US-12620697-B2 - Ultrawideband hyperflat and mesh grid SISO/MIMO antenna

Abstract

An ultrawideband ultra-flat antenna and an ultrawideband ultra-flat transparent antenna which maintains visibility while functioning in surfaces without sacrificing antenna performance. The antenna, when mounted, appears substantially invisible and includes a mesh grid antenna that does not use a radome. The mesh grid antenna is optically transparent and may be easily mounted on windows and ceiling of buildings.

Inventors

• Abdolmehdi Dadgarpour
• Sadegh FARZANEH
• Farid JOLANI
• Julie Love
• Jacob VAN BEEK
• Brian Wixon

Assignees

• GALTRONICS USA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20211230

Claims (16)

1. 1 . An antenna structure comprising: a wire mesh provided on a patch and a ground plane; an adhesive layer for attaching said wire mesh to a first substrate; and a polyester film provided between said adhesive layer and said first substrate, wherein said antenna structure is configured for coupling to a signal source using a coupling structure comprising: a first coplanar wave guide on an underside of a second substrate, said first coplanar wave guide coupled, by way of a via, to a microstrip line that is on a top side of said second substrate, said microstrip line feeding said antenna structure, wherein said first coplanar wave guide widens distally from said via; a second coplanar wave guide mounted upon a top side of a third substrate, said second coplanar wave guide comprising a wide portion that narrows to a narrow portion; and a solder mask layered between a wide end of said first coplanar wave guide and said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide, wherein, when a signal is present on said microstrip line, said signal capacitively couples from said wide end of said first coplanar waveguide to said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide.
2. 2 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said substrate is polycarbonate.
3. 3 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said wire mesh is located on a top side of said substrate.
4. 4 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said adhesive layer is transparent to light.
5. 5 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said polyester layer is transparent to light.
6. 6 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said substrate is transparent to light.
7. 7 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising—at least one layer of solder mask applied atop said wire mesh.
8. 8 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an antenna having said structure is deployed on a transparent surface.
9. 9 . An antenna structure comprising: a wire mesh provided on a patch and ground plane; an adhesive layer for attaching said wire mesh to a first substrate; a polyester film provided between said adhesive layer and said first substrate; and a reflector adjacent to and spaced apart from said first substrate, wherein, when said wire mesh is attached to said first substrate, a surface of said substrate is substantially planar and flat, wherein said antenna structure is configured for coupling to a signal source using a coupling structure comprising: a first coplanar wave guide on an underside of a second substrate, said first coplanar wave guide coupled, by way of a via, to a microstrip line that is on a top side of said second substrate, said microstrip line feeding said antenna structure, wherein said first coplanar wave guide widens distally from said via; a second coplanar wave guide mounted upon a top side of a third substrate, said second coplanar wave guide comprising a wide portion that narrows to a narrow portion; and a solder mask layered between a wide end of said first coplanar wave guide and said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide, wherein, when a signal is present on said microstrip line, said signal capacitively couples from said wide end of said first coplanar waveguide to said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide.
10. 10 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said substrate is color pigmented.
11. 11 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said wire mesh is located on a top side of said first substrate.
12. 12 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 9 , further including an L-shaped element located adjacent a transmission cable of said antenna structure, said L-shaped element being for suppressing unwanted current distribution coupled from cable, wherein one face of said L-shaped metal plate is attached to said reflector and another face of said L-shaped metal plate extends into space.
13. 13 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said antenna structure is for deployment within a cavity such that said reflector is inside said cavity.
14. 14 . The antenna structure as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the cavity forms part of either a wall or a ceiling.
15. 15 . A coupling structure for use with an antenna structure, the coupling structure comprising: a first coplanar wave guide mounted on a first substrate, said first coplanar wave guide being coupled to a microstrip line by way of a via, said microstrip line feeding said antenna structure, wherein said first coplanar wave guide widens distally from said via; a second coplanar wave guide mounted upon a second substrate, said second coplanar wave guide comprising a wide portion that narrows to a narrow portion; and a solder mask layered between a wide end of said first coplanar wave guide and said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide, wherein, when a signal is present on said microstrip line, said signal capacitively couples from said wide end of said first coplanar waveguide to said wide portion of said second coplanar waveguide.
