Spherical Reflector Antenna Beam Steering for Mobile Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing high gain antennas struggle to maintain contact with targets during terrestrial and stratospheric applications when their position and orientation change, as they require complex deployment mechanisms and cannot steer quickly enough to compensate for these changes, leading to reduced bandwidth and increased detectability in secure communications.
Innovation Solution
A spherical reflector antenna system with a transparent and reflective surface, a feed system, and beam steering electronics that adjust the beam angle based on the antenna's position and orientation relative to the target, allowing for active steering and maintaining contact even when the antenna's position or orientation changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional large diameter antennas are used to increase antenna gain, then communication bandwidth is improved, but deployment complexity and transport cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the antenna structure movable and adjustable. The spherical antenna can be deployed from a compact configuration to an expanded operational state, and the beam steering electronics dynamically adjust the beam angle in real-time to track targets. This resolves the contradiction by providing high gain when deployed while maintaining low transport footprint through compact stowage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the antenna system into modular components: the spherical reflector, feed system, and beam steering electronics. This segmentation allows the antenna to be folded into a compact form for transport while maintaining the ability to achieve full operational diameter when deployed, thus reducing deployment complexity while preserving high gain capability.
2Reliability
If mechanically steered antennas are used to maintain contact with targets, then communication reliability is improved, but steering speed is insufficient to compensate for position changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical steering system with an electronic beam steering system. Instead of physically rotating the entire antenna structure to track targets, the system uses beam steering electronics to electronically redirect the beam while the antenna remains in a fixed position. This substitution enables much faster response to target position changes while maintaining reliable contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam steering electronics provide dynamic beam angle adjustment that can respond instantaneously to target position changes. The system continuously updates the beam angle based on real-time position and orientation data, enabling fast tracking without the mechanical inertia limitations of traditional steering mechanisms.
3Reliability
If broad beam antennas are used to maintain contact during movement, then reliability is improved, but bandwidth is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamic beam steering to maintain a narrow, high-gain beam that tracks the target in real-time. This allows the antenna to achieve both high bandwidth (through narrow beam concentration) and reliable contact maintenance (through active tracking), resolving the contradiction between beam width and bandwidth.
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
The spherical reflector antenna system effectively maintains contact with targets by dynamically adjusting its beam angle, ensuring high gain communication even when the antenna or target is moving, thereby enhancing bandwidth and security in communications.
Implementation Method 1
a sphere with a reflective surface opposite a transparent surface, a feed system that receives electromagnetic waves that pass through the transparent surface at a beam angle and are reflected off the reflective surface at a beam angle
Data Source
AI summary
A spherical reflector antenna, including a sphere with a reflective surface opposite a transparent surface, a feed system that receives electromagnetic waves that (pass through the transparent surface at a beam angle) and are reflected off the reflective surface at a beam angle and outputs electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the reflective surface (and pass through the transparent surface at a beam angle), and beam steering electronics that identify a position of the spherical reflector antenna, identify an orientation of the sphere, and adjust the beam angle of the feed system based on angle from the position of spherical reflector antenna to the target relative to the orientation of the sphere.