TARTANA 1US005341148A, United States Patent 119 11) Patent Number: 5,341,148 Walter et al. [45] Date of Patent: Aug. 23, 1994 [54] HIGH FREQUENCY MULTI-TURN LOOP 4,804,968 2/1989 Ohe et al. 343/741 ANTENNA IN CAVITY Primary Examiner—Donald Hajec [75] Inventors: Carlton H. Walter; Donn V. Assistant Examiner—Tan Ho Campbell, both of Poway; Robert V. [57] ABSTRACT Devore, Ramona, all of Calif. a r | Fe are ae er ‘A compact high frequency mult-tum loop antenna is provided for use on a conductive structure such as the [21] Appl. No.: 799,793 airframe of an airborne vehicle. The antenna employs a . plurality of interconnected conductive loops which are 22] Filed: aioe 2s ied ‘magnetically coupled to a conductive structure. One {51} Int. Cis .. H01Q 11/12 end of the conductive loops is coupled via tuning and [32] Us.a.- 343/742; 343/745; impedance matching circuits to a transceiver for trans- " 343/895; 343/708 mitting and receiving signals therefrom. The other end (58] Field of Search 343/741, 742, 841, 865, ofthe conductive loops is coupled to ground. When 343/867, 788, 789, 705, 708, 745; 29/600; HO1Q transmitting a signal, the transceiver excites a current 11/12 on the conductor which induces a magnetic field that [56] References Cited excites the conductive structure. Upon receiving a sig- UStEATENT DOCUMENTS nal, the conductive structure is excited which in tum generates a magnetic field through the plurality of loops - 343/741 and induces a current on the conductor. The antenna 337g.“ May advantageously be mounted within a conductive ~ Sevass cavity structure which in turn is connected to the con- “3éxqa2 ductive structure. 343/895 343/782 22 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets 2472106 6/1949 Hansen 31568,206 3/1971. Sisson 3.923403 7/1974 3,956,751 5/1976 4288794, 9/1981 4,644,366 2/1987 4801944 1/1989Sheet 1 of 6 5,341,148 Aug. 23, 1994 U.S. Patent i + 18. Transceiver Leennpennnnd 16: AAA “2s rt al 12 0 2c <—_—_ = ——US. Patent ‘Aug. 23, 1994 Sheet 2 of 6 5,341,148 \ 22 eeU.S, Patent Ang. 23, 1994 Sheet 3 of 6 5,341,148 1 ) 2 A ? 10 2B Pomel } 12 22 Input oe ! yg elt <—d Z 28U.S. Patent 5,341,148 Aug. 23, 1994 Sheet 4 of 6 Coarse Tune (Top) 18. N ; C2 (Match) * 50a "Radio 1 ~ wn le 12 Lrenscelver # C1 (Fine Tune) oi Coarse Tune (Tap) BY | 18, L VRadio 1 _ (Transceiver | 2 (Motch) C1 (Fine Tune) ul Coarse Tune (Top) 4 Se 72 Match ca C1 (Fine Tune) 32 8 1 = = Radio = Transceiver E41 <5 _ soeUS, Patent Aug. 23, 1994 Sheet 5 of 6 5,341,148 MIL Output Port To Tuner tl I i ape 0.3m = ~-12 Grounded 14 MIL Side Of Loop Cavity Housing Paes. Leb.US. Patent Aug. 23, 1994 Sheet 6 of 6 5,341,148 100 > 7% 8 8 S 0 § s & 2 e 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Frequency, MHz 100 2Laity_*7 Turn Loop +6 Turn Loop _»5 Turn Loop > 6.4 MHz § 10 Z § & 5.4 MH. x 2. 12 3 8 $ he 1 on Ot 015 02 025 O35 035 04 Va, Loop Depth/Cavity Width ae. 1.5,341,148 1 HIGH FREQUENCY MULTI-TURN LOOP ANTENNA IN CAVITY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field This invention relates generally to an antenna system ‘and, more particularly, to a high frequency multi-turn loop antenna for use on a conductive structure such as, the airframe of an airborne vehicle. 2. Discussion Many communication systems generally employ an- tennas for transmitting and receiving communications signals. High frequency antennas for use with airborne vehicles and the like have been employed. However, such antennas have generally been relatively large and- Zor have presented various operational problems. ‘One common high frequency airborne antenna cur- rently in use with aircraft vehicles is a trailing wire antenna (TWA). The TWA is essentially a horizontal dipole which generally employs a weighted trailing wire that for some applications may be 140 feet or more in length. The relatively large size of the trailing wire is required to produce the necessary resonance. The tral- ing wire in conjunction with the airframe of the aircraft may provide the necessary length and shape for trans- mitting or receiving desired signals. ‘The TWA has been developed into a relatively effi- cient antenna, however, various undesirable operational problems do exist. Such problems include decreased maneuverability of the aircraft due to the external wire. In addition, itis generally required that the trailing, wire of