Transponder incorporating negative resistance amplifiers and multiport directional couplers

Claim 1

A TRANSPONDER RESPONSIVE TO RECEIPT OF A FIRST SELECTED WAVE ENERGY SIGNAL COMPRISING A MULTIPORT NONRECIPROCAL DIRECTIONAL COUPLER; ANTENNA MEANS, MEANS CONNECTING SAID ANTENNA MEANS TO A FIRST PORT OF SAID MULTIPORT DIRECTIONAL COUPLER; NEGATIVE RESISTANCE MEANS ADAPTED FOR NEGATIVE RESISTANCE OPERATION, SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE MEANS OPERATIVE TO PRODUCE AN OUTPUT SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO A SELECTED CHARACTERISTIC OF SAID SELECTED WAVE ENERGY SIGNAL, MEANS CONNECTING SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE MEANS TO A SECOND PORT OF SAID MULTIPORT DIRECTIONAL COUPLER; SIGNAL DETECTION MEANS ADAPTED TO PRODUCE AN OUTPUT SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO THE OUTPUT SIGNAL OF SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE MEANS; TRANSMITTER MEANS HAVING AT LEAST ONE INPUT PORT AND AT LEAST ONE OUTPUT PORT; MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL OF SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE MEANS TO SAID SIGNAL DETECTION MEANS; MEANS FOR APPLYING THE OUTPUT SIGNAL OF SAID SIGNAL DETECTION MEANS TO SAID ONE INPUT OF SAID TRANSMITTER MEANS; SAID TRANSMITTER MEANS ADAPTED TO GENERATE A SECOND SELECTED WAVE ENERGY SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL OF SAID SIGNAL DETECTION MEANS, MEANS CONNECTING SAID TRANSMITTER MEANS VIA SAID ONE OUTPUT PORT THEREOF TO A THIRD PORT OF SAID MULTIPORT DIRECTIONAL COUPLER; SAID DIRECTIONAL COUPLER ADAPTED SUCH THAT AN INPUT SIGNAL INCIDENT ON SAID FIRST PORT IS DIRECTED TO SAID SECOND PORT, AND AN INPUT SIGNAL INCIDENT ON SAID THIRD PORT IS DIRECTED TO SAID FIRST PORT WHEREBY TRANSMISSION OF SAID SECOND SELECTED WAVE ENERGY SIGNAL VIA SAID ANTENNA MEANS OCCURS UPON RECEIPT OF SAID FIRST SELECTED WAVE ENERGY SIGNAL VIA SAID ANTENNA MEANS.