Nissan Motor Company Limited

Other

Nobuyuki Kaya

Hidemi Yasui

Teruo Fujiwara

Hiroyuki Yashiro

Jiro Kochiyama

An energy transmission arrangement is formed as a subarray panel which emits a microwave energy signal to a target location on the basis of a pilot signal received from the target location. The subarray panel includes a transmission antenna divided into a subarray having a plurality of antenna elements for transmission of the energy signal. The subarray panel further includes pilot signal receiving antennas and thus each subarray panel may function independently and may thus be made lighter and more compact.

Subarray panel for solar energy transmission

An energy receiving satellite has a curved outer surface on which a plurality of energy signal reception antenna elements are arranged. The satellite may also include a pilot signal generator and a plurality of pilot signal transmission antennas arranged at intervals around the curved outer surface of the satellite. The curved surface is composed of a plurality of curved panels which may be folded in an overlapping condition or unfolded such that the panels are disposed adjacently in a circular arrangement.

Energy receiving satellite

An energy transmission arrangement emits a microwave energy signal to a target location on the basis of a pilot signal received from the target location. The arrangement includes a plurality of pilot antennas for receiving the pilot signal and a plurality of antenna elements for transmission of the energy signal. The pilot signal as received at a first pilot antenna is multiplied at a phase conjugation circuit and divided into a plurality of transmission signals corresponding to the plurality of antenna elements. A target direction is calculated based on a phase difference of the pilot signal as received at each of the other pilot antennas and a phase adjustment circuit is provided for adjusting the phases of each of the transmission signals on the basis of the calculated target direction. Electrical energy is then supplied from energy collecting means to a plurality of amplifiers and amplified respectively, on the basis of a corresponding one of the transmission signals, to be supplied to respective antenna elements to be emitted as the microwave energy signal. According to this arrangment, the phase conjugation circuit is active to receive the pilot signal as received at the first pilot antenna as well as the pilot signal as received at a predetermined reference point in the path of the pilot signal for calculating a difference signal for effecting phase correction of the microwave energy signal.

Growing community of inventors

Musashino, Japan

Hidemi Yasui