Patch antenna and method for impedance, frequency and pattern tuning
First Claim
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1. A patch antenna system comprising:
- a patch antenna having a patch, a ground plane, and a dielectric interposed between the patch and the ground plane, said ground plane forming a lower surface opposed from said dielectric;
at least one feed pin electrically coupled to the patch for transmitting and/or receiving signals;
a fixed number of shorting pins disposed in the dielectric and electrically coupled to the patch, said shorting pins irregularly juxtaposed and arranged in a non-uniformly spaced curvilinear fixed array extending away from said feed pin, each of at least a subset of said fixed number of shorting pins extending within an enlarged opening in said ground plane and forming a contact pad surface at a terminus thereof adjacent and electrically isolated from said ground plane, each said contact pad surface disposed substantially coplanar with said adjacent ground plane lower surface;
a fixed number of switches, wherein each switch has first and second Radio Frequency (RF) contact pads electrically connected to the ground plane lower surface and to an adjacent contact pad of an associated shorting pin, respectively, and first and second Direct Current (DC) bias/supply and control contacts electrically connected to a control module,said control module in communication with said fixed number of switches, and operable to reconfigure the patch antenna by selectively electrically connecting one or more of the fixed number of shorting pins to the ground plane, said control module effecting a complete binary count of a fixed number of switch states of said fixed number of switches to produce a substantially linear and monotonic shift in operating frequency of said patch antenna system throughout the patch antenna system'"'"'s characteristic operating frequency range.
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Abstract
A patch antenna system comprises a patch antenna having a patch spatially separated from a ground plane, a plurality of shorting pins interposed between the patch and the ground plane to selectively interconnect one or more predetermined fixed locations of the patch to the ground plane. A control module is operably coupled to a discrete RF switch associated with each shorting pin to set the operating frequency characteristic of the patch antenna by selectively connecting the patch to the ground plane through one or more of the plurality of shorting pins.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A patch antenna system comprising:
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a patch antenna having a patch, a ground plane, and a dielectric interposed between the patch and the ground plane, said ground plane forming a lower surface opposed from said dielectric; at least one feed pin electrically coupled to the patch for transmitting and/or receiving signals; a fixed number of shorting pins disposed in the dielectric and electrically coupled to the patch, said shorting pins irregularly juxtaposed and arranged in a non-uniformly spaced curvilinear fixed array extending away from said feed pin, each of at least a subset of said fixed number of shorting pins extending within an enlarged opening in said ground plane and forming a contact pad surface at a terminus thereof adjacent and electrically isolated from said ground plane, each said contact pad surface disposed substantially coplanar with said adjacent ground plane lower surface; a fixed number of switches, wherein each switch has first and second Radio Frequency (RF) contact pads electrically connected to the ground plane lower surface and to an adjacent contact pad of an associated shorting pin, respectively, and first and second Direct Current (DC) bias/supply and control contacts electrically connected to a control module, said control module in communication with said fixed number of switches, and operable to reconfigure the patch antenna by selectively electrically connecting one or more of the fixed number of shorting pins to the ground plane, said control module effecting a complete binary count of a fixed number of switch states of said fixed number of switches to produce a substantially linear and monotonic shift in operating frequency of said patch antenna system throughout the patch antenna system'"'"'s characteristic operating frequency range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An RF communication device comprising:
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a transmitter and/or receiver circuit assembly having a substrate and a fixed number of electrical/electronic components and conductors carried thereon; a patch antenna surface mounted on said substrate, said patch antenna having a patch, a ground plane, and a dielectric interposed between the patch and the ground plane, said ground plane forming a lower surface opposed from said dielectric; at least one feed pin electrically coupled to the patch for transmitting and/or receiving signals from/to said circuit assembly; a fixed number of shorting pins disposed in the dielectric and electrically coupled to the patch, said shorting pins irregularly juxtaposed and arranged in a non-uniformly spaced curvilinear array extending away from said feed pin, each of at least a subset of said fixed number of shorting pins extending within an enlarged opening in said ground plane and forming a contact pad surface at a terminus thereof adjacent and electrically isolated from said ground plane, each said contact pad surface disposed substantially coplanar with said adjacent ground plane lower surface; a fixed number of switches, wherein each switch has first and second Radio Frequency (RF) contact pads electrically connected to the ground plane lower surface and to an adjacent contact pad of an associated shorting pin, respectively, and first and second Direct Current (DC) bias/supply and control contacts electrically connected to a control module, said control module in communication with said fixed number of switches, and operable to reconfigure the patch antenna by selectively electrically connecting one or more of the fixed number of shorting pins to the ground plane, said control module effecting a complete binary count of a fixed number of switch states of said fixed number of switches to produce a substantially linear and monotonic shift in operating frequency of said patch antenna system throughout the patch antenna system'"'"'s characteristic operating frequency range. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of fabricating a patch antenna system comprising the steps of:
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providing a patch antenna having a patch, a ground plane, and a dielectric interposed between the patch and the ground plane, wherein said ground plane forms a lower surface opposed from said dielectric; providing at least one feed pin electrically coupled to the patch for transmitting and/or receiving signals; providing a fixed number of shorting pins disposed in the dielectric and electrically coupled to the patch, said shorting pins irregularly juxtaposed and arranged in a non-uniformly spaced curvilinear fixed array extending away from said feed pin, each of at least a subset of said fixed number of shorting pins extending within an enlarged opening in said ground plane and forming a contact pad surface at a terminus thereof adjacent and electrically isolated from said ground plane, each said contact pad surface disposed substantially coplanar with said adjacent ground plane lower surface; and providing a fixed number of switches, wherein each switch includes first and second Radio Frequency (RF) contact pads electrically connected to the ground plane lower surface and to an adjacent contact pad of an associated shorting pin, respectively, and first and second Direct Current (DC) bias/supply and control contacts electrically connected to a control module, wherein said control module in communication with said fixed number of switches, and operable to reconfigure the patch antenna by selectively electrically connecting one or more of the fixed number of shorting pins to the ground plane, said control module effecting a complete binary count of a fixed number of switch states of said fixed number of switches to produce a substantially linear and monotonic shift in operating frequency of said patch antenna system throughout the patch antenna system'"'"'s characteristic operating frequency range. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification