Backhaul radio with an aperture-fed antenna assembly
First Claim
1. An antenna assembly comprising:
- a first substrate comprising a plurality of conductive patch elements;
a second substrate comprising a first layer with at least a conductive ground plane and a plurality of pairs of apertures, wherein the number of pairs of apertures is equal to the number of conductive patch elements, and a second layer with at least a first transmission line feed network coupled to a first feed point and a second transmission line feed network coupled to a second feed point; and
a spacer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, the spacer comprising a dielectric material and at least one spacer opening in the dielectric material, wherein the dielectric material is absent within the at least one spacer opening;
wherein the first transmission line feed network overlaps a first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures and the second transmission line feed network overlaps a second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures;
wherein the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures electromagnetically couples the first transmission line feed network and the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures electromagnetically couples the second transmission line feed network to a respective one of the plurality of conductive patch elements; and
wherein the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures is orthogonal to the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures,wherein each of the first aperture and the second aperture of each respective pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures comprises an aperture body,wherein the first transmission line feed network is terminated by a first via to the conductive ground plane after a feedline portion of the first transmission line feed network crosses over the aperture body of the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures, andwherein the second transmission line feed network is terminated by a second via to the conductive ground plane after a feedline portion of the second transmission line feed network crosses over the aperture body of the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Directive gain antenna elements implemented with an aperture-fed patch array antenna assembly are described. A feed network for the aperture-fed patch array may include offset apertures and may also include meandering feed lines. Scalable aperture shapes and orientations that can be used with antennas operating at any frequency and with dual orthogonal polarizations are also disclosed. Directive gain antenna elements implemented with arrays of orthogonal reflected dipoles are also described with optimal feed networks and parasitic elements to achieve desired directive gain characteristics. Such arrayed dipole antennas feature dual orthogonal polarizations with assembly tabs that lower cost and improve reliability. Backhaul radios that incorporate said antennas are also disclosed.
190 Citations
29 Claims
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1. An antenna assembly comprising:
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a first substrate comprising a plurality of conductive patch elements; a second substrate comprising a first layer with at least a conductive ground plane and a plurality of pairs of apertures, wherein the number of pairs of apertures is equal to the number of conductive patch elements, and a second layer with at least a first transmission line feed network coupled to a first feed point and a second transmission line feed network coupled to a second feed point; and a spacer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, the spacer comprising a dielectric material and at least one spacer opening in the dielectric material, wherein the dielectric material is absent within the at least one spacer opening; wherein the first transmission line feed network overlaps a first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures and the second transmission line feed network overlaps a second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures; wherein the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures electromagnetically couples the first transmission line feed network and the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures electromagnetically couples the second transmission line feed network to a respective one of the plurality of conductive patch elements; and wherein the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures is orthogonal to the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures, wherein each of the first aperture and the second aperture of each respective pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures comprises an aperture body, wherein the first transmission line feed network is terminated by a first via to the conductive ground plane after a feedline portion of the first transmission line feed network crosses over the aperture body of the first aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures, and wherein the second transmission line feed network is terminated by a second via to the conductive ground plane after a feedline portion of the second transmission line feed network crosses over the aperture body of the second aperture of each pair of the plurality of pairs of apertures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification