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US 2019/0199418 A1Published application
Retro-directive metamaterial array antenna system
AssigneeVerizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
InventorsDonna L. Polehn, Fred Weisbrod
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems for communication between a network base station and a remote device are disclosed. Disclosed methods include providing, at a base station coupled to the network, a modulated signal to mixers in a retro-directive metamaterial antenna, and receiving an RF transmission beam from the remote device, at the retro-directive metamaterial antenna, and radiating from the antenna a modulated retro-directed beam, using mixer products, directed toward the remote device.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a retro-directive metamaterial antenna, and
- a modulated signal generator coupled to the retro-directive metamaterial antenna, the modulated signal generator including:
- a modulation signal generator configured to generate a modulation signal,
- a signal oscillator configured to generate an oscillating signal, and
- a mixer coupled to the modulation signal generator and to the signal oscillator and configured to receive the modulation signal and the oscillating signal and, in response, generate a modulated signal,
- wherein the retro-directive metamaterial antenna is configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) transmission beam and the modulated signal and, in response, generate a modulated retro-directed beam.
3 more elements
A method comprising:
- generating a modulated signal;
- providing the modulated signal to a retro-directive metamaterial antenna;
- receiving an RF transmission beam at the retro-directive metamaterial antenna;
- mixing, at the retro-directive metamaterial antenna, the received RF transmission beam and the modulated signal to generate mixer products;
- and
- radiating, from the retro-directive metamaterial antenna, the modulated retro-directed beam based, at least in part, on the mixer products.
3 more elements
A system comprising:
- a retro-directive metamaterial antenna including
- a substrate,
- a plurality of patch elements supported by the substrate, and
- a plurality of mixers, each mixer coupled to a corresponding patch element among the patch elements;
- and
- a modulated signal generator, to provide a modulated signal to the plurality of mixers, the modulated signal including an oscillating signal, the oscillating signal having an oscillator frequency,
- wherein:
- the retro-directive metamaterial antenna is configured to receive a transmission beam from a remote device, the transmission beam including a carrier, and
- wherein, each mixer of the plurality of mixers is configured to mix the carrier as received by the retro-directive metamaterial antenna and the modulated signal and generate a mixer product, and to couple the mixer product to the corresponding patch element.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.