Sloppy coax interconnect for low cost RF and phased array applications

An interconnect for connecting components of a phased array RF system comprising:

• a tube shaped outer enclosure;
• and
• a flexible insulated wire, the diameter of said wire being sufficiently less than the internal diameter of said outer enclosure so that said flexible wire is freely departable from the axis of said outer enclosure without binding against said outer enclosure when the axis of said outer enclosure deviates from a straight line in the connection of the components to be connected, thereby improving the replacability of the wire.

In a system that carries RF signals that includes a plurality of components to be connected and a plurality of interconnect devices for establishing an electrical connection between the components, the density of the components being limited by the size and arrangement of interconnect devices, the improvement wherein each of said plurality of interconnect devices comprises a respective rigid conducting tube with a corresponding flexible insulated wire disposed therein, said respective wire being loosely disposed in said corresponding tube allowing for easy insertion into and removal from said corresponding tube, the axis of said respective tube and said corresponding wire departing from a line between the components to be connected thereby allowing the density of the components to increase.

In a phased array antenna structure including an antenna element, an electronic module, and an interconnect between the antenna element and the module, the antenna element, the module and the interconnect secured to a housing structure, the improvement wherein the interconnect comprises a non-linear rigid conducting tube and a flexible dielectric coated conducting wire disposed in said tube, said wire and said tube being in a sloppy coaxial arrangement, thereby allowing said wire to be replaced without disassembling the interconnect from the housing.

An interconnect device for connecting components of a system carrying RF or microwave signals, the components being mounted in a conductive housing, said device comprising:

• a connecting passage in the housing extending between the components to be connected;
• a flexible conducting wire within said passage;
• and a layer of dielectric material coating said conducting wire, the outside dimensions of said layer of dielectric material being sufficiently less than the inside dimensions of said passage so that said dielectric coated wire is easily removable when replacement is required.

In a method of constructing a phased array communication system, the system including antenna elements and electronic modules installed in a housing and a plurality of interconnect devices for connecting the elements and modules together, each interconnect device including a respective conducting tube containing a corresponding flexible dielectric coated wire, each interconnect device extending between an antenna element and an electronic module to be connected, the improvement comprising the step of reducing the diameter of the respective dielectric coated wire sufficiently so that the respective wire is movable within the corresponding tube thereby allowing the respective tube to be installed in the housing prior to the respective wire being inserted into the corresponding tube.

An interconnect device for components of a RF signal system comprising:

• means defining an electrically conductive passageway;
• and
• a flexible electrically insulated conductive wire disposed interiorly of said passageway, the external dimensions of said insulated wire being sufficiently small relative to the internal dimension of said passageway so that the insulated wire is easily slidable into and out of said passageway when installation or replacement of the wire is required.