US3587101A

US3587101A - Pivotable antenna

Info

Publication number: US3587101A
Application number: US876490A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank H Nienaber
Original assignee: Television Laboratoriese Inc
Current assignee: Television Laboratoriese Inc
Priority date: 1969-11-13
Filing date: 1969-11-13
Publication date: 1971-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-22
Also published as: JPS5024822B1

Abstract

A two terminal antenna in which the drive element is coupled to a pair of conductive members through a pair of one-piece blocks. Each of the blocks defines a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of the conductive members and one of the driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship. The walls of the block which define the openings provide a frictional surface permitting universal pivotal movement of the driven element and provide a retaining force to retain the driven element in a selected orientation.

Description

I United States Patent [72] lnventor Frank H. Nienaber [56] References Cited Munddeim UNITED STATES PATENTS P 876-490 2,604,593 7/1952 Trowbridge 343/805 [22] Wed 1969 3 233 240 2 1966 R Id 343 eyno s /882 X paemed 3 346 863 10/1967 5' b ld 343/892 x [73] Assignee Television Laboramfiese hm 1e 0 Primary Examiner-Herman Karl Saalbach Assistant Examiner-Marvin Nussbaum AttorneyGe0rge H. Gerstman ABSTRACT: A two terminal antenna in which the drive ele- 2 2% Z S ment is coupled to a pair of conductive members through a rawmg pair of one-piece blocks. Each of the blocks defines a pair of [52] U.S. Cl 343/702, mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of the con- 343/741, 343/805, 343/882 ductive members and one of the driven element terminals in (51] lut.Cl. l-l0lq 3/08, perpendicular relationship. The walls of the block which HOlq 7/00 define the openings provide a frictional surface permitting [50] Field of Search 343/700, universal pivotal movement of the driven element and provide a retaining force to retain the driven element in a selected orientation.

PATENTEU JUN22I97I 3,587; 101

PIVOTABLE ANTENNA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to antennas, and more particularly, to an antenna having a novel coupling system which enables universal pivotal movement of the antenna. As used herein, the term universal pivotal movement" is defined as movement about a plurality of axes at the same time or at different times.

Although the present invention has been found to be particularly suitable for use in connection with UHF loop antennas, it is to be understood that the invention can be applied to other types of antennas where universal pivotal movement is desired.

There is an increasing need for UHF indoor antennas which (1 can be simply connected to a television receiver, (2) allow the viewer to adjust the antenna to capture the signal desired, (3) are retained in their adjusted position, (4) provide a relatively attractive appearance, (5) are capable of inexpensive production, and (6) are able to withstand the forces resulting from adjustments by the viewer, without losing their property to remain in their adjusted position.

Some prior art antennas have been found disadvantageous because they use metal clamps to provide a pivot axis, and repeated adjustability of the antenna may cause fatigue of such clamps. Some prior art antennas are not capable of universal pivotal movement, but are only adjustable in a very limited manner. The antenna disclosed in U.S. Pat. 3,051,952 is an example of this latter type.

One prior art antenna in wide use today is the UHF loop antenna disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,240. This antenna utilizes a pair of continuous wire turns to couple the driven element to a pair of conductors. Many people consider the wire coupling elements to be generally unattractive. Further, this antenna cannot be used on a television set in which the rear of the set is at a distance from a wall that is less than the diameter of the antenna loop. Also, if the wire coupling elements touch one another, a short will necessarily occur.

The antenna of the present invention is advantageous in that it obviates the disadvantages of the antennas described in the above patents and it has all of the six advantages mentioned above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes is provided. The antenna includes a driven element and a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver. A pair of members are provided for coupling the driven element terminals to the conductive members. Each of the coupling members comprises a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of the conductive members and one of the driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship. The walls of the block defining the openings provide a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of the driven element terminal and the conductive member about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain the driven element terminals and the conductive members in a selected orientation.

In the illustrated embodiment, each of the coupling blocks is formed of a nonconductive plastic material, in a one-piece generally spherical construction. The openings comprise slots which are mutually perpendicular and intersecting, and extend to the outer surface of the blocks.

In a first embodiment of the invention, each driven element terminal is in physical and electrical contact with a portion of its respective conductive member, with the contacting portions being grooved to provide means for retaining the driven element terminal and the conductive member within the block. In a second embodiment of the invention, the openings in the block are spaced from each other a predetermined distance to provide a capacitance that acts to block waves that are below a predetermined frequency.

