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:
Sep. 25, 2001
Filed:
Nov. 19, 1999
Chun-Hong H. Chen, Torrance, CA (US);
Barry R. Allen, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Kenneth T. Yano, Torrance, CA (US);
Mark Kintis, Manhattan Beach, CA (US);
Steven S. Kuo, Torrance, CA (US);
TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus (,) and method (,) for forming a shapeable and directable composite beam (,) from a plurality of pixel beams (,). The apparatus (,) includes a front-end unit (,) which communicates element signals through antenna array elements (,). The apparatus (,) also includes a back-end unit (,) which forms the composite beam from a set of pixel beams by converting between a composite signal and a set of corresponding pixel signals. The back-end unit (,) further adjusts the amplitude and phase of the set of pixel signals to form the composite beam. The apparatus (,) further includes an interconnecting beamforming network (,) interposed between the back-end unit (,) and the front-end unit (,) which couples the back-end unit (,) to the front-end unit (,) by converting between the pixel signals of the back-end unit (,) and the element signals of the front-end unit (,). The method (,) includes determining a desired shape and direction for the composite beam (,). The method (,) then selects a set of pixel beams (,) with which to form the composite beam. The method (,) converts between the composite signal and a set of pixel signals corresponding to the set of pixel beams (,). The method forms the composite beam (,) by adjusting the amplitude and phase of the set of pixel signals.