USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Trex Enterprises Corporation

Other

Ga Technologies, Inc.

Power Conversion Technology, Inc.

Randall B Olsen

John Arthur Lovberg

Vladimir Kolinko

Kenneth Y Tang

Paul A Johnson

Jia-Chi Samuel Chieh

Everly S Yeo

Christopher Joseph Meagher

Thomas Lambert

Louis Slaughter

Richard Chedester

Maxwell Mayekawa Kerber

J Scott Rodgers

George Houghton

Max Kerber

Christopher C Cirullo

Raif Farkouh

Huan Nguyen

Jon Hill

A need exists for a method to do monopulse tracking with a single beam phased array antenna. With a monopulse tracker antenna, the satellite, or moving target, will have a beacon signal that the tracker can acquire. The beacon signal may be a preamble in the transmitted signal from the satellite. The monopulse tracker antennas are scanned over the volume, minimizing the error signal. When the error signal is minimal, the antenna is pointed in the direction of the satellite or moving target. Because the tracker needs to know direction offsets in both azimuth and elevation planes, error signals from both planes are needed. The monopulse tracker antenna maintains a radio frequency link to the beacon signal, causing the antenna to lock in the direction of the satellite when the error signal is minimized to zero.

Method for monopulse single beam phased array tracking for communications using beam jitter

A phased array antenna comprising: a substrate; a plurality of circular polarized wideband antenna elements disposed on the substrate, wherein each element comprises two orthogonal feeds; wherein the plurality of elements are organized into subarrays and physically oriented such that constituent elements of each subarray are sequentially rotated with respect to each other about respective axes that are perpendicular to a surface of the substrate so as to allow RHCP and LHCP transmission and reception; a phase shifter communicatively coupled to the feeds of all the elements and configured to electronically any dynamically compensate for phase regression or progression introduced by the sequential rotation of the elements without relying on physical transmission lines of different dimensions, and further configured to introduce a progressive phase shift across a beam steering plane to enable beam steering of the phased array antenna.

Circular polarized phased array with wideband axial ratio bandwidth using sequential rotation and dynamic phase recovery

A wideband antenna transmits and/or receives electromagnetic radiation. The wideband antenna includes a feedline, a first dielectric layer, a via, a driven patch, a second dielectric layer, and a parasitic patch. The feedline couples a radiofrequency signal and an element of the wideband antenna. The first dielectric layer is between the feedline and the driven patch. The via couples the radiofrequency signal of the feedline through the first dielectric layer. The driven patch couples between the electromagnetic radiation and the radiofrequency signal of the via. The second dielectric layer has a low dielectric constant of less than 1.3. The parasitic patch is electrically isolated from the driven patch by the second dielectric layer between the driven patch and the parasitic patch. The parasitic patch electromagnetically couples with the driven patch and the electromagnetic radiation to produce a wideband frequency response of the wideband antenna.

Wideband phased array antenna mitigating effects of housing

A foam sandwich reflector and a method for making a foam sandwich reflector. The reflector and method incorporate a foam slab having a top and bottom surface. Each of the top and bottom surface of the foam slab have a coating of an adhesive layer. The adhesive coating on the bottom surface of the foam slab is a lower bonding layer that bonds the foam slab to the bottom high modulus layer. The adhesive coating on the top surface of the foam slab is an upper bonding layer that bonds the foam slab to the top high modulus layer; bottom high modulus layer composed of a metal, e.g., aluminum or steel. The reflector and method also include an optically smooth, highly reflective high modulus layer. The reflector is curved in one dimension, and the curve is configured to concentrate light when the reflector is in use.

Foam sandwich reflector

A glass concentrator mirror assembly and a method for making same. A glass concentrator mirror assembly is configured to reflect sunlight to a receiver in a reflector assembly. The glass concentrator mirror assembly has at least one glass mirror. The at least one glass mirror has a reflective side and a back side. The glass concentrator mirror assembly also has a parabola-forming frame structure for the at least one glass mirror. The parabola-forming frame structure includes a sternum that is fixedly fastened to a spine with the at least one glass mirror therebetween. The parabola-forming frame structure facilitates a substantially parabolic curvature of the at least one glass mirror. The parabola-forming frame structure provides a substantially uniform force along a line of contact between the sternum and the at least one glass mirror.

Glass concentrator mirror assembly

A torque tube coupler that rigidly connects reflectors and provides for substantially 360&#xb0; rotational freedom for the reflectors as well as the ability to transmit rotation from one reflector to another so that the reflectors may essentially be placed at the same angle. The torque coupler includes first and second torque tube coupler assemblies each configured to be connected to a reflector in a solar energy collection system. The torque coupler also includes a support point that supports said first torque coupler assembly and said second torque tube coupler assembly. This support point includes a shaft that facilitates the rigid connection of the first torque tube coupler assembly to the second torque tube coupler assembly and a bearing that facilitates 360&#xb0; rotation of the first reflector and the second reflector.

Torque coupler and support point

A wafer precursor for creating photovoltaic (PV) concentrator modules and a method for fabricating solar concentrator modules using the wafer precursor. The method includes providing a crystalline silicon wafer substrate that can be used to make multiple concentrator cells to be incorporated into concentrator modules. The method also includes applying fingers as horizontal grid lines onto the crystalline silicon wafer substrate. The method also includes applying bus bars onto the crystalline silicon wafer substrate to form separate top grid structures. The number of separate top grid structures is at least two when the concentrator module is part of an optical system that has a concentration ratio of between about 8 and about 16 times sunlight. The number of top grid structures is at least three when the concentrator module is part of an optical system that has a concentration ratio of between about 17 and about 50.

