Broadband microstrip disc antenna

Claim 2

A broadband microstrip disc antenna comprising: (a) a ground plane formed of conductive material and providing a smooth surface; (b) a conductive disc positioned parallel to the smooth surface of said ground plane and spaced therefrom a predetermined distance; (c) dielectric material positioned between said ground plane and said conductive disc; (d) said conductive disc being electrically connected to said ground plane at approximately the center of said disc; (e) a sector greater than one-half of said disc having a first radius; (f) the remaining sector of said disc having a second radius different than said first radius, and (g) a feed point on said conductive disc.

Claim 3

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sector greater than one-half lies in a range of approximately 270° to 240°.

Claim 4

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first and second radii are in a ratio to each other in a range greater than 1:1 and less than approximately 1.2:1.

Claim 5

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 3 wherein the antenna has a voltage standing wave ratio of approximately 2:1, the first radius is defined by the formula (0.81λo)/π√ε.sub.r and the second radius is defined by the formula (0.965λo)/π√ε.sub.r where λo is the wavelength at the center frequency of the antenna and ε r is the dielectric constant of the dielectric between the disc and the ground plane.

Claim 6

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 4 wherein the center frequency, at the wavelength λo is 1.814 GHz.

Claim 7

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 1 including additional similar disc antennas mounted in an array to provide a predetermined radiation pattern.

Claim 8

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 6 wherein the disc antennas are formed into a cylindrical configuration with the conductive discs on the outer surface thereof and interconnected for providing an onmidirectional radiation pattern.

Claim 9

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 7 wherein the remaining sectors of each of the discs are situated in the same quadrant of the associated disc as all the other remaining sectors.

Claim 10

A broadband microstrip disc antenna comprising: (a) a ground plane formed of conductive material and providing a smooth surface; (b) a conductive disc positioned parallel to the smooth surface of said ground plane and spaced therefrom a predetermined distance; (c) dielectric material positioned between said ground plane and said conductive disc; (d) said conductive disc being electrically connected to said ground plane at approximately the center of said disc; (e) a sector including approximately 270° of said disc having a radius of approximately (0.81λo)/π√ε.sub.r and the remaining sector of said disc having a radius of approximately (0.965λo)/π√ε.sub.r where λo is the center frequency of the antenna and ε r is the dielectric constant of said dielectric material; and (f) a feed point on said conductive disc.

Claim 11

A broadband microstrip disc antenna comprising: (a) a ground plane formed of conductive material and providing a smooth surface; (b) a conductive disc positioned parallel to the smooth surface of said ground plane and spaced therefrom a predetermined distance; (c) dielectric material positioned between said ground plane and said conductive disc; (d) said conductive disc being electrically connected to said ground plane at approximately the center of said disc; (e) a sector including approximately 270° of said disc having a radius of approximately (0.81λo)/π√ε.sub.r and the remaining sector of said disc having a radius of approximately (0.965λo)/π√ε.sub.r where λo is the center frequency of the antenna and ε r is the dielectric constant of said dielectric material; and (f) a feed point on said conductive disc.

Claim 12

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 9 wherein the predetermined distance between the conductive disc and the ground plane is approximately 0.125 inches and the dielectric material is epoxy glass.

Claim 13

A broadband microstrip disc antenna as claimed in claim 10 wherein the radius of the 270° sector of the disc is approximately 0.78 inches and the radius of the remaining sector is approximately 0.98 inches.