In a third embodiment of the invention, the conductive members each include a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is connected to the second portion by a member defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one end of the first portion and one end of the second portion. The walls defining the openings provide a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of the first and second portions about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retainthe first and second portions in a selected orientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a television receiver having connected thereto an antenna embodying the principles of the present invention, with dotted lines showing alternative orientations of the antenna;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the coupling members of the antenna illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a plan view ofa pair of conductive members with a modified form of coupling members connected thereto;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation of another embodiment of the invention, in which the openings in the coupling member illustrated in FIG. 5 are spaced from each other;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a television receiver, having connected thereto a modified form of antenna embodying the principles of the present invention, with a dotted line representation of an alternative orientation;

FIG. 7 is a bowtie form of antenna constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a linear dipole type of antenna constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. II, a UHF loop antenna I0 is shown connected to a television receiver 12. In the illustrative embodiment, the antenna I0 comprises a driven element 145 which is formed of a 2-foot length of 0.080 inch tinned basic wire; in a loop shape. The

terminals

16 and 18 of driven element 14 are connected to

conductive members

20 and 22, respectively, by means of

coupling members

24 and 26, respectively, which coupling members are described in more detail below.

Conductive members

20 and 22 are affixed to the

input UHF terminals

28 and 30, respectively, of television receiver 12.

Driven element 14 can be pivoted about a horizontal axis a-a that is parallel to the rear 32 of television receiver I2 (as indicated by dotted representation 14a) and can be pivoted about a horizontal axis b that is perpendicular to rear 32 (as indicated by dotted representation Mb). The driven element can be pivoted about each axis at separate times or about both axes at the same time.

The

coupling members

24 and 26, which enable such universal pivotal movement, are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Although FIGS. 2 and 3 show coupling member 24, coupling member 26 is identical thereto. In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, coupling member 24 comprises a one-piece generally spherical block formed of a nonconductive plastic material. As a specific example, a urethane material such as DuPont Adiaprene could be used effectively.

Member 24 defines mutually

perpendicular openings

34 and 36, which in the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, are slots which extend to the outer surface of the member 24. Terminal I6 is positioned within slot 36 and the end portion 38 of conductive member 20 is positioned within slot 34. Terminal l6 and end portion 38 are located in mutually perpendicular relationship, with terminal 16 overlying end portion 38 (with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3) so that terminal 16 and end portion 38 are blocked from moving out of the slots in a lateral direction.

In order to aid in preventing terminal 16 and end portion 38 from moving out of the slots in the longitudinal directions of the slots, terminal 16 defines a groove 40 and portion 38 defines a groove 42, which grooves 40 and 42 intersect and coact with each other as illustrated most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The unique construction of

coupling members

24 and 26 enables universal pivotal movement of driven element 14, and the driven element will be retained in the orientation selected by the user. To achieve such retention, the slots are dimensioned so that the walls defining the slots hug the driven element and the end portion 38 tightly. The unit is attractive in appearance, and the use of nonconductive material in the formation of the

coupling members

24 and 26 is effective to alleviate the problem of shorting should the coupling members contact each other.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, a resilient member 44 is connected to

coupling members

24 and 26 to maintain a predetermined amount of spacing between the coupling members. It is preferred that spacing member 44 be generally S- shaped and formed integrally with

coupling members

24 and 26 during the molding of the coupling members.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the coupling members are constructed so as to filter out waves that are below a predetermined frequency (high pass filter). In this embodiment, the coupling members are identical, and coupling member 24' is shown as a plastic generally spherical block defining openings 34' and 36 which are nonintersecting and which are of a size to snugly receive end portion 38' of conductive member 20 and terminal 16 respectively. Terminal l6 and end portion 38 are spaced a distance a, which spacing is such that there is a capacitance that effectively passes the desired frequencies but blocks waves below a predetermined frequency. Distance d depends on the dielectric constant of the plastic material, the dimensions of terminal l6 and end portion 38, and the wave frequency.

One of the problems that has often been encountered in using prior art UI-IF antennas is that such antennas cannot be moved by the viewer to the most effective orientation because the rear portion of the television receiver is too close to a wall to permit freedom of movement of the driven element. To obviate this problem, the antenna illustrated in FIG. 6, which has reference numerals that are identical to the reference numerals of the FIG. 1 antenna where the parts are identical, is connected to the

television antenna terminals

28 and 30 by means of unique conductive members 200 and 220. Since conducting member 22a is identical to conducting member a, only the latter will be discussed here.

