EP1334536B1 - Antenne a fente a cavite repliee - Google Patents

Antenne a fente a cavite repliee Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP1334536B1
EP1334536B1 EP01968077A EP01968077A EP1334536B1 EP 1334536 B1 EP1334536 B1 EP 1334536B1 EP 01968077 A EP01968077 A EP 01968077A EP 01968077 A EP01968077 A EP 01968077A EP 1334536 B1 EP1334536 B1 EP 1334536B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
cavity
wall
energy
housing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP01968077A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1334536A2 (fr
Inventor
Kenneth W. Brown
Thomas A. Drake
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Raytheon Co
Original Assignee
Raytheon Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Raytheon Co filed Critical Raytheon Co
Priority to AT01968077T priority Critical patent/ATE341110T1/de
Publication of EP1334536A2 publication Critical patent/EP1334536A2/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1334536B1 publication Critical patent/EP1334536B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q13/00—Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
    • H01Q13/10—Resonant slot antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q13/00—Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
    • H01Q13/10—Resonant slot antennas
    • H01Q13/18—Resonant slot antennas the slot being backed by, or formed in boundary wall of, a resonant cavity ; Open cavity antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P7/00—Resonators of the waveguide type
    • H01P7/06—Cavity resonators

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to antennas. More specifically, the present invention relates to slot antennas used in high-power applications.
  • the individual antenna elements of a wide-scan phased array antenna must typically be spaced very close together. More specifically, the individual antenna elements must generally be spaced approximately one-half of a free-space wavelength apart from one another.
  • antenna elements that are of such compact design.
  • Circularly polarized patch antennas can be made smaller than one-half of a free-space wavelength, but only through the use of a dielectric, thereby rendering the patch antenna inadequate for high power applications.
  • a circularly polarized ridged waveguide antenna having a slot formed in a surface thereof can be made smaller than one-half of a freee-space wavelength.
  • a rectangular cavity-backed slot antenna can be constructed that can handle high power levels (i. e., no dielectric is required).
  • the cross-sectional dimensions of the cavity must be greater than one-half of a free-space wavelength (typically, 7/10th of a wavelength on edge) for the device to be operative.
  • the reason that the dimensions of the cavity must be greater than one-half of a free-space wavelength is due to the fact that in order for the cavity to resonate, the rectangular dimensions must be equal to one-half of a guide wavelength, which is longer than the free-space wavelength.
  • the size of a conventional cavity-backed slot antenna can be reduced by filling the cavity with a dielectric material, but this introduces substantial losses and renders the antenna inadequate for high average power applications.
  • U.S. Patent Number 5,049,895 discloses a flat circular waveguide device which radiates uniform radiation or power through a plurality of power-radiating openings in order to increase antenna gain.
  • the device includes means for feeding power from a peripheral wall of a wave-guiding space, which is surrounded by metallic walls, toward a central part of the wave-guiding space.
  • US 4,131,893 discloses a planar conductive radiating element which is insulated from a parallel-placed conductive ground plane by a dielectric substrate.
  • a resonant cavity is formed between the radiating element and the ground plane with radiation emanating from aperture slots formed between the edges and the ground plane.
  • the planar area of the radiating element can be reduced by using an expanded dielectric substrate and narrowing the non-resonant dimension and by, in effect, folding the resonant cavity along one or more axes perpendicular to the resonant dimension.
  • an extremely compact antenna that is capable of handling high power levels and providing very accurate polarization, e.g., for use in high power applications that require radiation of very accurate circular polarization over a very large angular region (e. g., +/-50° in both planes), such as in wide-scan phased array antennas.
  • Any convenient RF transmission line e. g., a waveguide or coaxial cables, can be used to inject RF energy into the folded cavity.
  • the slot is cross-shaped, and coaxial cables that transmit RF signals that are 90 out-of-phase are used to feed the folded cavity in respective orthogonal directions, whereby the cross-shaped slot produces accurate, circularly polarized radiation.
  • the slot is cross dumbbell-shaped, and a ridged waveguide is used to feed the folded cavity.
  • an amount of cavity fold is greater in a first direction than it is in a second direction, whereby the folded cavity resonates at different frequencies for RF energy of different polarizations.
  • a coupling post is provided to coupled RF energy of a first polarization to RF energy of a second polarization, whereby the slot produces accurate, circularly polarized radiation.
  • the antenna is capable of producing very accurate circular polarization and is capable of handling very high average power levels, e.g., 10 kW, thereby making it suitable for high power applications which require extremely compact antenna elements, e.g., wide-scan phased array antennas.
