Patent ID: 7450071

Claim:
An antenna, comprising: a first generally planar conductive piece defining a feed aperture; a second generally planar conductive piece defining an elongated slot, said first and second generally planar pieces being spaced apart and electrically conjoined along a closed path; a feed strip lying between said first and second generally planar conductive pieces and extending to said feed aperture for being fed thereat, to thereby define a stripline, said feed strip extending orthogonal to said slot for exciting said slot and generating an electric field thereacross; a generally planar conductive third layer defining an elongated strip, said conductive third layer being mounted adjacent said slot, and spaced therefrom, with the direction of elongation of said strip parallel with the direction of elongation of said slot; a generally planar patch antenna, said patch antenna being mounted near said conductive strip, with the plane of said patch antenna parallel with the planes of said first and second generally planar conductive pieces; a radome located adjacent to, but not necessarily in contact with, said patch antenna; a thermally conductive rod extending from said conductive strip toward and through said patch antenna, and extending above said patch antenna by an amount selected to make contact with said radome.