The present invention relates to a colinear antenna of the alternating coaxial type.
Such antennas have already been described, in particular in U.S. Pat. No. 2,158,376, a figure of that patent being reproduced as accompanying FIG. 1.
The antenna is constituted by a sequence of dipoles D1, D2, D3, etc. connected to one another by a system of phase shifters DF1, DF2, etc. More precisely, each dipole D1 is constituted by a cylindrical conductive element 10 and the antenna also comprises two parallel rectilinear conductive elements 12 and 14. The cylindrical conductive elements 10 constituting the dipoles D1, D2, D3 are bonded in alternation to one of the conductors 12 and 14 while surrounding the other conductor. For example, the dipole D1 is constituted by a cylindrical element 10 that is coaxial about conductive element 14 and that is bonded to conductive element 12. The phase shifter elements DF are thus constituted by the same conductive element 12, 14 passing from a position where it is bonded to the cylindrical conductive element to a position where it is disposed on the axis of the following cylindrical conductive element. This change in disposition corresponds substantially to a phase shift of λ/2. Thus, currents flowing in the conductive portions 12 and 14 corresponding to the different dipoles are summed overall. However, the alternating positions of the conductive cylinders about the two conductive rectilinear elements causes the radiation pattern of the antenna assembly to be asymmetrical, and as a result the antenna is not omnidirectional.
Another drawback of the antenna described in the above-cited US patent lies in the fact that each dipole is constituted by a cylindrical conductive element and the linear conductor placed on the axis of said cylinder. This leads to a configuration in which the physical length of the cylindrical element does not correspond to its radiating length. The antenna is thus not properly tuned to its working frequency.
An object of the present invention is to provide a colinear antenna of alternating coaxial type that enables current distribution to be obtained in the antenna in such a manner that its radiation pattern is effectively omnidirectional.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by an antenna of colinear type which has a radiating portion comprising:
It will be understood that because the successive dipoles are constituted by radiating elements formed successively by a single conductive cylindrical element and by two conductive cylindrical elements, and in addition the antenna has three linear conductive elements, the structure of the antenna is symmetrical and the radiated electric field is therefore also symmetrical.
Each cylindrical element is of length L and contains internally a disk of a dielectric material having a dielectric coefficient ∈, the disk extending orthogonally to the wire element and being of length l′ in the direction of the wire element such that:
L+∈l′=λ/2
Because of the presence of the disk of dielectric material inside each cylindrical conductive element, it is possible to compensate for the difference which exists between the physical length of the cylindrical conductive element and its electrical length as an antenna, but without that making the antenna more complex to build. It will also be understood that these disks of dielectric material serve to hold the cylindrical elements mechanically relative to the rectilinear conductive wire elements.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear better on reading the following description of embodiments of the invention given as non-limiting examples.
The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The radiating portion 20 of the antenna is constituted by a succession of radiating zones formed by first radiating zones 321, 322, etc. and by second radiating zones 341, 342, etc., the second radiating zones being disposed in alternation with the first radiating zones.
From a structural point of view, the radiating portion 22 of the antenna is made up of three rectilinear conductors 36, 38, and 40 which are mutually parallel. The conductor 38 is referred to as the “central” linear conductor and the other two conductors are referred to as “lateral” linear conductors. These conductors are at equal distances from the central conductor 38. The first radiating zones 321, 322, etc. are constituted by pairs of cylindrical conductive surfaces respectively referenced 42 and 44. The second radiating zones 341, 342, etc. are constituted by single substantially cylindrical conductive surfaces 46.
With reference now to
As mentioned above, a second radiating zone 34i is constituted by a single conductive cylinder 46 of diameter d substantially equal to the distance between the lateral rectilinear conductors 36 and 40. The cylinders 46 constituting the second radiating zones are of length L. The axis X-X′ of the cylinder 46 coincides with the central rectilinear conductor 38, whereas its outside face 36a is bonded to the lateral conductors 36 and 40. This establishes an electrical connection between the cylinders 46 constituting the second radiating zones 34i and the lateral conductors 36 and 40.
The first radiating zones 32i, as mentioned above, are each constituted by two conductive cylinders 42 and 44 that are identical to each other and preferably also identical to the cylinder 46 constituting a second radiating zone 34i. The cylinders 42 and 44 are thus likewise of diameter d and length L. Each cylinder 42, 44 has its respective axis Y-Y′ or Z-Z′ coinciding with a respective one of the lateral rectilinear conductors 36 and 40. The respective outside faces 44a and 42a of the conductive cylinders 42 and 44 are bonded to the central conductor 38. This establishes an electrical connection between the pairs of cylinders 42 and 44 constituting the first radiating zone 32i and the central conductor 38. The length L of the cylinders 42, 44, and 46 corresponds to the half-wavelength λ/2.
It is necessary to leave a gap 48i, as defined below, between the various radiating zones 32i and 34i, and this gap is of length e.
On each passage from a first radiating zone 32i to a second radiating zone 34i, the various rectilinear conductors 36, 38, and 40 pass from a position of being coaxial to a position of being connected to a conductive cylinder, thus achieving a phase shift of substantially 180° between two successive radiating zones, thereby making it possible to sum effectively the currents flowing in each radiating zone whether in transmission or in reception.
The passband of the antenna is improved if the diameter d of the conductive cylindrical surfaces 42, 44, and 46 is increased. A suitable value for d is 0.08 λ. However, the phase shifts in the conductive cylindrical surfaces and in the rectilinear conductors 36, 38, and 40 are different for the same physical length of conductor. In order to compensate for these different phase shifts, in an improved embodiment of the antenna as shown in
λ/2=L+∈l′
As mentioned above with reference to
In a preferred embodiment, the antenna has N=14 radiating zones. The radiating zones are constituted by one or two cylindrical conductive surfaces having a ratio L/d equal to about 5.
With this antenna, for a working wavelength of 52 millimeters (mm), a passband of about 2.5% is obtained with gain of 10 dBiso (decibels as defined by the International Standards Organization).
Because the alternating radiating zones are implemented in the form of one conductive cylindrical surface and then two conductive cylindrical surfaces, the antenna is geometrically symmetrical overall about the central rectilinear conductor 38. This provides a radiation pattern in azimuth that is as omnidirectional as possible. In addition, the antenna is simple to make since it consists in bonding conductive cylindrical surfaces 42, 44, and 46 to rectilinear electrical conductors 36, 38, and 40. It should be added that in the event where each conductive cylinder is fitted with a dielectric disk, the dielectric disk also constitutes a spacer serving to hold the conductive cylindrical surface mechanically relative to the rectilinear electrical conductor and to center the cylindrical tubes on the rods.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
02 16293 | Dec 2002 | FR | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2158376 | Moser et al. | May 1939 | A |
5600338 | Ecklund et al. | Feb 1997 | A |
5719587 | Rodal | Feb 1998 | A |
6057804 | Kaegebein | May 2000 | A |
6771227 | Tsai et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
6836256 | Hung | Dec 2004 | B2 |
20030080916 | Zeilinger et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
0 411 363 | Jul 1990 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040125038 A1 | Jul 2004 | US |