Concentric broadband power combiner or divider

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention employs the principles of the above-mentioned linear multi-section network combiner but improves the basic design thereof by folding various sections of the transmission line comprising the combiner to thereby reduce the length thereof to about the length of a single quarter wavelength section of transmission line.
This is accomplished by providing two sets of concentric cylinders which nest within one another so that the cylinders of one set are interleaved with the cylinders of the other set.
The cylinders increase in size from a small cylinder whose longitudinal axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of the device and which comprises an extension of the center conductor of a first connector to an outside cylinder which forms not only the outside conductor of the largest diameter transmission line but also, in the embodiment to be described, comprises an outside wall of the device.
A plurality of the spaced annularly arranged second connectors are provided at an end of the device opposite the first connector and have their center conductors electrically connected to the inner conductor of the largest transmission line section and their outer conductors connected to the outer conductor of the same transmission line section.
When the device is used as a power divider input power is provided at the first connector and taken off at the various second connectors.
When used as a power combiner input power is provided at the various second connectors and output power taken off at the first connector.
One object of this invention is to provide a concentric broadband power combiner of convenient size and reasonable length.
Another object of this invention is to provide a concentric broadband power divider of convenient size and reasonable length.