Impedance matching balun having quarter wavelength conductors

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSLATING A SIGNAL BETWEEN BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORMS COMPRISING, AN UNBALANCED TERMINAL PAIR HAVING A FIRST TERMINAL MAINTAINED AT REFERENCE POTENTIAL AND A SECOND TERMINAL CAPABLE OF FOLLOWING SIGNAL POTENTIAL, A BALANCE TERMINAL PAIR HAVING THIRD AND FOURTH TERMINALS CAPABLE OF DEVELOPING OPPOSITELY SENSED POTENTIALS WITH RESPECT TO SAID REFERENCE POTENTIAL, A FIRST PLURALITY OF AT LEAST THREE SHIELDING CONDUCTORS EACH HAVING AN UNBALANCED END NEAR SAID UNBALANCED TERMINAL PAIR AND A BALANCED END NEAR SAID BALANCED TERMINAL PAIR, MEANS FOR COUPLING THE UNBALANCED END OF EACH OF SAID SHIELDING CONDUCTORS TO SAID FIRST TERMINAL TO MAINTAIN SAID UNBALANCED ENDS AT SUBSTANTIALLY SAID REFERENCE POTENTIAL, A SECOND PLURALITY ONE LESS THAN SAID FIRST PLURALITY OF SIGNAL CONDUCTORS EACH HAVING AN UNBALANCED END NEAR SAID UNBALANCED TERMINAL PAIR AND A BALANCED END NEAR SAID BALANCED TERMINAL PAIR TO FORM WITH RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID SHIELDING CONDUCTORS THAT NUMBER OF PARALLEL CONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES EQUAL TO SAID SECOND PLURALITY, MEANS FOR COUPLING THE UNBALANCED END OF EACH OF SAID SIGNAL CONDUCTORS TO SAID SECOND TERMINAL TO MAINTAIN EACH OF THE LATTER UNBALANCED ENDS AND SAID SECOND TERMINAL AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME POTENTIAL, MEANS FOR COUPLING EACH BALANCED END OF SAID SIGNAL CONDUCTORS TO THE BALANCED END OF AN IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT SHIELDING CONDUCTOR, THEREBY LEAVING ONE OF SAID TRANSMISSION LINE SHIELDING CONDUCTOR