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:
Apr. 25, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 17, 2003
James T. Kajiya, Duvall, WA (US);
James T. Kajiya, Duvall, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A low-cost, steerable, phased array antenna suitable for use in wireless fidelity (WiFi) and other wireless telecommunication networks, in particular multi-hop ad hoc networks, is disclosed. Various embodiments of an antenna assembly that includes a plurality of linear phased array antennas fed by corporate feeds are disclosed. The corporate feeds are implemented as parallel wire transmission lines, such as a coaxial, stripline, microstrip, or coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line. Selected branches of the corporate feed network include transmission line phase shifters oriented and sized so as to allow a high-permittivity dielectric element to control phase shifting. Thus, the corporate feed forms a phase shifting feed whose phase shift is controllable. Phase shifting can be electromechanically controlled by controlling the space between the high-permittivity dielectric element and the phase shifting branches of the corporate feed or by electrically controlling the permittivity of the high-permittivity dielectric element.