Antenna system and method
First Claim
1. An antenna system, comprising:
- a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements arranged substantially linearly;
a power divider for dividing transmit power thereby coupling signals to said plurality of antenna elements;
a beamforming network capable of phase shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently such that the radiated electromagnetic energy is focused at a focal point in the near field region or in the Fresnel region of said antenna system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An embodiment of the present invention provides an antenna system, comprising a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements arranged substantially linearly, a power divider for dividing transmit power thereby coupling signals to the plurality of antenna elements, a phase shifter capable of phase shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently such that the radiated electromagnetic energy may be focused at a focal point in the near field region or in the Fresnel region of the antenna system. An embodiment of the present invention may also provide at least one additional receive antenna element capable of receiving signals backscattered from at least one RFID tag located in the near field of the focused array and the divider may create substantially equal power levels feeding each antenna element. The antenna elements may be similar or identical and each element may be oriented such that the individual element main beam may point in a unique direction.
285 Citations
43 Claims
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1. An antenna system, comprising:
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a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements arranged substantially linearly;
a power divider for dividing transmit power thereby coupling signals to said plurality of antenna elements;
a beamforming network capable of phase shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently such that the radiated electromagnetic energy is focused at a focal point in the near field region or in the Fresnel region of said antenna system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of focusing radiated electromagnetic energy at a focal point in the near field or in the Fresnel region of an antenna system, comprising:
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arranging a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements substantially linearly;
dividing transmit power with a power divider thereby coupling signals to said plurality of antenna elements; and
shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently at the focal point. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. An antenna system, comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements arranged in essentially a linear fashion, a divider capable of dividing transmitted power such that signals are coupled to said plurality of antenna elements with non-uniform power levels;
a phase shifter capable of phase shifting said signals between said divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently at the focal point, thereby focusing radiated electromagnetic energy at a focal point in the near field or in the Fresnel region of said antenna system. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of focusing radiated electromagnetic energy at a focal point in the near field region or in the Fresnel region of an antenna system, comprising:
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arranging a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antenna elements substantially linearly;
dividing transmit power with a power divider such that signals are coupled to said plurality of antenna elements with non-uniform power levels;
phase shifting the signals between the power divider and the plurality of antenna elements such that radiated signals from each antenna element add coherently at the focal point. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification