar and other applications, such as wireless communications, etc., to improve transmit and/or receive performance of the devices and systems employing such antennas by deploying beam control elements (20) to increase antenna gain at an angle less than a first angle relative to the antenna gain at angle greater than a first angle. Beam control elements are deployed in combination with the one or more antennas (12) in various systems of the present invention, such that the impact of reflected radiation from wind mill, communication, or other towers supporting the system or other nearby structures, as well as radiation from nearby wireless communication networks is decreased to an acceptable level. The beam control elements can include absorbing and reflective material and can be placed in the antenna near field to minimize costs.
30 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one antenna, the antenna being a phased array where the antenna is configured to steer the radiation both azimuthally and by elevation; and
,a beam control element positioned along a perimeter of the at least one antenna at a first azimuth angle offset from an azimuth reference axis perpendicular to a plane of a surface of the antenna that emits radiation such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of the antenna and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the antenna and the main lobe, the beam control element comprising; a reflective material; and an absorptive material positioned between the antenna and the reflective material configured to attenuate signals emitted or received by the antenna at a second azimuth angle that is greater than the first azimuth angle relative to at least one signal emitted or received by the antenna at a third azimuth angle less than the first angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of controlling radiation reflected from a structure toward an antenna comprising:
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providing a first antenna; providing a beam control element comprising a reflective material and an absorptive material; and
,positioning the beam control element along a first azimuth angle between a reference azimuth vector perpendicular to a surface of the antenna that emits radiation and a second azimuth angle that defines a direction from the first antenna to the structure such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of the first antenna and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the first antenna and the main lobe, wherein the absorptive material is positioned between the antenna and the reflective material, thereby attenuating radiation approaching the antenna at the second azimuth angle relative to radiation approaching the antenna at an angle less than the first azimuth angle.
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of antennas configured in an array to at least one of emit and receive signals; and at least one beam control element positioned between at least two of the plurality of antennas at a first azimuth angle offset from an azimuth reference vector perpendicular to a plane of a surface of one of the plurality of antennas such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of one of the at least two antennas and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the one of the at least two antennas and the main lobe, the beam control element comprising a reflective material and an absorptive material, wherein the reflective material is configured to attenuate signals emitted or received by the one of the at least two antennas at an angle that is greater than the first azimuth angle and enhance at least one signal emitted or received from the one of the at least two antennas at an angle less than the first azimuth angle.
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16. An apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of antennas configured in an array; and at least one beam control element positioned along a perimeter of a first antenna of the plurality of antennas at a first azimuth angle offset from an azimuth reference vector perpendicular to a plane of a surface of the first antenna such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of the antenna and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the antenna and the main lobe, the beam control element comprising a reflective material and an absorptive material positioned between the first antenna and the reflective material configured to attenuate signals emitted or received by the first antenna at an angle that is greater than the first azimuth angle and enhance at least one signal emitted from the first antenna at an angle less than the first azimuth angle. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus comprising:
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an antenna configured to at least one of emit and receive radiation; and a beam control element positioned along the perimeter of the antenna at a first azimuth angle offset from an azimuth reference vector perpendicular to a plane of a surface of the antenna that emits radiation such that the beam control element is positioned outside a main lobe of the antenna and between at least a portion of a side lobe of the antenna and the main lobe, the beam control element comprising; a reflective material; and an absorptive material positioned between the antenna and the reflective material configured to attenuate radiation emitted or received by the antenna at an angle that is greater than the first azimuth angle without substantially diminishing radiation emitted or received by the antenna at an angle less than the first azimuth angle. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system comprising:
a radar field unit configured to be supported by a structure comprising; an antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements, wherein the antenna elements are disposed azimuthally around the radar field unit to provide a coverage area in at least a portion of an azimuthal plane, wherein the antenna is a phased array where the radiation from the antenna may be steered both azimuthally and by elevation, and at least one a beam control element disposed between at least two of the plurality of antenna elements, the beam control element is positioned along a perimeter of the antenna at a first azimuth angle relative to an azimuth reference axis perpendicular to a surface of the antenna that emits radiation, the beam control element comprising; a reflective material; and an absorptive material positioned between the antenna and the reflective material configured to attenuate radiation approaching the antenna from the structure and radiation emitted by the antenna toward the structure. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
Specification