US3795002A - Wide-angle planar-beam antenna adapted for conventional or doppler scan using dielectric lens - Google Patents

Wide-angle planar-beam antenna adapted for conventional or doppler scan using dielectric lens Download PDF

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Publication number
US3795002A
US3795002A US00316240A US3795002DA US3795002A US 3795002 A US3795002 A US 3795002A US 00316240 A US00316240 A US 00316240A US 3795002D A US3795002D A US 3795002DA US 3795002 A US3795002 A US 3795002A
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United States
Prior art keywords
parallel
array
wave guide
toroid
elements
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Expired - Lifetime
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US00316240A
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English (en)
Inventor
J Nemit
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TDK Micronas GmbH
ITT Inc
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Deutsche ITT Industries GmbH
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q19/00—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic
    • H01Q19/06—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens
    • H01Q19/062—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens for focusing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture

Definitions

  • the invention relates to scannable antennas and, in particular, to antenna systems for air navigation and guidance systems requiring vertical angle determination.
  • U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 272,451 (abovereferenced) describes a device employing a circular aperture, parallel-plate wave guide converter excited by a linear Doppler-scan array or alternatively by an electronic-scan phased array or the like.
  • the purpose of that parallel-plate structure, as is fully described in that application, Ser. No. 272,45 1 is the conversion of fundamentally conical-coordinate beams to planarcoordinate beams. That device is employed as an element in the novel combination of the present invention as hereinafter described.
  • the combination of the present invention involves the use of a plurality of coordinate-converting parallelpartial toroid.
  • the lens antenna arrangement produced is vertically oriented functionally; i.e., it is intended to produce vertically scannable beams having predetermined azimuth characteristics which remain substantially constant over the useful elevation scanning angles.
  • the referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,057, on the other hand, is horizontally oriented by the same criterion.
  • the general objective of the present invention is the production of a basically vertically oriented antenna (although its use as a horizontally oriented device is not precluded) to form horizontal fan beams of substantial azimuth angular width, the said antenna being adapted for scanning in elevation without deterioration of the focus uniformity of the beams at various elevation beam positions.
  • Use of a simple linear array does not accomplish this objective because it beams have a conical shape when scanned.
  • the circular parallel-plate wave guide described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 272,451 used by itself, provides the required planar-beam for consistency with coordinate systems utilized in the so-called Doppler-scan air navigation and guidance systems.
  • that circular parallel-plate wave guide arrangement as described in the reference, is limited in wide angle coverage in the nonscanning coordinate, due to defocusing which distorts the elevation beam width at wide azimuth angles.
  • the present invention which is particularly adapted to use a radar C- band operation and above, employs an optical technique to provide the required wide-angle beam in azimuth in an arrangement affording the planar coordinates effected by the aforementioned Ser. No. 272,451 device as a feed, while providing a more idealized focusing to eliminate the so-called dogbone effect.
  • FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of an antenna arrangement in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a top view taken along the section line AA of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 3 is an expanded pictorial view showing the details of the feed arrangements for the plural parallelplate converters of the combination.
  • FIGS. 4(a) and (b) are respective beam crosssections for prior art and present systems.
  • FIG. 1 a pictorial view of the antenna assembly according to the present invention is presented.
  • the lens 18 is partially cut away to show the parallel-plate coordinate converters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
  • Those parallel-plate wave guide converters are excited in parallel from a common Doppler-line feed 10 and a plurality of wave guide coupling sections 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.
  • the semi-circular apertures of these parallel-plate wa-ve guides act as individual feeds operating into a toroidal shape lens of the general Luneburg type. The effect of the lens in combination with these apertures is to produce the correct ringphase for focusing in elevation at a different azimuth angle.
  • the azimuth beam is composed of a plurality of overlapping individual narrower beams, and here the general theory of forming an azimuth beam builds from the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,057. Accordingly, it may be said that each of the vertical parallel-plate wave guide apertures acts as a feed to a lens which produces a focused beam at discrete and different azimuth angles for each of the parallel-plate devices. The combination of all those beams produces the wide angle beam in azimuth with substantially constant elevation width. Looking ahead to FIG. 4, this effect is illustrated. As hereinabove indicated, the observer looking down the beam sees a dogbone beam shape, per FIG.
