公开(公告)号：EP0756762B1

公开(公告)日：2000-01-19

申请号：EP95913277.0

申请日：1995-03-30

Applicant: Inmarsat Ltd.

Inventor： MUNOZ-GARCIA, Samuel ,  NOMOTO, Shinichi ,  POSKETT, Peter ,  MULLINS, Dennis ,  HUTCHINSON, Ben ,  CHOMET, Patrick

IPC: H01Q25/00 ,  H01Q21/22 ,  H01Q1/28 ,  H04B7/204 ,  H01Q3/40

CPC classification number: H01Q25/00 ,  H01Q1/288 ,  H01Q3/26 ,  H01Q3/40 ,  H01Q21/22 ,  H04B7/2041 ,  Y02D70/122 ,  Y02D70/446

Abstract: A communications station for generating or receiving an angularly dispersed array of radiation beams, comprising an array of radiating elements (100) defining an array antenna (1); and a beam former (120), the beam former comprising a passive network having a first side (X) carrying a plurality of beam ports for electrical signals corresponding to the beams and a second side (Y) carrying a plurality of antenna ports corresponding to the radiating elements, each beam port being connected to a plurality of antenna ports via a network (50) of power divider (52) and phase shifter (53) components, the phase shifts of which are in integer multiples of a predetermined constant, so as to generate the array of beams; in which the array antenna (1) has triangular or hexagonal symmetry and the array of beams has triangular or hexagonal symmetry.