1. A point-to-multipoint communications system comprising;
an electromagnetic wave antenna system for generating at least a pair of independently steerable lobes from a single beam, said lobes being used to communicate independently with a plurality of remotely located terminals; and
the lobes being controllable by the system so that one of the pair may be faded out while the other of the pair is increased in strength, so that an existing first communication link with a first one of the remote terminals may be interrupted while a second communication link with a second one of the remote terminals is established.
2. The system of claim 1, the single beam comprising a transmit beam.
3. The system of claim 1, the single beam comprising a receive beam.
4. The system of claim 1, the antenna system comprising an antenna aperture having a plurality of independent antenna elements; and
a beam former in communication with the antenna aperture for controlling signals transmitted by each said antenna element to form said pair of independently steerable lobes from said single transmit beam.
5. The system of claim 1, said antenna system comprising:
an antenna aperture having a plurality of independent antenna elements; and
a beam former in communication with said antenna aperture for controlling each said antenna element to form said pair of independently steerable lobes from said receive beam.
6. The system of claim 1, said antenna system comprising:
an antenna aperture; and
a beam former that controls said antenna system to form said independently steerable lobes.
7. The system of claim 1, said antenna system comprising a phased array antenna aperture.
8. The system of claim 1, said antenna system comprising a hybrid antenna aperture including a parabolic reflector, a parabolic subreflector, and a feed array having a plurality of independent array elements.
9. A point-to-multipoint electromagnetic wave communications system, comprising:
an antenna aperture having a plurality of independent antenna elements;
a beam former for controlling said elements to form a single beam having a plurality of independently steerable lobes to communicate with a plurality of independent, remotely located terminals; and
one of the lobes further being controlled so as to be faded out to interrupt an existing communication link with a first one of the remotely located terminals, while a second one of the lobes is increased in strength to establish a new communications link with a second one of the remotely located terminals.
10. The system of claim 9, said antenna aperture comprising a transmit aperture to radiate electromagnetic wave signals via said independently steerable lobes of said single beam.
11. The system of claim 9, said antenna aperture comprising a receive aperture to receive electromagnetic wave signals via said independently steerable lobes of said single beam.
12. The system of claim 9, said antenna aperture comprising a phased array antenna aperture.
13. The system of claim 9, said antenna aperture comprising:
a parabolic reflector;
a parabolic subreflector; and
a feed structure including said plurality of independent elements.
14. The system of claim 9, said beam former including:
a plurality of phase shifters, one being associated with each said antenna element; and
a plurality of attenuators, one being associated with each said antenna element.
15. The system of claim 14, said beam former including components to control a signal gain associated with each of said independently steerable lobes so that different signal gains are provided for each of said steerable lobes.
16. A method for point-to-multipoint communications comprising:
generating a single beam having at least a pair of distinct, independently steerable lobes;
using an antenna to at least one of radiate and receive electromagnetic wave signals via said independently steerable lobes; and
using the independently steerable lobes to fade out an existing communication link provided by a first one of the steerable lobes with a first remotely located terminal, while increasing the strength of a second one of the lobes to establish a new communication link with a second remotely located terminal remote from the first remotely located terminal.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising independently controlling a signal gain associated with each of said lobes to enable communication via said independently steerable lobes with different, remotely located communication terminals at different data rates.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating said beam from a ground-based location.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating said beam from an airborne mobile platform.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating said beam from a marine vessel.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An electronic component comprising:
a cylindrical former proper;
a thick portion at an end of the former proper projecting from the outer surface of the former proper and comprising a first retaining portion;
a connecting portion adjacent to the thick portion comprising a terminal assembly;
a wire electrically connected to the terminal assembly and wound around the former proper; and
a second retaining portion projecting from the connecting portion between the terminal assembly and the first retaining portion;
an insulating tape covering the wire and the former proper;
a pair of separation tapes wrapped around the former proper over the insulating tape; and
an upper layer wire wound around the former proper over the insulating tape between the pair of separation tapes,
wherein the wire running from the terminal assembly to the former proper is retained at the first retaining portion, and the second retaining portion retains the wire.
2. The electronic component of claim 1, wherein the height of the thick portion from the outer surface of the former proper is greater than the diameter of the wire.
3. The electronic component of claim 2, wherein
the terminal assembly includes a first terminal and a second terminal,
the wire includes a first end portion electrically connected to the first terminal, a first contact portion retained by the second retaining portion, a second contact portion retained by the first retaining portion, and a second end portion electrically connected to the second terminal.
4. The electronic component of claim 2, wherein
the connecting portion further comprises a plurality of upper layer terminals arranged in line with the terminal assembly, and
the terminal assembly and the other terminal are positioned at an end of the line in which the terminal assembly and the upper layer terminals are arranged.
5. The electronic component of claim 1, wherein
a thickness of each separation tape of the pair of separation tapes is greater than a diameter of the wire.
6. A vehicle comprising:
a circuit board; and
an electronic component installed in the circuit board, the electronic component comprising:
a cylindrical former proper,
a thick portion at an end of the former proper projecting from the outer surface of the former proper and comprising a first retaining portion;
a connecting portion adjacent to the thick portion comprising a terminal assembly;
a wire electrically connected to the terminal assembly and wound around the former proper;
a second retaining portion projecting from the connecting portion between the terminal assembly and the first retaining portion;
an insulating tape covering the wire and the former proper;
a pair of separation tapes wrapped around the former proper over the insulating tape; and
an upper layer wire wound around the former proper over the insulating tape between the pair of separation tapes,
wherein the wire running from the terminal assembly to the former proper is retained at the first retaining portion, and the second retaining portion retains the wire.
7. An electronic apparatus comprising:
a housing;
a circuit board in the housing; and
an electronic component installed in the circuit board, the electronic component comprising:
a cylindrical former proper,
a thick portion at an end of the former proper projecting from the outer surface of the former proper and comprising a first retaining portion,
a connecting portion adjacent to the thick portion comprising a terminal assembly;
a wire electrically connected to the terminal assembly and wound around the former proper;
a second retaining portion projecting from the connecting portion between the terminal assembly and the first retaining portion;
an insulating tape covering the wire and the former proper;
a pair of separation tapes wrapped around the former proper over the insulating tape; and
an upper layer wire wound around the former proper over the insulating tape between the pair of separation tapes,
wherein the wire running from the terminal assembly to the former proper is retained at the first retaining portion, and
the second retaining portion retains the wire.