  • the parallel-plate device when used a lone as set forth in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 272,451.
  • the elevation dimension of the scannable beam 38 is minimum at 35 and broadens out at 36 and 36a to give the so-called dogbone shape.
  • the plurality of individual beams making up the azimuth fan shape are typically 39 and 40, etc., in FIG. 4(b). Those individual beams correspond to the radiations of 13, 14, etc., from FIG. 1, as focused by the lens 18 in accordance with the further description hereinafter.
  • a relative dielectric constant of about four for the toroidal lens results in an optimization of the quadratic and fourth-order azimuth phase errors, thereby achieving nearly constant phase.
  • the inside perimeter of the toroidal lens at 12 is circular, as is the outside perimeter in two planes viewed at 11.
  • FIG. 2 is a view looking down in accordance with the section line AA in FIG. 1, the cross-section of the lens 18 will be seen to be circular. Assuming that the section line illustrated in FIG. 1 passes through points 11 and 12, the horizontal wave guide coupling section 21 will be the one evident in FIG. 2. Its connection to the parallel-plate wave guide converters 13 through 17, as seen in FIG. 2, is typical of the connection of the other wave guide coupling sections 19, 20, 22 and 23 at the respective vertical placements. The actual apertures of the individual parallelplate wave guide converters are made to conform to the shape of the lens. That is, it will be seen from FIG. 2 that parallel-plate wave guide apertures of 13 and 14 are chamfered at the point of contact with the lens as illustrated at 13a and 14a in FIG. 2.
  • the parallelplate wave guides, and all other wave guide parts illustrated may be made of the common conductive materials used for wave guide construction.
  • the toroidal lens may be constructed from a modified cross-linked polyolefin material. Such material is available under the tradename Custom poly K-Flex, a product manufactured by Custom Materials, Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass.
  • the substantially identical parallel-plate wave guide coordinate converters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are as described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 272,451. It will be noted that the space between the parallel-plates, for example, in 13, is excited by a vertical array of slot antenna elements 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33. The referenced patent application describes how these slots form an array as part of a conventional scanning or Doppler-scanning source. The corresponding slots in each of the other parallel-plate arrangements 14 through 17 are all excited in parallel. That is, the distribution wave guide 19 connects to the corresponding slot in each of the other parallel-plate arrangements as it does at slot 29 within 13.
  • the distribution wave guides 20, 21, 22 and 23 connect to the slots 30, 31, 32 and 33, respectively, and to the corresponding slots in each of the other parallel-plate wave guides 14 through 17.
  • These horizontal feed distribution wave guides are themselves separately excited, one to a slot from slots 24 through 28, communicating with the Doppler-line feed 10. It will be realized, of course, that the Doppler-line feed 10 could be a conventional scanning arrangement.
  • the slots 24 through 28 are, thus, the scanned or commutated elements and the corresponding slots within each of the parallel-plate wave guide converters are excited in parallel.
  • the reference to the lens shape as a partial toroid refers to the general shape depicted in FIG. 1.
  • the segment of the toroid provided must at least extend around the generally circular aperture of the parallelplate wave guide converters used.
  • the reference to an axis of the toroid refers generally to a line which would extend through the center of the inside perimeter normal to the parallel-plate wave guides. Thus, the axis would pass centrally through the hole of the donut.
  • the inside perimeter of the toroid means the perimeter measured in the center of the hole of the donut and the inside perimeter surface means the surface of the toroid inside the arbitrary line 34 through the center of the toroid section in FIG. 2.
  • the designer may find it desirable to insert a matching section at the interface of each of said parallel plate wave guides with the inside perimeter surface of the toroidal lens; however, this is a matter falling within the ordinary skills of this art.
  • An antenna system for radiating planar beams scannable in a first angular coordinate and of substantially constant beam width in the same angular coordinate over a wide range of angles in a second orthogonal angular coordinate comprising:
  • a dielectric lens in the shape of a partial toroid having circular-shaped inside and outside perimeter surfaces and a full circle cross-sectional shape in a plane containing the axis of said toroid;
  • parallel-plate wave guide feeds coupled to said lens along a portion of said inside perimeter, said parallel-plate wave guides being normal to the axis of said toroid and spaced in the direction of said axis, said parallel-plate wave guides further having their apertures abutting the inside surface of said toroid;
  • a scan feed array including a first linear array of antenna elements
  • each of said coupling transmission lines is coupled to said scan feed array through one of said slots of said first linear array and slots in said coupling transmission lines are provided coincidental with said corresponding antenna elements of each of said second arrays, whereby said parallel feed of corresponding elements of said second array is provided.

