Antenna apparatus

Abstract

An antenna apparatus is disclosed. An antenna apparatus according to an embodiment includes a patch group including at least one patch arranged in a specific arrangement to radiate or receive an electromagnetic wave. The antenna apparatus may include a first port which provides a first feed path to the patch and is fed by a first signal having first power and a first phase. The antenna apparatus may include a second port which provides a second feed path to the patch and is fed by a second signal having second power and a second phase. Each of the first power, the first phase, the second power, and the second phase may be determined on the basis of the radiation direction of the patch group or the position, relative to the antenna apparatus, of a signal source transmitting a signal to the antenna apparatus.

Description

antenna device

[0001] The following disclosure relates to an antenna device.

[0002] In communication systems, communication devices can transmit or receive signals to or from each other using various polarizations. For example, communication devices can use circular polarization or linear polarization.

[0003] In satellite communication services, to receive signals from a satellite using linear polarization, a communication device communicating with that satellite may use either a circularly polarized antenna or a linearly polarized antenna. Receiving linear polarization using a circularly polarized antenna may have advantages and disadvantages compared to receiving linear polarization using a linearly polarized antenna. For example, a circularly polarized antenna can receive signals reliably because it is relatively less affected by antenna orientation and / or antenna angle than a linearly polarized antenna. On the other hand, a circularly polarized antenna may have lower signal reception performance compared to a linearly polarized antenna that is precisely oriented toward the satellite.

[0004] To improve the quality of communication services and reduce the cost of building communication systems, technology is needed that supports both circular and linear polarization using a single antenna and can freely adjust the direction of linear polarization.

[0005] A patch antenna is a type of planar antenna that can be used for various wireless communication systems.

[0006] As related prior art, there is Korean Published Patent Application No. 2023-0109047 A (Title of Invention: Device including an antenna).

[0007] The information described above may be provided as related art for the purpose of aiding understanding of the present disclosure. None of the foregoing information shall be applied as prior art related to the present disclosure.

[0008] One embodiment can provide both circular polarization and linear polarization using a single patch antenna.

[0009] One embodiment allows the direction of linear polarization to be freely adjusted using a single patch antenna.

[0010] The technical tasks intended to be accomplished in this document are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which this document belongs from the description below.

[0011] According to one embodiment, a computer-readable recording medium storing one or more computer programs may include instructions for performing the method in a processor.

[0012] An antenna device according to one embodiment may include a patch group comprising at least one patch arranged in a specific arrangement for radiating or receiving electromagnetic waves. The antenna device may include a first port that provides a first feed path to the patch and is fed by a first signal having a first power and a first phase. The antenna device may include a second port that provides a second feed path to the patch and is fed by a second signal having a second power and a second phase. Each of the first power, first phase, second power, and second phase may be determined based on at least one of the type of polarization of the patch group, the polarization direction, and the relative position of a signal source transmitting a signal to the antenna device with respect to the antenna device.

[0013] When the polarization of the patch group is RHCP or LHCP, the difference between the first phase and the second phase may be 90 degrees.

[0014] The first power, first phase, second power, and second phase can be individually determined such that when the polarization type of the patch group is linear polarization, the direction of the linear polarization of the patch group corresponds to the relative position.

[0015] The above patch group may be any one of a first patch group comprising one patch (e.g., the first patch group (G1) of FIG. 2), a second patch group comprising three patches arranged in a triangular array (e.g., the second patch group (G3) of FIG. 3), or a third patch group comprising two patches arranged in a right-angle array (e.g., the third patch group (G3) of FIG. 4).

[0016] When the polarization of the above patch group is linear polarization, the signal fed to the first port is It can be expressed as. The signal supplied to the second port is It can be expressed as. The above It can be determined based on at least one of the polarization direction and the relative position.

[0017] The shape of at least one of the above patches may be a circular or a regular polygon having line symmetry.

[0018] A first virtual line passing through the center of the patch point connected to the first port may be orthogonal to a second virtual line passing through the center of the patch point connected to the second port.

[0019] When the shape of the patch is circular, the first port may be connected to a first point within one of two zones of the patch separated by a first virtual line on the patch passing through the center of the patch. When the shape of the patch is circular, the second port may be connected to a second point symmetrical to the first point with respect to a second virtual line on the patch passing through the center of the patch and perpendicular to the first virtual line.