  • the present invention also encompasses, in another of its aspects, a phased array antenna that includes a plurality of antenna elements each of which is constructed in accordance with the present invention.
  • the folded cavity-backed slot antenna 20 includes a housing 22 that has a folded rectangular cavity 24 formed in a bottom cavity wall 26 in accordance with a novel aspect of the present invention, and a slot 28 machined in the top cavity wall 30.
  • the housing 22 may be constructed of aluminum or other suitable conductive material.
  • the folded rectangular cavity 24 can be thought of as being formed by folding a standard rectangular cavity behind itself in two dimensions.
  • This folded cavity design allows the antenna 20 to be less than 1 ⁇ 2 wavelength on edge, making it compact enough to use as an antenna element in a large scan phased array antenna.
  • This size reduction relative to the standard rectangular cavity design of the prior art is accomplished without the use of dielectric material, thereby enabling the antenna 20 to be used in high power applications.
  • the antenna 20 can be fed with a waveguide, coaxial cables, or any other RF transmission line.
  • the antenna 20 can be configured to produce a circularly polarized radiation pattern.
  • the slot 28 is cross-shaped, to thereby produce a circularly polarized radiation pattern.
  • the slot 28 can be formed by machining two orthogonal slots in the top cavity wall 30 to form the shape of a cross.
  • Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a standard rectangular cavity 32 of the prior art, in one dimension, e.g., the width dimension.
  • the width of the cavity 32 is designated "w".
  • Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the folded rectangular cavity 24 of the present invention, in one dimension, e.g., the width dimension.
  • the width of the folded cavity 24 is designated " ⁇ w", to thereby indicate that the width of the folded cavity 24 of the present invention is significantly less than the width of the "non-folded" cavity 32 of the prior art.
  • the total folded width of the cavity is approximately equal to "w", as shown in Fig. 3.
  • this same size reduction is achieved in the orthogonal dimension, e.g., the length dimension, of the folded cavity 24, by virtue of the folded cavity being "folded back" along its length, as well as its width.
  • this folding back of the standard rectangular cavity in orthogonal dimensions results in a "compound" cavity comprised of a first cavity portion 32 and a second cavity portion 34 joined around their entire peripheries by a fold or shelf 36.
  • the particular shape of the cavity is not limiting to the present invention, in its broadest aspect.
  • FIG 4 is an isometric view of the embodiment of the folded cavity-backed antenna 20 depicted in Figure 3 shown being fed with a pair of coaxial cables 40.
  • Each of the coaxial cables 40 feeds the folded cavity 24 in a respective one of its two orthogonal directions. If the coax signals are 90° apart in phase, the folded cavity-backed slot 28 will radiate circular polarization.
  • FIG. 5 is an isometric view of another embodiment of a folded cavity-backed antenna 20' of the present invention.
  • the antenna 20' is fed with a ridged waveguide 44.
  • the ridged waveguide 44 can be made narrower than a standard rectangular waveguide, e.g., approximately 1 ⁇ 2 wavelength on edge.
  • a cross-"dumbbell"-shaped slot 28' was employed in order to produce a very broad radiation pattern.
  • the ridged waveguide feed 44 only couples energy into the cavity in one polarization.
  • the folded cavity 24' is required to resonate in both polarizations. This is achieved in this embodiment of the invention by inclusion of a coupling post 48 to couple energy from one polarization into the other polarization.
  • the two polarizations of the folded cavity 24' are required to resonate at slightly different frequencies. This is achieved in this embodiment of the invention by making the amount of cavity fold greater for one polarization than the other polarization. This is accomplished by making the base of the folded cavity 34' unsymmetrical.
  • the folded cavity-backed antenna 20' of this embodiment (i.e., the one depicted in Figure 5) was built and extensively tested.
  • Figure 6 is a graph plotting return loss versus frequency, at the ridged waveguide input port of the folded cavity-backed slot antenna 20' of the present invention depicted in Figure 5.
  • the return loss at the center (design) frequency is less than -20 dB, and is also less than -20 dB over approximately a 3% bandwidth.
  • the double resonance nature of the return loss which is due to the two polarizations of the folded cavity 24' resonating at different frequencies in order to produce circularly polarized radiation, as explained above.
  • the radiated axial ratio for this embodiment was also tested, and it was determined that at the center frequency the axial ratio was close to zero, and that further, the axial ratio for the folded cavity 24' was less than 3 dB over approximately a 2% bandwidth. Further, this embodiment (i.e., the embodiment depicted in Figure 5) was also tested under high power. In particular, average power in excess of 10 kW was applied to the antenna 20' with no resulting degradation.
  • the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application.
  • the present invention has particular utility for use in phased array antennas, the present invention can also be used in a number of other applications, e.g., in industrial heating and/or cooking applications.

