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:
Aug. 23, 2005
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2003
Ivan Pawlenko, Holland, PA (US);
Larry Samson, Langhorne, PA (US);
Richard F. Schwartz, Cranbury, NJ (US);
Ivan Pawlenko, Holland, PA (US);
Larry Samson, Langhorne, PA (US);
Richard F. Schwartz, Cranbury, NJ (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
A system having a steerable antenna coupled to a temperature-dependent driver. The driver has a shape-memory element fabricated using a shape-memory alloy (SMA) and having the ability to change its shape as a function of temperature. The element is adapted to steer the antenna to improve signal reception and is controlled by a control circuit, which resistively heats the element while using the strength of the electrical signal generated by the antenna in response to a received radio-frequency signal as a feedback signal. The temperature of the element is adjusted to optimize the signal strength. Systems of the invention may enable customer-performed antenna alignment and are relatively simple and inexpensive to implement.