[0020] When the shape of the patch is a regular polygon with line symmetry, it can be connected to a third point within the area between a third virtual line on the patch passing through the center of the side of the patch and the center of the patch, and a fourth virtual line on the patch that is parallel to the third virtual line and passes through one of the two vertices of the side. When the shape of the patch is a regular polygon with line symmetry, the second port can be connected to a fourth point symmetric to the third point with respect to the third virtual line.

[0021] The two patches arranged in the above right-angle array may be arranged such that a first virtual line connecting two ports of the first patch is orthogonal to a second virtual line connecting two ports of the second patch.

[0022] In relation to the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for identical or similar components.

[0023]

[0024] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a patch antenna according to one embodiment.

[0025] FIGS. 2 to 4 are drawings for illustrating a patch group according to one embodiment.

[0026] FIGS. 5 and FIGS. 6 are drawings for explaining the location of a port according to one embodiment.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the signals of ports according to one embodiment.

[0028] FIGS. 8 to 11 are drawings for explaining an example of polarization generated by a patch antenna according to one embodiment.

[0029] Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments are disclosed for illustrative purposes only and may be modified and implemented in various forms. Accordingly, actual implementations are not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and the scope of this specification includes modifications, equivalents, or substitutions included in the technical concept described by the embodiments.

[0030] Terms such as "first" or "second" may be used to describe various components, but these terms should be interpreted solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, the first component may be named the second component, and similarly, the second component may be named the first component.

[0031] When it is stated that a component is "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected to or joined to that other component, or that there may be other components in between.

[0032] Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, phrases such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B or C,” “at least one of A, B and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C” may each include any one of the items listed together with the corresponding phrase, or all possible combinations thereof. In this specification, terms such as “comprising” or “having” are intended to designate the existence of the described feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0033] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this specification.

[0034] As used herein, the term "module" may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A module may be a component formed integrally, or a minimum unit of said component or a part thereof that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0035] As used in this document, the term "part" refers to software or hardware components, such as FPGAs or ASICs, and the "part" performs certain roles. However, the meaning of "part" is not limited to software or hardware. The "part" may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium or configured to operate one or more processors. For example, the "part" may include components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and "parts" may be combined into a smaller number of components and "parts" or further separated into additional components and "parts." Furthermore, the components and "parts" may be implemented to operate one or more CPUs within a device or secure multimedia card. Additionally, '~part' may include one or more processors.

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments may be referenced, borrowed, or combined with one another. In the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, identical components are given the same reference numeral regardless of the drawing number, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0037]

[0038] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a patch antenna according to one embodiment.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 1, according to one embodiment, an antenna device (10) (e.g., a patch antenna) may include a patch (20), a first port (P1), a second port (P2), and a ground plane (30). FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an antenna device (10), and it should be noted that the antenna device (10) may include additional components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1. For example, the antenna device (10) may further include a dielectric layer located between the patch (20) and the ground plane (30).

[0040] The patch (20) may be a radiating element that radiates an electromagnetic wave. The patch (20) may be made of a conductive material (e.g., copper). Although only one patch (20) is shown in FIG. 1, this is merely an example, and the antenna device (10) may include a patch group consisting of at least one patch (e.g., the first patch group (G1) of FIG. 2, the second patch group (G2) of FIG. 2, or the third patch group (G3) of FIG. 3).

[0041] A first port (P1) is electrically connected to one side (e.g., bottom) of a patch (20) and can provide a first feed path to the patch (20). A first signal may be fed to the first port (P1). A second port (P2) is electrically connected to one side (e.g., bottom) of the patch (20) to which the first port (P1) is connected and can provide a second feed path to the patch (20). A second signal may be fed to the second port (P2). The locations of the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, and the signals fed to the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7.

[0042] The ground plane (30) can provide a ground reference to the antenna device (10).

[0043]

[0044] FIGS. 2 to 4 are drawings for illustrating a patch group according to one embodiment.

[0045] FIG. 2 may show a first patch group (G1) including one patch (20_1), FIG. 2 may show a second patch group (G2) including three patches (20_1, 20_2, 20_3), and FIG. 3 may show a third patch group (G3) including two patches (20_4, 20_5).