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  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)
  • Aerials With Secondary Devices (AREA)
US00316240A 1972-12-18 1972-12-18 Wide-angle planar-beam antenna adapted for conventional or doppler scan using dielectric lens Expired - Lifetime US3795002A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US31624072A 1972-12-18 1972-12-18

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US3795002A true US3795002A (en) 1974-02-26

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US (1) US3795002A (ja)
JP (1) JPS4991162A (ja)
CA (1) CA982241A (ja)
DE (1) DE2360501A1 (ja)
FR (1) FR2210837A1 (ja)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5471220A (en) * 1994-02-17 1995-11-28 Itt Corporation Integrated adaptive array antenna
US5948038A (en) * 1996-07-31 1999-09-07 American Traffic Systems, Inc. Traffic violation processing system
US6111523A (en) * 1995-11-20 2000-08-29 American Traffic Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for photographing traffic in an intersection
US6480164B2 (en) * 2000-08-03 2002-11-12 Ronald S. Posner Corrective dielectric lens feed system
EP1528627A1 (en) * 2003-10-31 2005-05-04 Thomson Licensing S.A. High frequency, multiple beam antenna system
US8872714B2 (en) 2012-05-17 2014-10-28 Space Systems/Loral, Llc Wide beam antenna

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2849438A1 (de) * 1978-11-15 1980-05-29 Licentia Gmbh Antennensystem

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2720589A (en) * 1951-07-27 1955-10-11 Sperry Rand Corp Rapid scanning radar antenna
US3255453A (en) * 1963-03-26 1966-06-07 Armstrong Cork Co Non-uniform dielectric toroidal lenses
US3363251A (en) * 1965-01-25 1968-01-09 Sperry Rand Corp Wire grid antenna exhibiting luneberg lens properties

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2720589A (en) * 1951-07-27 1955-10-11 Sperry Rand Corp Rapid scanning radar antenna
US3255453A (en) * 1963-03-26 1966-06-07 Armstrong Cork Co Non-uniform dielectric toroidal lenses
US3363251A (en) * 1965-01-25 1968-01-09 Sperry Rand Corp Wire grid antenna exhibiting luneberg lens properties

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5471220A (en) * 1994-02-17 1995-11-28 Itt Corporation Integrated adaptive array antenna
US6111523A (en) * 1995-11-20 2000-08-29 American Traffic Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for photographing traffic in an intersection
US5948038A (en) * 1996-07-31 1999-09-07 American Traffic Systems, Inc. Traffic violation processing system
US6480164B2 (en) * 2000-08-03 2002-11-12 Ronald S. Posner Corrective dielectric lens feed system
EP1528627A1 (en) * 2003-10-31 2005-05-04 Thomson Licensing S.A. High frequency, multiple beam antenna system
FR2861897A1 (fr) * 2003-10-31 2005-05-06 Thomson Licensing Sa Systeme d'antenne haute-frequence multi-faisceaux
US20050122276A1 (en) * 2003-10-31 2005-06-09 Ali Louzir High frequency, multiple beam antenna system
US7119758B2 (en) 2003-10-31 2006-10-10 Thomson Licensing High frequency, multiple beam antenna system
US8872714B2 (en) 2012-05-17 2014-10-28 Space Systems/Loral, Llc Wide beam antenna

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA982241A (en) 1976-01-20
DE2360501A1 (de) 1974-06-20
FR2210837A1 (ja) 1974-07-12
JPS4991162A (ja) 1974-08-30

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Owner name: ITT CORPORATION

Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:004389/0606

Effective date: 19831122