# US 11,309,623 B2 · Antenna device

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,309,623 B2
- Document ID: US11309623B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/822,457
- Filed: 2020-03-18
- Published: 2020-09-24
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2019-03-18
- Assignees: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Applicants: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Inventors: Hirobumi Saito; Budhaditya Pyne; Jiro Hirokawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11309623B2

## CPC

- H01Q 1/288: {Satellite antennas}
- H01P 1/042: {Hollow waveguide joints}
- H01Q 1/08: Means for collapsing antennas or parts thereof (collapsible loop antennas H01Q7/02; means for collapsing H-antennas or Yagi antennas H01Q19/04)
- H01Q 13/0266: {provided with a flange or a choke}
- H01Q 21/0006: {Particular feeding systems}
- H01Q 21/061: {Two dimensional planar arrays}
- H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72)
- H01P: WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE (operating at optical frequencies G02B)

## Abstract

An antenna device includes: an antenna panel; one input terminal through which a high-frequency signal is input; and a feeding circuit which distributes the high-frequency signal input to the input terminal to a plurality of antenna elements provided on the antenna panel. The feeding circuit includes: at least one first-stage branch circuit which includes one input and two outputs; at least two second-stage branch circuits which receive outputs of the first-stage branch circuit and include one input and two outputs; and a combining circuit which includes two inputs and one output and receives two outputs selected from the outputs of the first-stage branch circuit and outputs of the second-stage branch circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An antenna device comprising:
an antenna panel;
one input terminal through which a high-frequency signal is input; and
a feeding circuit which distributes the high-frequency signal input to the input terminal to a plurality of antenna elements provided on the antenna panel,
wherein the feeding circuit includes: at least one first-stage branch circuit which includes one input and two outputs; at least two second-stage branch circuits which receive outputs of the first-stage branch circuit and include one input and two outputs; and a combining circuit which includes two inputs and one output and receives two outputs selected from the outputs of the first-stage branch circuit and outputs of the second-stage branch circuit, and wherein the combining circuit is a linear circuit and only outputs the linear sum of the two inputs signals.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the combining circuit is installed at least at a center in a direction in which the plurality of antenna elements are arranged.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein:
the antenna panel includes at least a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel adjacent to each other,
each of a first path in the first antenna panel and a second path in the second antenna panel is a path using a waveguide,
the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel are connected to be deployable and stowable using a choke flange and a cover flange,
a position at which the high-frequency signal is divided into the first path in the first antenna panel and the second path in the second antenna panel is a position at a predetermined distance from a middle point of a feed point between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel in a direction in which the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel are arranged, and
the predetermined distance is a distance based on a first value corresponding to {(a natural number)×(a wavelength corresponding to a center frequency of the high-frequency signal)/2}.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The antenna device according to claim 3, wherein the wavelength is a guide wavelength of the waveguide.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The antenna device according to claim 4, wherein:
the first-stage branch circuit or the second-stage branch circuit is a waveguide τ-type branch circuit which includes one input and two outputs and uses the waveguide, and
in the waveguide τ-type branch circuit, a plurality of sets of inductive walls for suppressing reflection by a short-circuit wall are provided.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The antenna device according to claim 4, wherein:
the choke flange including a groove is provided in the waveguide, and
the choke flange has a shape obtained by deforming a shape of the groove with respect to a circular shape so that an operating frequency is set with a frequency at which four standing waves are excited in a region bounded by an opening portion of the waveguide and an opening surface of the cover flange which faces the groove and a frequency at which six standing waves are excited in the region as a lower limit and an upper limit, respectively.