Artificial dielectric material for controlling antennae patterns

Claim 1

An antenna comprising means for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, a shaped core of cellular dielectric material fixed between two high tensile skins of dielectric material, said shaped core being disposed adjacent said transmitting and receiving means, the cellular material of said core comprising a plurality of continuous sheets of thin dielectric material fixed together to form a plurality of elongated, hollow tubular, cells the walls of which constitute said sheets, the walls of said cells being disposed transverse to the direction of transmission and reception of the electromagnetic waves whereby said waves travel through the side walls of said cells, the longitudinal axes of said tubular cells being parallel to one another, the lengths of different ones of said cells differing from one another to define the shape of said core, the opposing ends of the tubular cells being closed by said high tensile skins which are curved smoothly to conform to the relative positions of the ends of said different length cells thereby to provide a core and skin structure which is itself capable of withstanding structural loads, and the surface of at least some of said dielectric sheets carrying numerous discrete electrical conductors of elongated configuration there on operative to modify the dielectrIc properties of the shaped core thereby to control the antenna radiation pattern.