[0046] The patches (20_1, 20_2, 20_3) included in the second patch group (G2) may be arranged in a triangular array. The spacing between the patches (20_1, 20_2, 20_3) may be equal to each other. For example, the spacing between patch (20_1) and patch (20_2), the spacing between patch (20_1) and patch (20_3), and the spacing between patch (20_2) and patch (20_3) may be set to a specific ratio of the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave (e.g., a value between 0.4 and 0.6). The patches (20_1, 20_2, 20_3) may be arranged based on a certain rotation angle (e.g., 120 degrees or 60 degrees).

[0047] The patches (20_4, 20_5) included in the third patch group (G3) can be arranged in a right-angle array. For example, two patches (20_4, 20_5) of the third patch group (G3) can be arranged such that a virtual line (L_2) passing through the respective centers of the two ports (P1, P2) of the first patch (20_4) and a virtual line (L_1) passing through the respective centers of the two ports (P1, P2) of the second patch (20_5) are orthogonal to each other. The spacing between the two patches (20_4, 20_5) can be set to a specific ratio of the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave (e.g., a value between 0.4 and 0.6).

[0048] It should be noted that the shape of the patch shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is merely an example and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0049] For example, the shape of the patch (20_1) included in the first patch group (G1) may be a regular polygon with line symmetry in addition to a circle.

[0050] For example, the shape of each of the patches (20_1, 20_2, 20_3) included in the second patch group (G2) may be a regular polygon (e.g., a regular hexagon, a regular nonagon, or a regular dodecagon) having line symmetry suitable for a circular or triangular arrangement.

[0051] For example, the shape of each of the patches (20_4, 20_5) included in the third patch group (G3) may be a regular polygon (e.g., a square, a regular octagon, or a regular dodecagon) having line symmetry suitable for a circular or right-angled arrangement.

[0052]

[0053] FIGS. 5 and FIGS. 6 are drawings for explaining the location of a port according to one embodiment.

[0054] FIG. 5 may be a diagram for explaining the positions of the two ports of the patch (20) when the shape of the patch (20) is circular.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, according to one embodiment, the first port (P1) can be connected to a first point (e.g., point (52_1)) within one of two regions (R1, R2) of the patch (20) separated by a virtual line (L1) on the patch (20) passing through the center (C1) of the patch (20).

[0056] The location of the second point (52_2) of the patch (20) to which the second port (P2) is connected can be set such that the virtual line (LP1) passing through the first point (52_1) and the center (C1) of the patch (20) and the virtual line (LP2) passing through the second point (52_2) and the center (C1) of the patch (20) are orthogonal to each other. For example, the second port (P2) can be connected to a second point (e.g., point (52_2)) that is symmetric to the first point (e.g., point (52_1)) with respect to a virtual line (L2) on the patch (20) that passes through the center (C1) of the patch (20) and is perpendicular to the virtual line (L1).

[0057] FIG. 6 may be a diagram for explaining the positions of two ports of a patch (20) when the shape of the patch (20) is a regular polygon with line symmetry.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 6, according to one embodiment, the first port (P1) may be connected to a first point (e.g., point (62_1)) within a zone (R3) between a virtual line (L3) on the patch (20) passing through the center of the side (e.g., side (S1)) of the patch (20) and the center (C1) of the patch (20), and a third virtual line (L3), and a virtual line (L4) on the patch (20) passing through either of the two vertices (e.g., vertex (V1)) of the said side (e.g., side (S1)).

[0059] The location of the second point (62_2) of the patch (20) to which the second port (P2) is connected can be set such that the virtual line (LP1) passing through the first point (62_1) and the center (C1) of the patch (20) and the virtual line (LP2) passing through the second point (62_2) and the center (C1) of the patch (20) are orthogonal to each other. For example, the second port (P2) can be connected to a second point (e.g., point (62_2)) that is symmetrical to the first point (e.g., point (62_1)) with respect to the virtual line (L4).

