Granted Patent B2

US 12,695,186 · App. 18/436,622 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Inventors: James Buduson (North Chili, NY); Peter Burke (Hilton, NY); Barrett Bartell (Mendon, NY)

Assignee: L3Harris Global Communications, Inc.

H01Q3/16H01Q13/18H01Q15/16H01Q19/04H01Q19/106

Abstract

Claims (19)

1 . An antenna adapter, comprising:

a mechanical coupler coupled to support members and attachable to an antenna; and

an electromagnetic reflector coupled to the support members so as to be offset from the mechanical coupler in a first direction;

wherein the antenna adapter is configured to be coupled to the antenna to convert a radiation pattern from an omni-directional antenna radiation pattern to a directional antenna radiation pattern, and configured to be decoupled from the antenna to convert the radiation pattern back into the omni-directional antenna radiation pattern;

wherein the support members extend between the mechanical coupler and respective sides of the electromagnetic reflector and have lengths that are variable; and

wherein the electromagnetic reflector has a variable size that is increased by applying a force thereto as the lengths of the support members expand.

2 . The antenna adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the antenna adapter is further configured to convert the antenna into one or more of a yagi antenna, a parabolic antenna, a reflector antenna, a horn antenna, a corner reflector antenna, and a cavity antenna.

3 . The antenna adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the antenna adapter comprises a reflector that is offset a first distance in a first direction from the antenna when the antenna adapter is coupled thereto.

4 . The antenna adapter according to claim 3 , wherein the electromagnetic reflector is configured to be interchanged with another electromagnetic reflector having a different size and/or shape.

5 . The antenna adapter according to claim 3 , wherein the antenna adapter further comprises at least one director that is offset a second distance in an opposing second direction from the antenna when the antenna adapter is coupled thereto.

6 . The antenna adapter according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one director is configured to be removed from the antenna adapter to further convert the antenna from the directional antenna of a yagi type to another directional antenna of a reflector type.

7 . The antenna adapter according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one director is configured to be interchanged with another director having a different size.

8 . The antenna adapter according to claim 5 , wherein the antenna adapter further comprises another director that is offset a third distance in the opposing second direction from the antenna when the antenna adapter is coupled thereto, the third distance greater than the second distance.

9 . The antenna adapter according to claim 1 , wherein:

the antenna adapter comprises at least one director coupled to the support member so as to be offset from the mechanical coupler in the opposing second direction; and

the directional antenna radiation pattern is changeable by adjusting a distance between the antenna and the electromagnetic reflector of the antenna adapter and/or adjusting a distance between the antenna and the at least one director of the antenna adapter.

10 . The antenna adapter according to claim 1 , wherein a curvature or an angle of the electromagnetic reflector is variable.

11 . The antenna adapter according to claim 10 , wherein the electromagnetic reflector is made of a conductive material that can be bent or deformed to change the curvature or the angle.

12 . The antenna adapter according to claim 1 , wherein an outer most edge of the mechanical coupler is aligned with a center of the antenna adapter and the mechanical coupler extends from the center of the antenna adapter in the first direction towards the electromagnetic reflector.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (17)