Landscapes

  • Waveguide Aerials (AREA)
  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Antenne (20/20') comportant :
    un boîtier rectangulaire (22) ayant une pluralité de parois formant un espace délimité contenant une cavité (24/24'), la pluralité de parois comprenant une première paroi (30), une seconde paroi (26) opposée et globalement parallèle à la première paroi (30), et des parois latérales entre celles-ci, lesdites parois latérales étant perpendiculaires à la première paroi ;
    une fente (28/28') formée dans la première paroi (30) du boîtier (22), la fente (28/28') étant formée pour produire un rayonnement à polarisation circulaire ;
    un moyen (40/44) permettant d'injecter une énergie radioélectrique dans la cavité (24/24') moyennant quoi la fente (28/28') produit un rayonnement à polarisation circulaire ;
    caractérisée en ce que :
    la seconde paroi (26) est de forme partiellement plane et comporte une combinaison formée d'un seul tenant par :
    une partie plane extérieure qui est parallèle à la première paroi ;
    une partie de tronc de section transversale rectangulaire, faisant saillie à partir de la partie plane dans le boîtier dans une direction perpendiculaire à la première paroi, et
    une partie supérieure de section transversale rectangulaire, ladite partie supérieure se prolongeant sur tous les côtés au-delà de la partie de tronc,
    ladite partie supérieure de la seconde paroi étant parallèle à la première paroi ainsi qu'à la partie plane extérieure de la seconde paroi, la combinaison formée par la partie de tronc et la partie supérieure ayant une hauteur qui est inférieure à la hauteur du boîtier rectangulaire, ladite combinaison formée par la partie de tronc et la partie supérieure étant située de manière centrale au sein du boîtier de telle sorte que la cavité (24/24') définie par la première paroi, la seconde paroi et les parois latérales ait une forme repliée, ladite cavité (24/24') définissant une cavité composée ayant :
    une première partie de cavité (32/32') qui est définie entre la partie supérieure de la seconde paroi et la première paroi, et
    une seconde partie de cavité (34/34') qui est définie entre les parois latérales et la partie supérieure de la seconde paroi et entre la partie supérieure de la seconde paroi et la partie plane extérieure de la seconde paroi,
    la cavité réalisant ainsi une fréquence de résonance abaissée liée aux dimensions physiques du boîtier, sans employer de matériau diélectrique.
  2. Antenne (20/20') selon la revendication 1, dans laquelle la forme repliée de la cavité (24/24') entraîne des dimensions de longueur et de largeur du boîtier (22) inférieures à sept dixièmes d'une longueur d'onde en espace libre.
  3. Antenne (20/20') selon la revendication 1 ou la revendication 2, dans laquelle au moins l'une des dimensions de longueur et de largeur du boîtier (22) n'est pas supérieure à la moitié d'une longueur d'onde en espace libre.
  4. Antenne (20/20') selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans laquelle la fente (28/28') est en forme de croix.
  5. Antenne (20) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans laquelle le moyen d'injection d'énergie radioélectrique comprend des câbles de transmission coaxiaux (40).
  6. Antenne (20/20') selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans laquelle le moyen d'injection d'énergie radioélectrique comprend un guide d'ondes (44).
  7. Antenne (20/20') selon la revendication précédente, dans laquelle le guide d'onde (44) est un guide d'ondes à moulure.
  8. Antenne (20') selon la revendication 6 ou la revendication 7, dans laquelle la fente (28') a la forme d'haltères croisés.
  9. Antenne (20') selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4 ou 6 à 8, comprenant en outre un pilier de couplage (48) couplant l'énergie radioélectrique d'une première polarisation à l'énergie radioélectrique d'une seconde polarisation.
  10. Antenne (20') selon la revendication précédente, dans laquelle la cavité repliée (24) résonne à différentes fréquences pour une énergie radioélectrique de différentes polarisations.
  11. Antenne (20') selon la revendication 9 ou la revendication 10, dans laquelle la cavité repliée (24) est configurée pour résonner à une première fréquence d'énergie radioélectrique d'une première polarisation, et pour résonner à une seconde fréquence d'énergie radioélectrique d'une seconde polarisation.
  12. Antenne réseau à commande de phase se composant d'une pluralité d'antennes (20/20') selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes.
EP01968077A 2000-08-27 2001-08-24 Antenne a fente a cavite repliee Expired - Lifetime EP1334536B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT01968077T ATE341110T1 (de) 2001-08-24 2001-08-24 Gefaltete hohlraumgestützte schlitzantenne

