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:
Nov. 18, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 26, 1996
Jesse Clopton James, Huntsville, AL (US);
McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Huntington Beach, CA (US);
Abstract
Microwave devices incorporate at least one photosensitive baffle that is selectively illuminated, changing the baffle's electronic characteristic from being transparent to microwave energy to being reflective thereof. That action selectively alters an electronic characteristic of the microwave device. The effect is shown applied in a number of devices, including a back lobe antenna. Undesired back lobes occuring at a principal frequency are reduced in a back plane antenna by alternately coupling and decoupling an extension to the antenna's back plane at a rate sufficiently high enough to shift the back lobes to adjacent frequencies. A photoelectrically controlled baffle suitably serves as the extension.