Thermally tuned coaxial cable for microwave antennas
AssigneeVivant Medical, Inc.
InventorKenlyn S. Bonn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A coaxial cable, including an outer conductor and an inner conductor adapted to connect to an energy source for treating tissue and first and second dielectric materials disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor which position the inner conductor relative to the outer conductor in general concentric relation thereto. The first dielectric material has a first coefficient of thermal expansion and the second dielectric material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion.
Claims20
A coaxial cable, comprising:
- an outer conductor and an inner conductor adapted to connect to an energy source;
- and
- first and second dielectric materials disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor that position the inner conductor relative to the outer conductor in a first position, wherein the first dielectric material has a first coefficient of thermal expansion and the second dielectric material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion.
A coaxial cable, comprising:
- an outer conductor and an inner conductor adapted to connect to an energy source;
- and
- at least one dielectric spacer disposed between the outer conductor and an inner conductor, the dielectric spacer including first and second dielectric materials disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor that position the inner conductor relative to the outer conductor in a first position, wherein the first dielectric material has a first coefficient of thermal expansion and the second dielectric material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion.
A coaxial cable, comprising:
- an outer conductor and an inner conductor adapted to connect to an energy source;
- at least one dielectric material disposed between the outer conductor and an inner conductor, wherein the dielectric material is thermally expandable to position the inner conductor relative to the outer conductor from a first position wherein the inner conductor is not concentrically aligned with the outer conductor to a second position wherein the inner conductor is more concentrically-aligned with the outer conductor;
- and
- at least one heating element disposed within the dielectric material adapted to connect to an energy source for controlling the temperature thereof.
A method for controlling the impedance of a coaxial cable, the method comprising:
- providing:
- an outer conductor and an inner conductor;
- first and second dielectric materials disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, wherein the first dielectric material has a first coefficient of thermal expansion and the second dielectric material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion;
- energizing the cable;
- determining an impedance of the inner conductor;
- and
- causing at least one of the first and second dielectric materials to thermally expand or contract to move the inner conductor relative to the outer conductor to change the impedance of the coaxial cable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.