Compact, low profile, single feed, multi-band, printed antenna

A physically compact antenna, comprising:

• a printed circuit board having a metal ground plane located on a relatively large-area portion of a surface of said printed circuit board;
• a thin dielectric carriage located on a relatively small-area portion of said surface of said printed circuit board, wherein said small-area portion of said printed circuit board abuts said relatively large-area portion of said printed circuit board;
• said dielectric carriage having a plurality of sidewalls whose top surfaces define a top surface of said dielectric carriage and whose bottom surfaces define a bottom surface of said dielectric carriage;
• said top surface of said dielectric carriage being generally parallel to said bottom surface of said dielectric carriage;
• said bottom surface of said dielectric carriage being located on said second relatively small-area portion of said surface of said printed circuit board;
• a gap formed in one of said sidewalls of said dielectric carriage;
• a metal antenna element formed on said sidewalls of said dielectric carriage so as to extend through said gap and so as to be located on both an inner surface and an outer surface of said sidewalls;
• said antenna element being located above, being laterally spaced from, and extending generally perpendicular to said ground plane;
• and
• a metal antenna feed strip extending from said antenna element.

A physically compact antenna, comprising:

• a printed circuit board having a metal ground plane located on a relatively large-area portion of a surface of said printed circuit board;
• a thin dielectric carriage located on a relatively small-area portion of said surface of said printed circuit board, wherein said small-area portion of said printed circuit board abuts said relatively large-area portion of said printed circuit board;
• said dielectric carriage having a plurality of sidewalls whose top surfaces define a top surface of said dielectric carriage and whose bottom surfaces define a bottom surface of said dielectric carriage;
• said top surface of said dielectric carriage being generally parallel to said bottom surface of said dielectric carriage;
• said bottom surface of said dielectric carriage being located on said second relatively small-area portion of said surface of said printed circuit board;
• a first metal radiating element on said top surface of said dielectric carriage, said first radiating element being located above, being laterally spaced from, and extending generally parallel to said ground plane;
• and
• a second metal radiating element formed on said sidewalls of said dielectric carriage, said second radiating element being located above, being laterally spaced from, and extending generally perpendicular to said ground plane.