The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 29, 1997
Filed:
Aug. 16, 1994
Gerard Caille, Tournefeuille, FR;
Alcatel Espace, Nanterre Cedex, FR;
Abstract
An electronically-scanned two-beam antenna designed for being installed on board a moving platform, and in particular a satellite. The antenna of the invention comprises a single, complex reflector whose reflectivity is responsive to the polarization with which it is illuminated, and associated with two arrays of orthogonally-polarized sources that illuminate the complex reflector using an offset configuration. The complex reflector is made up of two reflectors placed one in front of the other in the beam propagation direction. The first reflector is transparent to a first linear polarization and reflective to an orthogonal polarization, while the second reflector is reflective at least for the first polarization. The two resulting beams thus propagate in different directions, both parallel to the trajectory of the platform. Electronic scanning is provided in a plane perpendicular to the orbit plane. The invention is applicable to stereoscopic radars for observing the earth from a satellite, and also to radiometry.