Closely spaced stocked waveguide antenna array employing reciprocal ridged wageguide phase shifters

Claim 1

A RECIPROCAL MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION SYSEM FOR PROPAGATING ENERGY OF PREDETERMINED FREQUENCY AXIALLY THERETHROUGH, COMPRISING A TWO DIMENSIONAL ARRAY OF PARALLEL WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURES ARRANGED IN ROWS AND COLUMNS AND MOUNTED ON CENTERS SPACED APART IN BOTH SAID DIMENSIONS APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF THE FREE SPACE WAVELENGTH OF SAID PROPAGATED ENERGY, SAID WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURES EACH BEING DEFINED BY PLANAR SURFACES WHICH MAINTAIN A CONSTANT POLARIZATION AND HAVING TRANSVERSE ELECTRICAL DIMENSIONS AT LEAST AS GREAT AS SAID ONE HALF WAVELENGTH AND HAVING TRANSVERSE STRUCTURAL DIMENSIONS LESS THAN SAID ONE HALF WAVELENGTH THROUGHOUTH THE LENGTH THEREOF, EACH OF SAID WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURES BEING IN THE FORM OF A RIDGED WAVEGUIDE, AN ELONGATED SLAB OF FERRITE MATERIAL SYMMETRICALLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE RIDGE PORTION OF EACH WAVEGUDE STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING THROUGHOUT THE HEIGHT OF SAID RIDGE PORTION, SAID SLAB HAVING ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS IN PARALLEL WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID WAVEGUIDE, OF PROVIDING A RECIPROCAL PHASE SHIFT TO SAID ENERGY, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING A CONTROLLABLE MAGNETIC FIELD ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE FERRITE MEMBERS OF SELECTED WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURES FOR CONTROLLING THE DEGREE OF SAID PHASE SHIFT.