Omnidirectional vertically polarized antenna

Claim 1

A STACKED ANTENNA ARRAY COMPRISING COLLINEAR AXIALLY-SPACED ANTENNA SECTIONS EACH OF WHICH IS FORMED BY TWO COLLINEAR TUBULAR CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS EXTENDING FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF A TRANSVERSE SLOT THEREBETWEEN AND EACH HAVING AN AXIAL LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO A QUARTER WAVELENGTH NEAR THE MID FREQUENCY OF A PREDETERMINED BAND OF HIGH OPERATING FREQUENCIES, TUBULAR CONDUCTOR MEANS INWARDLY COAXIAL WITH AND RADIALLY SPACED FROM SAID TUBULAR ELEMENTS OF SAID COLLINEAR ANTENNA SECTIONS WHICH ARE ADJACENT ONE ANOTHER, MEANS ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID ADJACENT ELEMENTS OF SAID ADJACENT ANTENNA SECTIONS WITH SAID TUBULAR CONDUCTOR MEANS AT THE SITES OF THE SLOTS AND FORMING SUBSTANTIALLY QUARTER-WAVELENGTH COAXIAL STUBS EXHIBITING HIGH IMPEDANCES AT THE ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID ADJACENT TUBULAR ELEMENTS OF SAID ANTENNA SECTIONS WHICH SUPPRESSES FLOW OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ENERGY BETWEEN SAID SLOTS, A COAXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE DISPOSED RADIALLY INWARDLY OF AND COAXIALLY WITH SAID TUBULAR ELEMENTS AND SAID CONDUCTOR MEANS, MEANS GUIDING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL AMOUNTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ENERGY BETWEEN SAID COAXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE AND EACH OF SAID SLOTS AND PRESERVING SIMULTANEOUSLY SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PHASE OF EXCITATION OF THE ANTENNA SECTIONS AND ONE PHASE OF EXCITATION OF THE JUNCTION BETWEEN SAID COAXIAL LINE AND GUIDING MEANS, DIELECTRIC MEANS RIGIDLY SUPPORTING SAID CONDUCTOR MEANS ON SAID COAXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE, THE OUTER CONDUCTOR OF SAID COAXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE BEING RIGID AND THEREBY SUPPORTING LOADS OF THE ANTENNA ARRAY, MOUNTING MEANS FIXED WITH SAID OUTER CONDUCTOR BEYOND ONE AXIAL END OF THE COLLINEAR ARRAY OF SAID ANTENNA SECTIONS, AND DIFFERENT MEANS AT EACH AXIAL END OF SAID COLLINEAR ARRAY EACH HAVING ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE SURFACES COAXIAL WITH THE NEAREST TUBULAR ELEMENT OF THE ARRAY AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED WITH THE NEAREST TUBULAR ELEMENT AT THE SITE OF THE NEAREST SLOT TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY QUARTER-WAVELENGTH HIGH-IMPEDANCE COAXIAL STUB, WHEREBY FLOW OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ENERGY BEYOND THE AXIAL EXTREMITIES OF SAID ANTENNA SECTIONS IN THE ARRAY AND TO SAID MOUNTING MEANS IS SUPPRESSED.