Patents by Inventor Patrick McKivergan

Patrick McKivergan has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9270028
    Abstract: An octave bandwidth conformal cavity-backed slot antenna includes a ground plane with a number of different length slits that come together at the central feedpoint. The slit length varies from one-half a wavelength at the highest frequency at which the antenna is to operate for the short side to one wavelength at the highest frequency for the long side, with the proximal ends of the slits having a common feedpoint. Such slot antennas may be arrayed in a quad configuration. Because the trapezoidal envelope of the antenna induces the phase-center to shift with frequency, when two are arrayed with short sides adjacent, the spacing between them results in a phase center from one antenna to the next that is effectively within half a wavelength at all frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventors: Leonard Ruvinsky, Zane Lo, Mark W. Reed, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20130063321
    Abstract: An octave bandwidth conformal cavity-backed slot antenna includes a ground plane with a number of different length slits that come together at the central feedpoint. The slit length varies from one-half a wavelength at the highest frequency at which the antenna is to operate for the short side to one wavelength at the highest frequency for the long side, with the proximal ends of the slits having a common feedpoint. Such slot antennas may be arrayed in a quad configuration. Because the trapezoidal envelope of the antenna induces the phase-center to shift with frequency, when two are arrayed with short sides adjacent, the spacing between them results in a phase center from one antenna to the next that is effectively within half a wavelength at all frequencies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2012
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Leonard Ruvinsky, Zane Lo, Mark W. Reed, Patrick McKivergan
  • Patent number: 7209092
    Abstract: A standard slow wave meander line having sections of alternating impedance relative to a conductor plate is provided with a top shield connected to the conductor plane for the purpose of lowering the resonant frequency of narrow band antennas and lowering the low frequency cutoff limit of wide band antennas due to a higher delay per unit length occasioned by the use of the top shield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventors: John T. Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20060256029
    Abstract: A method of operating a higher conductivity broadband loaded meander line antenna (10) is provided wherein the meander line is positioned on a sheet of a lower conductivity material (22) having a conductivity of from about 0.01 siemens/m to about 0.10 siemens/m; and allowing a first electrical current to flow in a first current path in the meander line. An electrical field is formed in the vicinity of the lower conductivity material and a second current flows in a second current path in the lower conductivity material, whereby anti-resonance in the meander line loaded antenna is diminished so that a broadband response can be achieved over bandwidths of 5:1 or more. An assembly for carrying out this method is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2003
    Publication date: November 16, 2006
    Inventor: Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20050225496
    Abstract: A switched meander line structure is substituted for a lumped element coupler (10) for an order of magnitude increase in gain due to the use of the switched meander line architecture. The use of the meander line (20) with relatively wide and thick folded legs markedly decreases I2R losses over wire inductors whose wire diameters at one-tenth of an inch contribute significantly to I2R losses. Additionally, placing solid state switches to short out various sections of a multi-leg meander line at high impedance nodes reduces I2R losses across the switching elements in the coupler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2003
    Publication date: October 13, 2005
    Inventors: John Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20050162322
    Abstract: A standard slow wave meander line having sections of alternating impedance relative to a conductor plate is provided with a top shield connected to the conductor plane for the purpose of lowering the resonant frequency of narrow band antennas and lowering the low frequency cutoff limit of wide band antennas due to a higher delay per unit length occasioned by the use of the top shield. The shielded meander line may be utilized as a coupling device to truncated antennas such as a whip antenna or grounded loop antenna for the purposes of loading the antenna so as to provide lower frequency performance. Since the propagation constant of the meander line structure depends upon the number of high impedance/low impedance transitions per unit length, the utilization of the top shield results in more phase shifts per unit length and thus more delay per unit length, with the symmetric double sided version having double the number of transitions per unit length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2005
    Publication date: July 28, 2005
    Inventors: John Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Patent number: 6894656
    Abstract: A standard slow wave meander line having sections of alternating impedance relative to a conductor plate is provided with a top shield connected to the conductor plane for the purpose of lowering the resonant frequency of narrow band antennas and lowering the low frequency cutoff limit of wide band antennas due to a higher delay per unit length occasioned by the use of the top shield. The shielded meander line may be utilized as a coupling device to truncated antennas such as a whip antenna or grounded loop antenna for the purposes of loading the antenna so as to provide lower frequency performance. Since the propagation constant of the meander line structure depends upon the number of high impedance/low impedance transitions per unit length, the utilization of the top shield results in more phase shifts per unit length and thus more delay per unit length, with the symmetric double sided version having double the number of transitions per unit length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventors: John T. Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20050099336
