Patent ID: 8659498

Claim:
A patch antenna system comprising: a patch antenna having a patch, a ground plane, and a dielectric interposed between the patch and the ground plane; a feed pin electrically coupled to the patch for transmitting or receiving signals; a plurality of pins disposed in the dielectric and electrically coupled to the patch, the plurality of pins are dispersed in an irregular manner throughout the patch, including a first subset of pins arranged along a perimeter of the patch, including a pin at each corner of the patch, and a second subset of the pins spatially separated in an inward direction from the perimeter of the patch and clustered around the feed pin; a plurality of switches electrically connected to the ground plane and the plurality of pins; and a control module in communication with the plurality of switches and operable to set an operating frequency characteristic of the patch antenna by selectively electrically connecting one or more of the plurality of pins to the ground plane.