Stacked Multi-Spiral Antenna Array in Aircraft Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional antenna systems on mobile platforms face challenges such as space constraints, interference issues, and aerodynamic inefficiencies, leading to antenna crowding, damage risks, and unnecessary weight due to support structures.
Innovation Solution
A broadband stacked multi-spiral antenna array is designed with concentric, aligned spiral antennas of varying diameters, center-fed and in-phase, with low dielectric layers between each pair to improve impedance matching and integration into structural elements of mobile platforms, allowing for compact, efficient, and directional signal transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional antennas are mounted on mobile platforms, then signal transmission and reception functions are achieved, but antenna crowding problems occur and aerodynamic performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested antenna structure where multiple spiral antennas of different diameters are stacked concentrically within the same spatial footprint. The first spiral antenna has a larger diameter and is positioned outermost, while the second spiral antenna has a smaller diameter and is positioned innermost, creating a nested configuration that eliminates the need for separate mounting spaces for each antenna.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from planar antenna arrangements to three-dimensional stacked configurations. By stacking multiple spiral antennas along the vertical axis with different diameters, the invention utilizes the third dimension (height/depth) to accommodate multiple antennas, thereby resolving the two-dimensional space constraint that causes antenna crowding.
2Reliability
If antennas protrude from mobile platform body, then signal coverage is improved, but antennas become exposed to accidental damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the antenna structure with the mobile platform's structural element by integrating the stacked spiral antennas directly into the platform body. The antennas are positioned within or flush with the platform structure rather than protruding outward, combining the antenna function with the structural form to eliminate exposure to environmental damage while maintaining signal coverage.
3Ease of operation
If support structures are added for antenna array, then antenna mounting is enabled, but parasitic weight is added to mobile platform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mobile platform's structural element serve multiple functions: it provides both structural support for the platform and serves as the mounting substrate for the antenna array. The structural element acts as both a load-bearing component and an antenna support, eliminating the need for separate dedicated antenna mounting structures and their associated parasitic weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The structural element of the mobile platform serves itself by simultaneously providing structural support and antenna mounting functionality. The same structural component that supports the platform also supports the antennas, allowing the structure to serve its own additional function without requiring external support components.
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 solution enhances antenna performance by reducing parasitic weight, minimizing interference, and providing unobstructed coverage while maintaining structural integrity, thus addressing the limitations of conventional antenna systems.
Implementation Method 1
Positioned adjacent to the first spiral antenna is a first low dielectric layer and a second low dielectric layer positioned adjacent to the second spiral antenna
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A broadband stacked multi-spiral antenna array comprising two or more spiral antennas with a dielectric layer having a generally uniform thickness positioned between each pair of stacked antennas, which are all center-fed and in-phase. The antenna array may be embedded in a non-conductive material, such as fiberglass embedded in a resin, a honeycomb core sandwich, or structural foam, that may be used to form a structural element of a mobile platform. The structural element may include a via providing a pathway for coaxial cables. If two structural elements are hatch covers on the port and the starboard sides of an aircraft, the use of a stacked multi-spiral antenna array in each structural element provides two roughly hemispherical coverage patterns which together provide an omni-directional coverage pattern. The stacked multi-spiral antenna array may also include a reflecting cavity placed at the bottom of one of the spiral antennas.