Patent ID: 8797224

Claim:
An array antenna apparatus comprising: a plurality of steerable antennas, each having one active antenna element and at least one parasitic antenna element; and at least one metal block with a length longer than a longitudinal length of each of the active antenna elements, wherein at least two of the steerable antennas are simultaneously excited, wherein each of the active antenna elements is associated with at least one of the at least one metal block such that the at least one metal block associated with a corresponding active antenna element is disposed remote from the corresponding active antenna element by a predetermined distance and operates as a reflector for the corresponding active antenna element, and wherein each of the parasitic antenna elements is provided with a switching circuit for changing an electrical length of the parasitic antenna element, and the parasitic antenna element operates as a reflector for an active antenna element of the same steerable antenna as the parasitic antenna element by changing the electrical length using the switching circuit.