Smart Antenna Systems for Reception of Digital Television Signals

An antenna for receiving television signals, the antenna comprising:

• a plurality of antenna elements, each having a primary radiation direction, the plurality of antenna elements oriented such that the primary radiation direction of at least a first antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements is a first direction and the primary radiation direction of at least a second antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements is a second direction;
• and
• a controller operable for configuring a state of the antenna in response to a control signal from an external television device.

A reconfigurable cavity backed slot antenna suitable for receiving ultra-high frequency (UHF) signals, the antenna comprising:

• an electrically-conductive cavity having a bottom surface and an upper surface defining an opening;
• an antenna element spaced above the bottom surface of the cavity such that a generally circular slot is defined generally between the antenna element and the portion of the upper surface defining the opening;
• whereby the cavity backed slot antenna radiates primarily toward the opening of the electrically-conductive cavity and is reconfigurable by loading the slot and/or the electrically-conductive cavity.