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US38564600A 2000-08-27 2000-08-27
PCT/US2001/026273 WO2002019468A2 (fr) 2000-08-27 2001-08-24 Antenne a fente a cavite repliee

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1334536A2 EP1334536A2 (fr) 2003-08-13
EP1334536B1 true EP1334536B1 (fr) 2006-09-27

Family

ID=23522285

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP01968077A Expired - Lifetime EP1334536B1 (fr) 2000-08-27 2001-08-24 Antenne a fente a cavite repliee

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1334536B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP4933020B2 (fr)
KR (1) KR100870583B1 (fr)
AU (2) AU2001288354B2 (fr)
DE (1) DE60123454T2 (fr)
IL (2) IL153978A0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2002019468A2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP6419318B2 (ja) * 2015-04-30 2018-11-07 古野電気株式会社 円偏波アンテナおよび姿勢算出装置
CN107069188B (zh) * 2016-12-29 2019-12-20 北京遥测技术研究所 低剖面高效率双极化平板天线

Family Cites Families (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4131893A (en) * 1977-04-01 1978-12-26 Ball Corporation Microstrip radiator with folded resonant cavity
US4130823A (en) * 1977-08-05 1978-12-19 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy Miniature, flush mounted, microwave dual band cavity backed slot antenna
US5049895A (en) * 1985-01-24 1991-09-17 Yoshiharu Ito Flat circular waveguide device
JPH02156707A (ja) * 1988-12-08 1990-06-15 Yagi Antenna Co Ltd 平面アンテナ
JP3341292B2 (ja) * 1991-02-18 2002-11-05 凸版印刷株式会社 偏波共用ラジアルラインスロットアンテナ
JP3021752B2 (ja) * 1991-04-26 2000-03-15 凸版印刷株式会社 複合構造ラジアルラインスロットアンテナ
US5581266A (en) * 1993-01-04 1996-12-03 Peng; Sheng Y. Printed-circuit crossed-slot antenna
JP3026711B2 (ja) * 1993-07-07 2000-03-27 凸版印刷株式会社 偏波共用給電装置
JP3340958B2 (ja) * 1998-04-17 2002-11-05 株式会社ヨコオ アレーアンテナ
US6304226B1 (en) * 1999-08-27 2001-10-16 Raytheon Company Folded cavity-backed slot antenna

