US 11,870,149 B2
Directive beamforming antenna
Gerard James Hayes, Wake Forest, NC (US); Koichiro Takamizawa, Silver Spring, MD (US); James O. Legvold, Willow Park, TX (US); Elbert Stanford Eskridge, Jr., Chapel Hil, NC (US); Mike Barts, Raleigh, NC (US); and John Swartz, Durham, NC (US)
Assigned to SMARTSKY NETWORKS LLC, Morrisville, NC (US)
Appl. No. 17/297,040
Filed by SMARTSKY NETWORKS LLC, Morrisville, NC (US)
PCT Filed Nov. 22, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/062799
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 26, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/112543, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 4, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/772,874, filed on Nov. 29, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0029307 A1, Jan. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. H01Q 21/20 (2006.01); H01Q 1/24 (2006.01); H01Q 1/28 (2006.01); H01Q 3/36 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 21/205 (2013.01) [H01Q 1/246 (2013.01); H01Q 1/28 (2013.01); H01Q 3/36 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An antenna assembly comprising:
a plurality of antenna elements disposed in a circular pattern and equidistant from each other in angular separation relative to a common reference point at a center of the circular pattern,
wherein the antenna assembly includes or is operably coupled to a phase control module configured to apply selected phase fronts to each of the antenna elements to generate constructive and destructive interference patterns to define a directive beam in a desired direction,
wherein the selected phase fronts include no phase adjustment, a positive phase adjustment value and a negative phase adjustment value, the positive and negative phase adjustment values each having a same magnitude,
wherein a number of the antenna elements is eight and the angular separation is 45 degrees,
wherein the antenna elements are each disposed a distance about equal to a quarter wavelength of a frequency of operation of the antenna assembly away from a common reference point at a center of the circular pattern, and
wherein the positive phase adjustment value is 107° and the negative phase adjustment value is −107°.