[0060]

[0061] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the signals of ports according to one embodiment.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 7, according to one embodiment, a first port (P1) of a patch may be fed by a first signal having a first phase and a first magnitude, and a second port (P2) of a patch may be fed by a second signal having a second phase and a second magnitude. Each of the first phase, first magnitude, second phase, and second magnitude may be determined based on the type of polarization (e.g., linear polarization or circular polarization) of an antenna device (e.g., antenna device (10) of FIG. 1) (or patch group), the direction of polarization (e.g., linear polarization direction) (or polarization angle), or the relative position of a signal source transmitting a signal to the antenna device with respect to the corresponding antenna device. For example, when the polarization of the antenna device is RHCP or LHCP, the difference between the first phase and the second phase may be 90 degrees. As another example, the first phase, first magnitude, second phase, and second magnitude may be individually determined such that when the polarization of the antenna device (or patch group) is linear polarization, the direction of the linear polarization corresponds to the relative position of the signal source transmitting a signal to the antenna device with respect to the antenna device.

[0063] The first phase, first magnitude, second phase, and second magnitude may be determined or set by a component included in the antenna device (e.g., a wireless communication circuit such as a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)).

[0064] When the polarization of the antenna device is linear polarization, the first signal fed to the first port (P1) can be expressed as either a cosine function or a sine function, and the second signal fed to the second port (P2) can be expressed as either a cosine function or a sine function. For example, when the first signal fed to the first port (P1) is expressed as a cosine function and the second signal fed to the second port (P2) is expressed as a sine function, each signal fed to the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) can be expressed as shown in Equation 1 below.

[0065]

[0066] [Mathematical Formula 1]

[0067]

[0068]

[0069]

[0070] In mathematical formula 1, represents a signal supplied to the first port (P1), and can represent a second signal fed to the second port (P2). can be a size constant (e.g., an integer). For example, can be 1. The above may be a value determined based on the polarization type of the patch group, the polarization direction (e.g., target linear polarization direction), or the relative position of a signal source (e.g., satellite) to an antenna device (e.g., antenna device (10) of FIG. 1). For example, when the patch group is a first patch group (e.g., first patch group (G1) of FIG. 2) containing a single patch, The direction of the polarization (e.g., linear polarization) generated by the combination of the linear polarization of the first port (P1) of the patch and the linear polarization of the second port (P2) can be determined to correspond to the relative position of the signal source. As another example, when the patch group is a second patch group (e.g., the second patch group (G2) in FIG. 3) or a third patch group (e.g., the third patch group (G3) in FIG. 3) comprising two or more patches, each patch of the patch group The direction of the polarization of the corresponding patch group (e.g., linear polarization), generated by the combination of the respective polarizations (respective polarizations) of the patches included in the corresponding patch group, can be determined such that it corresponds to the relative position of the signal source. In the case of a second patch group or a third patch group, of each patch in the corresponding patch group To determine, information about the relative positions of the patches included in the patch group may be used.

[0071] may represent the angle between the polarization direction of the first port (P1) (e.g., linear polarization direction) or the polarization direction of the second port (P2) (e.g., linear polarization direction) and the polarization direction of the patch (or patch group) (e.g., linear polarization direction). For convenience of explanation, hereinafter, The present disclosure will be described under the assumption that represents the angle between the polarization direction of the first port (P1) and the polarization direction of the patch.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the antenna device (10) can adjust at least one of the phase and magnitude of a relative signal fed to each of the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) of each of at least one patch included in the patch group, thereby transmitting a signal of high quality to a remote communication device (e.g., a low orbit satellite or a medium orbit satellite) moving over time, or receiving a signal of high quality from the said mobile communication device.

[0073]

[0074] FIGS. 8 to 11 are drawings for explaining an example of polarization generated by a patch antenna according to one embodiment.

[0075] FIG. 8 shows an example in which circular polarization (e.g., RHCP (right-hand circular polarization) or LHCP (left-hand circular polarization)) is generated when a first signal and a second signal having a phase difference of 90 degrees from the first signal are respectively fed to two ports (P1, P2) of a single patch included in a first patch group (e.g., the first patch group (G1) of FIG. 2).

[0076] FIG. 9 shows an example in which linear polarization of a specific direction is generated when a first signal and a second signal are fed to two ports (P1, P2) of a single patch included in a first patch group (e.g., the first patch group (G1) of FIG. 2), respectively.

[0077] FIG. 10 uses a second patch group (e.g., the second patch group (G2) of FIG. 3) to a specific direction (e.g., To generate linear polarization of the direction when it is 0 degrees, a first signal and a second signal are shown that are respectively fed to the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) of each of the three patches.