16. 16 . The coupling structure as claimed in claim 15 , wherein said coupling structure couples a flat antenna structure to a signal source.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a transparent antenna with ultrawideband performance. More specifically, the present invention relates to antennas that are deployable on flat surfaces and on transparent substrates. These antennas can be deployed on vehicle windshields, on satellite installed solar cells, and in other commercial and medical applications. BACKGROUND With the rapid development of wireless communication systems, in particular the emergence of the next generation of wireless networks (5G), there is an imperative to assign more access points and signal repeaters. In addition, there is an imperative to have more base stations in different locations to thereby increase the network capacity and mobile network. However, assigning more access points, of which the antenna is a part, provides infrastructure challenges for urban areas. These challenges include using existing antennas as these current antennas are not ideal due to their bulky size and their inability to blend with surrounding environment as well as their opaque appearance. It is quite well-known that current antennas cannot be used with transparent windows—current antennas are non-transparent and most of these antennas use radomes that increase their undesirable visibility. In addition, existing antenna structures cannot be blended into ceilings or walls of locations such as hospitals, shopping malls, schools, and convention centres due to their bulky structure. While flat structures related to antennas is known, current flat antennas are equipped with radomes for mechanical protection as well as for hiding the antenna substrate layer and copper traces. Another issue with current antennas is their bulky structure as some implementations require a minimization of the depth or protrusion of the antenna toward the floor to render the antenna unobtrusive. As noted above, current antennas are usually equipped with a corresponding large radome, thereby rendering these antennas very noticeable. There is therefore a need for systems, devices, and methods that provide for antennas that are unobtrusive and not very noticeable. Preferably, such antennas are deployable on transparent substrates and allows for wideband performance suitable for current and future wireless applications. SUMMARY The present invention provides an ultrawideband ultra-flat antenna and an ultrawideband ultra-flat transparent antenna which may maintain visibility while functioning in the surfaces without sacrificing the antenna performance. In other words, the antenna once mounted appears substantially invisible. To alleviate the above-described issues with known structures, the present invention includes a mesh grid antenna is designed without a radome and which is optically transparent and may be easily mounted on the windows and ceiling of buildings. In a first aspect, the present invention provides an antenna structure comprising: a wire mesh provided on a patch and a ground plane;an adhesive layer for attaching said wire mesh to a substrate; anda polyester film provided between said adhesive layer and said substrate. In a second aspect, the present invention provides an antenna structure comprising: a wire mesh provided on a patch and ground plane;an adhesive layer for attaching said wire mesh to a substrate;a polyester film provided between said adhesive layer and said substrate; anda reflector adjacent to and spaced apart from said substrate;wherein when said wire mesh is attached to said substrate, a surface of said substrate is substantially planar and flat. In a third aspect, the present invention provides a coupling structure for use with an antenna structure, the coupling structure comprising:a first coplanar waveguide coupled to a microstrip line, said microstrip line feeding said antenna structure;a second coplanar waveguide mounted upon a substrate; anda solder mask layered between said first and second coplanar waveguides;wherein when a signal is present on said microstrip line, said signal capacitively couples from said first coplanar waveguide to said second coplanar waveguide. In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an antenna structure comprising: a monopole antenna fed by at least one cable;a reflector adjacent said monopole antenna;an L-shaped metal plate adjacent said reflector;wherein said at least one cable is capacitively coupled to said metal plate BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by reference to the following figures, in which identical reference numerals refer to identical elements and in which: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic of layering within a Mesh-Grid CPW monopole antenna in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic of a Mesh-Grid microstrip fed monopole SISO antenna in accordance with one aspect of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic of a Mesh-Grid microstrip fed monopole MIMO antenna in accordance with another aspect of the present in