Manufacture of solar concentrator modules using a wafer precursor

The present invention is an apparatus for shifting the phase of an radiofrequency signal. The device has an input line and an output line. An input switch is connected to the input line. The input switch is has several input throws. An output switch is connected to the output line. The output switch has several output throws which correspond to the input throws. The apparatus also has several phase shift lines. Each phase shift line has a true path length that is different from the true path lengths of the other phase shift lines.

True path beam steering

The present invention provides a solar energy concentrating reflection system comprising multiple arrays of solar reflectors arranged adjacent to one another on a generally planar support structure where each of the reflector arrays configured into a first Fresnel array in a first dimension. Each of the first Fresnel array of reflectors are in turn arrayed and supported in a support frame in a configuration of second Fresnel arrays in a second dimension such that solar energy from the sun is reflected and concentrated to a predetermined focal line. A solar receiver is disposed in the focal line of the configured solar reflectors such that the first and second Fresnel arrays uniformly reflect and concentrate solar energy from the sun onto the solar receiver within the first and second dimensions with a uniform solar intensity profile.

Two-dimensional Fresnel solar energy concentration system

A wireless communications basestation that utilizes a light weight high directivity electronically-steerable antenna mounted on an aircraft to providing relay broadband communication service among mobile units in a geographic area is provided. The aircraft carries aloft the antenna; a radio and a switching device for routing. A gateway may also be provided to enable communications with a wide area network. A communication system for a geographic area utilizing the airborne wireless communications basestation is also presented. The system includes a number of user equipment units located in the geographic area in communication with the airborne wireless communications basestation. The user equipment units may utilize omni-directional antennas for low data rate communications, and/or a high directivity antenna.

Aircraft basestation

A reflector particularly adaptable to the collection of solar energy for use in heating systems, thermal to electrical conversion systems and in photovoltaic conversions systems. The reflector can also be used for transmission, or reception or both of radio frequency radiation.

Vacuum formed reflector for solar energy

An integrated phased array including an array of antenna elements (), a plurality of waveguides (), a beam forming network (), and an RF switch (). The phased array may further comprise a monolithic integration module () comprising a dielectric layer () sandwiched between two conductive layers ().

Steerable antenna

A tracking system for a solar collector assembly array where the tracking system includes a coplanar circular rim structure including multiple circular rims, where each circular rim is fitted around a respective solar collector and where each solar collector has a general shape of a sealed and inflated cylindrical tube housing having a longitudinal center axis and where each solar collector is in a horizontal planar array with respect to each other. The tracking system further includes a first elongated frame structure for supporting the circular rim structure such that all of the circular rims are generally vertically coplanar with one another. The tracking system further includes a cable serially wrapped around each of the respective circular rims to form a closed cable loop where the wrapped cable forms a series of a generally vertical coplanar loops with each loop contacting around a respective rim structure such that at least one generally complete gripping loop is formed on each respective rim. An actuator is attached to the frame structure such that actuator provides a controllable driving force to the closed cable loop to allow for controlled rotation of each solar collector assembly around its respective longitudinal axis.

Tracking system for lightweight solar collector assembly and array

In one embodiment, a solar collector assembly includes a sealed and inflated cylindrical-tube shaped housing, the tube housing including a bottom cylindrically-trough shaped reflector portion having a reflection surface extending along a longitudinal length. The reflection surface is made of a relatively thin and flexible metalized polymer film. A top cylindrically-shaped transparent polymer film sheet portion is made of a relatively thin and flexible polymer film, the top and bottom sheet portions forming a pressure sealed cylindrical tube housing when the respective ends of the top and bottom films are sealed together and the tube housing is inflated with a gas so that the top transparent film portion passes solar energy to the reflection surface. A receiver tube is disposed longitudinally above the reflection surface in a focal line or focal plane of the cylindrical-trough shaped reflector portion, the absorber tube extending along the longitudinal length of the reflection surface, the absorber tube containing a first heat transfer fluid for absorbing solar energy reflected from the reflection surface to the focal line or focal plane. A passive cooling component including a partially hollowed wall structure extends below and longitudinally along the bottom cylindrical shaped housing wherein the hollowed wall structure includes multiple cooling loop convection cells formed within the hallowed wall structure.

Passive cooling system for lightweight solar collector assembly and array

A system includes a first radio frequency (RF) lens having array ports and beam ports, and a second RF lens having array ports and beam ports. At least two of the second RF lens array ports are connected to at least two of the first RF lens array ports by phase-matched connectors. The RF lenses may be continuously steerable RF lenses, Rotman lenses, or discretely steerable RF lenses. The system may include first, second, third, and fourth RF switches, at least one transmitter with an associated controller, at least one receiver with associated controller, and an environment controller. The system may also include long-distance simulators connected between the RF switches of the directional simulator and the receiver or the transmitter and controlled by an environment controller. Other system embodiments include multi-pair RF lenses, as well as an RF lens connected to an antenna array system.

Growing community of inventors

Carlsbad, CA, United States of America

Randall B Olsen