[0078] FIG. 11 uses a third patch group (e.g., the third patch group (G3) of FIG. 4) to a specific direction (e.g., To generate linear polarization of the direction when it is 0 degrees, a first signal and a second signal are shown that are respectively fed to the first port (P1) and the second port (P2) of each of the two patches.

[0079]

[0080] The embodiments described above may be implemented as hardware components, software components, and / or combinations of hardware and software components. For example, the devices, methods, and components described in the embodiments may be implemented using a general-purpose computer or a special-purpose computer, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing unit may execute an operating system (OS) and software applications executed on said operating system. Additionally, the processing unit may access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing unit may be described as being used as a single unit, but those skilled in the art will understand that the processing unit may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processing unit may include multiple processors or one processor and one controller. In addition, other processing configurations, such as parallel processors, are also possible.

[0081] Software may include computer programs, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, and may configure a processing unit to operate as desired or instruct the processing unit independently or collectively. Software and / or data may be stored on any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium, or device so as to be interpreted by the processing unit or to provide instructions or data to the processing unit. Software may be distributed over networked computer systems and may be stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on computer-readable recording media.

[0082] The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may store program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either individually or in combination, and the program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the embodiment or those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0083] The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the embodiment, and vice versa.

[0084] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the limited drawings, those skilled in the art can apply various technical modifications and variations based thereon. For example, suitable results may be achieved even if the described techniques are performed in a different order than described, and / or if the components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or assembled in a form different from described, or replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents.

[0085]

[0086] Although the present disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications to the form and details may be made without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the present disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that any of the embodiments described herein may be used in conjunction with other embodiments described herein. Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the claims set forth below.

[0087] The effects obtainable from the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood from this document by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs.

Claims

1. In an antenna device, A patch group comprising at least one patch arranged in a specific arrangement to radiate or receive electromagnetic waves; A first port that provides a first feed path to the patch and is fed by a first signal having a first power and a first phase; and A second port that provides a second feeding path to the above patch and is fed by a second signal having a second power and a second phase. Includes, Each of the above first power, first phase, second power, and second phase is, An antenna device determined based on at least one of the type of polarization of the patch group, the polarization direction, and the relative position of a signal source transmitting a signal to the antenna device with respect to the antenna device.

2. In Paragraph 1, An antenna device in which the difference between the first phase and the second phase is 90 degrees when the polarization of the patch group is RHCP or LHCP.

3. In Paragraph 1, The above first power, first phase, second power, and second phase are, An antenna device in which, when the polarization of the patch group is linear polarization, the direction of the linear polarization of the patch group is individually determined to correspond to the relative position.

4. In Paragraph 1, The above patch group is, One patch; Three patches arranged in a triangular array; or Two patches arranged in a right-angle array An antenna device including 5. In Paragraph 1, When the polarization of the above patch group is linearly polarized, The signal supplied to the first port above is It is expressed as, The signal supplied to the second port above is It is expressed as, The above An antenna device determined based on at least one of the polarization direction and the relative position.

6. In Paragraph 1, The shape of at least one patch mentioned above is, An antenna device that is a regular polygon with circular or line symmetry.

7. In Paragraph 6, The first virtual line passing through the patch point connected to the first port and the center of the patch is, An antenna device that is orthogonal to a second virtual line passing through the center of the patch point connected to the second port.

8. In Paragraph 7, The above-mentioned first port is, When the shape of the above patch is circular, it is connected to a first point within one of the two zones of the patch separated by a first virtual line on the patch passing through the center of the patch, and The above second port is, An antenna device that, when the shape of the patch is circular, is connected to a second point symmetrical to the first point with respect to a second virtual line on the patch that passes through the center of the patch and is perpendicular to the first virtual line.

9. In Paragraph 7, The above-mentioned first port is, When the shape of the patch is a regular polygon with line symmetry, it is connected to a third point within the area between a third virtual line on the patch passing through the center of the side of the patch and the center of the patch, and a fourth virtual line on the patch that is parallel to the third virtual line and passes through one of the two vertices of the side. The above second port is, An antenna device connected to a fourth point symmetrical to the third point with respect to the third virtual line, when the shape of the patch is a regular polygon having line symmetry.

10. In Paragraph 4, The two patches arranged in the above right-angle array are, An antenna device in which a first virtual line connecting two ports of a first patch is arranged to be orthogonal to a second virtual line connecting two ports of a second patch.

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