First Rf Corporation

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

Robert J Marshall

Farzin Lalezari

P Keith Kelly

Juan Pressas

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a radiator structure for a conical helical antenna that includes: (a) processing a piece of metal so as to produce a first metal structure with conical exterior and interior surfaces, and (b) processing the first metal structure to remove material between the conical exterior and interior surfaces to yield a radiator structure with a conical helical shaped conductor that can be combined with a ground plane to produce a conical helical antenna. In one embodiment, the radiator structure includes a matching structure and a cap with the conical helical conductor, matching structure, and cap being a single piece of metal.

Method for making a radiator structure for a helical antenna

The present invention is directed to an antenna system comprising two rigid portions, an electrical conductor located between the two rigid portions, and a connector that extends between the two rigid portions and: (a) allows the position of one of the rigid portions relative to the other rigid portion to be altered when a force is applied to one of the rigid portions, such as when one of the rigid portions encounters an obstacle, and (b) maintains the altered position until a subsequent force is applied. In one embodiment, the connector comprises a ball-and-socket joint with the spring force produced by the socket causing sufficient frictional force between the ball and socket so that the position relationship of the ball to the socket is maintained when only gravity is being applied to the rigid portions and the connector but allowing the positional relationship to be altered when an additional force is applied. In another embodiment, the connector is comprised of multiple ball-and-socket links that each provide a limited angular range of motion and cumulatively allow an angular range of motion that is the sum of the limited angular ranges of motion associated each of the links.

Adjustable antenna system

A deployable reflector for an electronically scanned reflector antenna is provided. The deployable reflector may be confined to a relatively small volume for transportation of the reflector to a deployment site. Upon deployment, the reflector of the present invention forms a relatively large reflector surface, having a precisely controlled surface geometry. The reflector generally includes a plurality of panel members interconnected to a plurality of ribs interconnected to an extendable boom. The antenna reflector of the present invention is particularly well suited for a space-based antenna, where a reflector that can be collapsed into a small volume for transport and deployed to form a large reflector surface having high gain is desirable.

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Longmont, CO, United States of America

Robert J Marshall