Ultra-wideband antenna array

• US 7,042,417 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2002
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 73 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Pulse-Link Incorporated
• Inventors: Harmuth, Henning F., Santhoff, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, SHIH CHAO
• Application Number:
  US10/291,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20030090435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 343/757, 343/760, 343/893, 343/894, 342/28
• US Class Current: 343/893
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/50 the waves arriving at the antennas being pulse modulated and the time difference of their arrival being measured
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/205 providing an omnidirectional coverage turnstile aerials H01Q21/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2682 Time delay steered arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71635 Transmitter aspects H04B1/7174 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71637 Receiver aspects H04B1/7183 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming

Abstract

An ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna array is provided. One embodiment of the present invention employs a multi-element antenna for UWB beam forming and also for time-of-arrival vector processing to resolve multi-path problems in an UWB communication system. Another embodiment of the present invention recovers the energy contained in the multi-path reflections to increase signal-to-noise ratios of received UWB pulses.

Claims

1. An ultra-wideband antenna array, comprising:

a first antenna element;

a second antenna element positioned at an angle relative to the first antenna element;

a third antenna element positioned at an angle relative to the second antenna element;

a fourth antenna element positioned at an angle relative to the third antenna element; and

a correlator communicating with at least one of the antenna elements, the correlator structured to determine a direction of a received ultra-wideband signal.

2. The ultra-wideband antenna array of claim 1, wherein the antenna array determines a time of arrival of a received ultra-wideband signal.

3. The ultra-wideband antenna array of claim 2, wherein the ultra-wideband signal comprises an impulse radio pulse.

4. The ultra-wideband antenna array of claim 1, further including a digital signal processor structured to determine a direction of a received ultra-wideband signal.

5. The ultra-wideband antenna array of claim 1, wherein the ultra-wideband signal comprises a burst of electromagnetic energy having a duration that can range between about 0.1 nanoseconds to about 100 nanoseconds.

6. The ultra-wideband antenna array of claim 1, wherein the ultra-wideband signal comprises a burst of electromagnetic energy having a duration that can range between about 0.1 nanoseconds to about 100 nanoseconds and a power that can range between about +30 power decibels to about −

90 power decibels, as measured at a single frequency.