the TWA must be fully secured for aircraft landing. Other problems have included reliability and safety issues which have arisen with respect to the trailing wire extension and retraction mechanism. Furthermore, the relatively high rate of mechanism failure of the TWA and the circuitry of the explosive “guillotine” for purposes of severing the TWA when necessary have demonstrated a somewhat poor reliability. ‘Another high frequency antenna deployed on air- bore vehicles is the towel bar antenna which essen- tially provides a single turn loop antenna. However, the towel bar antenna is relatively large in size and does not provide the best possible efficiency. It is therefore desirable to obtain a compact high frequency antenna for use on a conductive structure such as an airborne vehicle. More particularly, it is desirable to obtain a compact high frequency multi-turn loop antenna which may be flush-mounted or embed- ded within the conductive structure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the teachings of the present in- vention, a compact high frequency multi-turn loop an- tenna is provided for use on a conductive structure such as an airborne vehicle. The antenna employs a conduc- tor which forms a plurality of interconnected loops that are magnetically coupled to a conductive structure. ‘One end of the conductor is adapted to be coupled to a transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals there- from. The other end of the conductor is grounded or ‘terminated in a tuner. The antenna is mounted within a small conductive cavity structure which is adapted to bbe connected to a conductive structure such as the airframe of an aircraft. 5 2 30 35 50 55 6 2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages ofthe present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates a rmult-tumn loop antenna in a cavity in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram which illustrates a ‘multi-turn loop antenna in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram which illustrates the dimensional parameters of a multi-tum loop antenna in ‘ cavity in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram which illustrates a perspective view of the multi-turn loop antenna shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram which illustrates a ‘muiti-turn loop antenna having a magnetic core in ac- cordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 isa schematic diagram which illustrates a loop antenna positioned within a cylindrical cavity; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-turn loop antenna positioned on the surface of a conductive struc- ture; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-turn loop antenna embedded within a conductive structure in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram which illustrates a ‘multitum loop antenna having optimum coupling in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram which illustrates a ‘multi-turn loop antenna having a magnetic core in ac- cordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram which illustrates a tuning, and impedance-matching circuit for a multi-turn loop antenna; FIG. 10 s a circuit diagram which illustrates an alter- nate tuning and impedance-matching circuit for tuning, a multi-turn loop antenna; FIG. 11 is acircuit diagram which illustrates an alter- nate tuning impedance-matching circuit for tuning a ‘multi-turn loop antenna; FIG. 12aand 128 illustrates a multi-turn loop antenna installed on an aircraft; FIG. 13 illustrates high radiation efficiency obtained with the multi-turn loop antenna installed on an aircraft and Figure 14 isa graph which illustrates the efficiency of various multi-turn loop antennas. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to FIG. 1, a compact multi-turn loop antenna 10 is shown mounted within 2 small conductive cavity assembly 14, The antenna 10 includes a condue- tor which forms a plurality of multiturn loops 12 lo cated in a cavity 22 of the cavity assembly 14. The plurality of loops 12 essentially induce or are induced by a magnetic field which allows the antenna 10 to transmit and receive desired radio signals. The antenna 10 generally operates most effectively in the high fre~ quency band from approximately 2 to 30 MHz. (i.e, wavelengths of 150 to 10 meters). However, the an-