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2002019468A3 (fr) 2002-06-27
JP2004508751A (ja) 2004-03-18
DE60123454T2 (de) 2007-08-23
EP1334536A2 (fr) 2003-08-13
KR20030051739A (ko) 2003-06-25
IL153978A0 (en) 2003-11-23
DE60123454D1 (de) 2006-11-09
JP4933020B2 (ja) 2012-05-16
AU2001288354B2 (en) 2005-08-18
KR100870583B1 (ko) 2008-11-25
WO2002019468A9 (fr) 2004-03-04
AU8835401A (en) 2002-03-13
WO2002019468A2 (fr) 2002-03-07
IL153978A (en) 2008-12-29

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6304226B1 (en) Folded cavity-backed slot antenna
AU2004302158B2 (en) Wideband phased array radiator
US7642979B2 (en) Wave-guide-notch antenna
US4766440A (en) Triple frequency U-slot microstrip antenna
US4839663A (en) Dual polarized slot-dipole radiating element
US4929959A (en) Dual-polarized printed circuit antenna having its elements capacitively coupled to feedlines
Simons et al. Effect of parasitic dielectric resonators on CPW/aperture-coupled dielectric resonator antennas
US20060038732A1 (en) Broadband dual polarized slotline feed circuit
Yang et al. A single-layer circularly polarized antenna with improved gain based on quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide cavities array
EP1334536B1 (fr) Antenne a fente a cavite repliee
AU2001288354A1 (en) Folded cavity-backed slot antenna
US7333058B2 (en) Hexagonal dual-pol notch array architecture having a triangular grid and concentric phase centers
JP3038205B1 (ja) 導波管給電型平面アンテナ
US20230361481A1 (en) X-Band Dual-Polarized Slotted Waveguide Antenna (SWGA) Array Unit Cell for Large E-Scanning Radar Systems
JPH05160626A (ja) 無給電素子付きトリプレート型平面アンテナ
Tian et al. Endfire coupled-mode patch antenna array with balanced feeding
Yu et al. Dual-Band Dual-Polarized Slotted Coaxial Waveguide Antenna
Bayraktar A Dual Polarized Shared Aperture Compact Unit Cell Element for Antenna Array Applications
Liu et al. A Broadband Circularly-Polarized Waveguide Slot Cavity Array
Chan et al. High gain, dual frequency, dual polarization, low profile antenna design for millimetre-wave communication systems
Carrillo Planar leaky wave antennas for SHF and EHF applications
Abdulkareem Two Elements Elliptical Slot CDRA Array with Corporate Feeding For X-Band Applications
Chan et al. Design and analysis of a low profile broadband wide scan array
JPH0738329A (ja) 漏れ波ｎｒｄガイドを用いた平面アンテナ

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20030205

AK Designated contracting states

Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL LT LV MK RO SI

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20040528

GRAP Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR1

GRAS Grant fee paid

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR3

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE TR

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: IT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT;WARNING: LAPSES OF ITALIAN PATENTS WITH EFFECTIVE DATE BEFORE 2007 MAY HAVE OCCURRED AT ANY TIME BEFORE 2007. THE CORRECT EFFECTIVE DATE MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE RECORDED.

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: LI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: NL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: CH

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: FI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: AT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

Ref country code: BE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: EP

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: IE

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REF Corresponds to:

Ref document number: 60123454

Country of ref document: DE

Date of ref document: 20061109

Kind code of ref document: P

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20061227

Ref country code: SE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20061227

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: ES

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20070107

NLV1 Nl: lapsed or annulled due to failure to fulfill the requirements of art. 29p and 29m of the patents act
PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: PT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20070313

ET Fr: translation filed
REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: PL

PLBE No opposition filed within time limit

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT

26N No opposition filed

Effective date: 20070628

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MC

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20070831

Ref country code: GR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20061228

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: IE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20070824

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20070824

Ref country code: CY

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: TR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20060927

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20120822

Year of fee payment: 12

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20120822

Year of fee payment: 12

Ref country code: FR

Payment date: 20120823

Year of fee payment: 12

GBPC Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20130824

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20140301

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R119

Ref document number: 60123454

Country of ref document: DE

Effective date: 20140301

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: ST

Effective date: 20140430

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20130824

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20130902