ANTENNAS
One aspect of the invention provides an antenna including: a dielectric substrate and a plurality of antenna elements positioned on a surface of the dielectric substrate. Each antenna element includes: a sector-shaped sheet of conductive material and a conductive feed line coupled to the sector-shape sheet of conductive material. Another aspect of the invention provides an antenna including: a dielectric substrate, a plurality of antenna elements positioned on a surface of the dielectric substrate at substantially uniform angular intervals along an arc, and a ground layer mounted to an opposite side of the dielectric substrate from the plurality of antenna elements. Each antenna element includes: a sector-shaped sheet of conductive material having a central angle between about 90° and about 180° and a conductive feed line coupled to the sector-shape sheet of conductive material.
1 . An antenna comprising:
a dielectric substrate; and
a plurality of antenna elements positioned on a surface of the dielectric substrate, each antenna element comprising:
a sector-shaped sheet of conductive material; and
a conductive feed line coupled to the sector-shape sheet of conductive material.
2 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements are arranged in an arc.
3 . The antenna of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements are positioned at substantially uniform angular intervals along the arc.
4 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements consists of six antenna elements.
5 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the sector-shaped sheet of conductive material has a central angle between about 0° and about 180°.
6 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the sector-shaped sheet of conductive material has a central angle between about 90° and about 180°.
7 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the sector-shaped sheet of conductive material has a central angle selected from the group consist of: between about 90° and about 100°, between about 100° and about 110°, between about 110° and about 120°, between about 120° and about 130°, between about 130° and about 140°, between about 140° and about 150°, between about 150° and about 160°, between about 160° and about 170°, and between about 170° and about 180°.
8 . The antenna of claim 1 , wherein the conductive feed line includes a longitudinal portion and a lateral portion adjacent to the sector-shaped sheet of conductive material and at a substantially right angle to the longitudinal portion.
9 . The antenna of claim 1 , further comprising:
a ground layer mounted to an opposite side of the dielectric substrate from the plurality of antenna elements.
10 . The antenna of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of RF connectors, each RF connector associated with one of the plurality of antenna elements.
11 . The antenna of claim 1 , further comprising:
a housing surrounding the substrate and the plurality of antenna elements.
12 . An antenna comprising:
a dielectric substrate;
a plurality of antenna elements positioned on a surface of the dielectric substrate at substantially uniform angular intervals along an arc, each antenna element comprising:
a sector-shaped sheet of conductive material having a central angle between about 90° and about 180°; and
a conductive feed line coupled to the sector-shape sheet of conductive material, the conductive feed line including a longitudinal portion and a lateral portion adjacent to the sector-shaped sheet of conductive material and at a substantially right angle to the longitudinal portion; and
a ground layer mounted to an opposite side of the dielectric substrate from the plurality of antenna elements.
13 . A printed-circuit board antenna comprising:
a dielectric substrate; and
at least six antenna elements etched on a surface of the dielectric substrate to form a 3×3 MIMO array, each antenna element comprising:
a sector-shaped sheet of conductive material; and
a conductive feed line coupled to the sector-shape sheet of conductive material.