GNSS Patch Antenna Directors for In-Plane Jamming Rejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patch antennas for global positioning systems face challenges in anti-jamming performance, particularly vulnerability to signals in-plane or below the antenna, which existing technologies fail to adequately address due to high costs and incompatibility with lower-cost, footprint-limited applications.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a patch antenna design featuring a ground plane and a plurality of conductive elements (directors) disposed parallel to the upper surface, which act as parasitic elements to reduce gain at specific elevations and enhance anti-jamming performance by altering the radiation pattern.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional patch antennas are used for GPS receivers, then the device cost and footprint are reduced, but the anti-jamming performance deteriorates due to vulnerability to in-plane and below-plane signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by adding conductive elements (directors) arranged in specific three-dimensional configurations above and below the patch antenna plane. These directors create spatially selective radiation patterns that reject signals from specific elevation angles (in-plane and below-plane directions) while maintaining sensitivity to signals from desirable directions (above the antenna). This transforms a two-dimensional patch antenna into a three-dimensional antenna system with directional characteristics, resolving the contradiction between low cost/footprint and anti-jamming performance.
2Reliability
If controlled reception pattern antennas or adaptive antennas are used to improve anti-jamming performance, then the anti-jamming capability is enhanced, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs simple conductive elements (directors) that are inexpensive to manufacture and integrate. These directors are basic metallic structures without complex electronics, control systems, or adaptive mechanisms. By using these simple passive elements arranged in specific geometries, the patent achieves anti-jamming performance comparable to complex adaptive systems but at a fraction of the cost and complexity, effectively replacing expensive adaptive antennas with cheap static structures.
3Measurement precision
If the antenna gain is increased to improve signal reception, then the reception sensitivity is enhanced, but the vulnerability to jamming signals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating spatially selective gain distribution through the director elements. The antenna system maintains high gain (sensitivity) in specific directions (above the antenna plane where GPS satellites are located) while providing low gain (rejection) in other directions (in-plane and below-plane directions where jamming signals originate). This directional gain distribution resolves the contradiction by making the antenna locally sensitive in desirable directions and locally resistant in harmful directions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration significantly reduces the antenna's gain at angles relative to the plane, effectively mitigating interference from in-plane or below signals, thereby improving the anti-jamming performance while maintaining compatibility with lower-cost and compact applications.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of conductive elements (directors), each director disposed at a predetermined separation from the ground plane and substantially parallel to the upper surface of the batch antenna
Data Source
AI summary
Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) radio frequency signals broadcast from geo-stationary satellites 20,000 km above the earth when received by GNSS receivers are fundamentally weak. Accordingly, these GNSS receivers are vulnerable to accidental and deliberate interference from a range of synthetic sources as well as natural sources. Existing anti-jamming technologies such as controlled reception pattern antennas, adaptive antennas, null-steering antennas, and beamforming antennas etc. are expensive and incompatible with many lower cost and footprint limited applications. However, in many applications the GNSS antenna is mounted upon a fixed or mobile element such that accidental and intentional jammers tend to be in the plane of the antenna or below it. Accordingly, there are presented designs and techniques to improve the anti-jamming or interference performance of GNSS receivers by further reducing the responsivity of the GNSS receiver to signals in-plane or below the plane of the antenna.