Antenna for controlling a beam direction both in azimuth and elevation

Abstract

An antenna for controlling a beam direction both in azimuth and elevation is disclosed. An antenna comprises a ground plane, at least one active element, and a plurality of passive elements. Both an upper half and a lower half of the passive elements are connected to the ground plane with variable reactive loads, whereby elevation angle of the radio beam is controlled by adjusting the variable reactive loads. Alternatively, an antenna may comprise a radio frequency (RF) choke coupled to the ground plane, whereby an elevation angle of the radio beam is controlled by controlling the RF choke. Alternatively, an antenna comprises a variable lens for changing a wave front of a radio wave which is passing through the variable lens, whereby the beam width and direction are controlled by the variable lens.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.