    Abstract: A hemispherical meander line loaded antenna is provided which can fit within a hemispherical radome so as to minimize real estate on an aircraft such as an unmanned airborne vehicle. In one embodiment, a double monopole is recreated in a hemispherical form, thus to make what was originally a rectilinear package into a hemispherical package without materially affecting VSWR or ultra-wideband and antenna pattern characteristics. The wideband double monopole hemispherical meander line loaded antenna is provided with a single feed, with the delay associated with the meander lines of the antenna adjusted to equalize the reactance of the antenna, thereby to enable proper impedance matching.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2003
    Publication date: May 12, 2005
    Inventors: John Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20040174313
    Abstract: A standard slow wave meander line having sections of alternating impedance relative to a conductor plate is provided with a top shield connected to the conductor plane for the purpose of lowering the resonant frequency of narrow band antennas and lowering the low frequency cutoff limit of wide band antennas due to a higher delay per unit length occasioned by the use of the top shield. The shielded meander line may be utilized as a coupling device to truncated antennas such as a whip antenna or grounded loop antenna for the purposes of loading the antenna so as to provide lower frequency performance. Since the propagation constant of the meander line structure depends upon the number of high impedance/low impedance transitions per unit length, the utilization of the top shield results in more phase shifts per unit length and thus more delay per unit length, with the symmetric double sided version having double the number of transitions per unit length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2003
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Inventors: John T. Apostolos, Patrick McKivergan
  • Patent number: 6693598
    Abstract: An omni-directional antenna assembly is provided for wireless communication devices requiring multiple polarization characteristics. A loop antenna assembly for a communications device operating at a predetermined wavelength and having a transceiver circuit including a signal output and a ground plane, the antenna assembly including a conductive loop element and a conductive leg member coupled to the loop element proximate a loop perimeter, the leg member for supporting the loop element at a distance away from the ground plane of the communications device, the leg member also defining a ground point and a feed point for operatively coupling the loop element to the ground plane and the signal output, respectively, of the transceiver circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Logistics AG
    Inventors: Bruce Bishop, Matthew H. Commens, Patrick McKivergan, Kevin Ketelsen, Ben Newman, Michael A. Kauffman, Jerry Hovey
  • Patent number: 6614399
    Abstract: An antenna for wireless communication devices provides resonance over at least two frequency bands with a directional radiation pattern and reduced specific absorption rate (SAR). The antenna structure includes of a formed conducting plate resonator spaced from a larger substantially rectangular ground plane conductor. The antenna structure can be located near one end of ground plane conductor. Single feed and ground connections are provided on adjacent edges of the resonator. Two or more tuning capacitors cause the resonator to resonate over two or more frequency ranges. Tuning of the higher frequency band may be done without affecting the lower frequency band in the case of a dual band version. The sizes and shape of the resonator and ground plane are compatible with the dimensions of wireless communications devices such as cell phones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Logistics AG
    Inventors: Thomas Trumbull, Patrick McKivergan
  • Publication number: 20020080078
    Abstract: An antenna for wireless communication devices provides resonance over at least two frequency bands with a directional radiation pattern and reduced specific absorption rate (SAR). The antenna structure includes of a formed conducting plate resonator spaced from a larger substantially rectangular ground plane conductor. The antenna structure can be located near one end of ground plane conductor. Single feed and ground connections are provided on adjacent edges of the resonator. Two or more tuning capacitors cause the resonator to resonate over two or more frequency ranges. Tuning of the higher frequency band may be done without affecting the lower frequency band in the case of a dual band version. The sizes and shape of the resonator and ground plane are compatible with the dimensions of wireless communications devices such as cell phones.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2000
    Publication date: June 27, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Trumbull, Patrick McKivergan
  • Patent number: 6407710
    Abstract: An asymmetrical dipole antenna is disclosed consisting of a planar conductor, matching network, and resonator. The antenna is compact, may operate on one or more frequency bands, and is suitable for high volume production. The antenna exhibits simultaneous dual linear polarizations and a unidirectional pattern in at least one of its operating frequency ranges when configured for multiple-band operation. Applications for the antenna include wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones or data devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Logistics AG
    Inventors: Donald Keilen, Patrick McKivergan, Matthew Commens, Robert Hill
  • Publication number: 20010033250
    Abstract: An asymmetrical dipole antenna is disclosed consisting of a planar conductor, matching network, and resonator. The antenna is compact, may operate on one or more frequency bands, and is suitable for high volume production. The antenna exhibits simultaneous dual linear polarizations and a unidirectional pattern in at least one of its operating frequency ranges when configured for multiple-band operation. Applications for the antenna include wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones or data devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2001
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Inventors: Donald Keilen, Patrick McKivergan, Matthew Commens, Robert Hill