Apple Inc.

Nortel Networks Corporation

Northern Telecom Limited

Rockstar Bidco, LP

David Neil Adams

Dean Kitchener

Steven Raymond Hall

Martin Stevens Smith

Peter Michael Deane

Andrew Urquhart

William Waddoup

Simon John Gale

Graham Dolman

Christopher John Reed

Sonya Victoria Amos

Adrian David Smith

Dawn K Power

Simon Bates

Beamforming system and method which includes an inverse beamformer with first ports and second ports, a beamformer with beam ports and antenna ports, and antennas. The inverse beamformer may receive transmit signals provided to first ports, generates intermediate signals based on the transmit signals, and output the intermediate signals from the second ports. The beamformer's beam ports may couple to the second ports and the antenna ports, and may receive the intermediate signals at the beam ports, generate antenna signals based on the intermediate signals, and output the antenna signals at the antenna ports. The antennas may each receive an antenna signal from an antenna port, and transmit the antenna signal into space. The inverse beamformer may generate the intermediate signals in a manner that is mathematically inverse to the beamformer's generation of the antenna signals so that the antenna signals approximate the transmit signals up to respective phase shifts.

Inverse beamformer for inverting the action of existing beamformer in communication system

A broadband antenna structure has an electrically conductive enclosure with a closed end, over which a non-electrically conductive cover is placed. A radiating portion of an antenna feed layer comprising a conductive patch antenna element is placed in between the enclosure and the cover. The patch antenna element design is inherently broader band than that of conventional cavity-backed slot-radiating antennas, which are constrained in bandwidth by the need to keep the cavity formed in the enclosure small. The dielectric constant of the dielectric material of the cover reduces the required size of the conductive antenna element. The broadband antenna structure may be connected with an electronic device to form an antenna arrangement in which a portion of the antenna feed layer extends through an opening in a surface of an antenna housing, the portion being within an electronic device enclosure of the electronic device.

Antennas

Embodiments of the invention relate to an antenna structure and are particularly suited to array antennas. An antenna according to an embodiment of the invention employs an enclosure having an aperture in one end; in preferred arrangements the aperture provides the enclosure with a substantially open end, over which the cover is placed. The cover has a slot therein, of a smaller size than the size of the aperture presented by the open ended enclosure and the slot in the cover then acts as the radiating slot.

Antenna structures and arrays

A beamformer is arranged to receive an input from a first antenna element and from at least one other antenna element and to generate at least a first and second output beam. The first and second output beams are combined at a connecting port such that signals received at the first antenna element are constructively combined at the connecting port and signals received at another antenna element or elements are destructively combined at the connecting port, so that a receiver connected to the connecting port may receive signals from the first antenna element and may not receive signals from the other antenna element or elements. The arrangement may also be used to transmit a signal which is fed into the connecting point from the first antenna element and not from the other antenna element or elements.

Antenna system

An antenna array may be constructed using a plurality of tubes of electrically conducted material in conjunction with an additionally electrically conductive component which covers the front faces of tubes and at least part of the sides. Between the structures, a further electrically conductive material may be placed separated by dielectric material, and may be used to provide radiating elements and a feed structure by producing stripline structures. This structure is thereby able to reduce cavity back slots fed with triplate stripline along the sides of the tubes. This structure, particularly when made from plastics material, is low in complexity and cost and lightweight. These features overcome many of the disadvantages of the existing designs.

Antenna

A sea surface antenna comprises a cylindrical tube of metallic material 13 on a dielectric former. The tube has a longitudinal slot shorted at each end and coupled at its midpoint to a coaxial feed. The slot is bridged by two groups of capacitances each group being distributed along a respective half of the slot. The length of the antenna is less than 0.25 &#x3bb; and the diameter of the antenna is less than 0.02 &#x3bb;, where &#x3bb; is the free space wavelength at the operating frequency. The antenna is dimensioned so as to operate in an evanescent mode at a resonant frequency less than the cut-off frequency.

Sea surface antenna

The present invention relates to antennas for radio communications, and in particular although not exclusively to multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radio communications systems. An antenna arrangement comprising: a first, a second, and a third ground plane each arranged substantially perpendicular to the others; a first, a second, and a third antenna element associated with respectively said first, said second, and said third ground planes, each antenna element arranged to radiate in a predetermined polarization in elevation and azimuth with respect to said respective associated ground plane.

Growing community of inventors

Chelmsford, United Kingdom

David Neil Adams