Conducting member 20a includes a first portion 48 and a second portion 50, which first and second portions are coupled by a coupling member 52. Coupling member 52 is identical to coupling member 24, described above. First portion 48 is coupled to driven element 14 by coupling member 24. The other end of second portion 50 is connected to terminal 28 of the television receiver 12.

First portion 48 is a length that is greater than the distance between terminal 28 and the top 52 of the television receiver. It is also greater in length than the distance between terminal 28 and the nearest side 54 of the television receiver. In this manner, the driven element 14 can be located above the television receiver, as shown in FIG. 6, or it can be located on the side of the receiver. This enables the driven element to avoid the shadow" caused by the television receiver and have the ability to be pivoted in axes which lie above or on the side of the television receiver 12. It can be seen that the driven element can be pivoted to the position illustrated in dotted lines as 140 in which position it enables the rear 32 of the television receiver to be more closely adjacent a wall than was possible with prior art antennas. The driven element can also be pivoted about an axis perpendicular to the rear 32 of the television receiver, as the

blocks

24 and 26 enable it to have universal pivotal movement.

The present invention is adaptable to other antennas than loop type antennas. For example, FIG. 7 shows "bowtie" type of antenna 60 in which conductive element 62 is universally pivotable with respect to connecting member 64 and conductive element 66 is universally pivotable with respect to conducting member 68. Element 62 is coupled to member 64 by coupling member 24 which is identical to the coupling member shown in FIG. 2, and element 66 is coupled to member 68 by coupling member 26 which is also identical to coupling member 24.

Likewise, a linear dipole antenna 70, as shown in FIG. 8, can be constructed in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, conductive elements 72 and 74 are coupled to conductive members 76 and 78, respectively, by coupling

members

24 and 26, respectively, which are identical to coupling member 24 illustrated in FIG. 2.

The conductive members in the FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 embodiments could have two portions as discussed above in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 6.

Although various illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications and substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the novel spirit and scope of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, the walls of said block defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

2. An antenna as described in claim 1, wherein said blocks comprise a one-piece, generally spherical member.

3. An antenna as described in claim 1, said blocks being formed of a nonconductive material.

4. An antenna as described in claim 2, said blocks being formed of a nonconductive material.

5. An antenna as described in claim 1, said openings comprising slots extending to the outer surface of said blocks.

6. An antenna as described in claim 5, wherein said slots of each block are mutually perpendicular and intersecting.

7. An antenna as described in claim 1, wherein said openings of each block are intersecting.

8. An antenna as described in claim 1, including spacing means coupling both blocks and preventing said blocks from being spaced more than a predetermined distance.

9. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, said openings intersecting each other and a portion of each driven element terminal being in physical and electrical contact with a portion of the respective providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

10. An antenna as described in claim 9, wherein both of said contacting portions are grooved.

11. An antenna as described in claim 9, wherein said blocks comprise one-piece, generally spherical members.

12. An antenna as described in claim 9, said blocks being formed of a nonconductive plastic material.

13. An antenna as described in claim 9, said openings com prising slots extending to the outer surface of said blocks.

14. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, said block being formed of a nonconductive material and said openings being spaced from each other a predetermined distance to provide a capacitance that acts to bloclt waves that are below a predetermined frequency, the wall defining said openings defining a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

15. An antenna as described in claim 14, wherein said blocks comprise one-piece, generally spherical members.

16. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver, said conductive members each including a first portion and a second portion, and means frictionally connecting said first portion in pivotal relationship with said second portion; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

17. An antenna as described in claim 16, wherein said frictional connecting means comprises a member defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one end of said first portion and one end of said second portion, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said first and second portions about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said first and second portions in a selected orientation.

18. An antenna as described in claim 17, wherein said frictional connecting means comprises one-piece, generally spherical members.

19. An antenna as described in claim 17, wherein said openings of said coupling members and said frictional connecting means comprise slots extending to the outer surfaces thereofv 20. An antenna as described in claim 20, wherein said slots are mutually perpendicular and intersecting.

21. An antenna as described in claim 16, including resilient spacing means coupling said coupling members and preventing said coupling members from being spaced more than a predetermined distance.

22. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a onepiece, generally spherical nonconductive block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular and intersecting slots which extend to the outer surface of said block for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, a portion of each driven element terminal being in physical and electrical contact with a portion of the respective conductive member, one of said contacting portions being grooved to provide means for retaining said driven element terminal and said conductive member within said block, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

23. An antenna as described in claim 22, wherein said conductive members each include a first portion and a second portion, and means frictionally connecting said first portion in pivotal relationship with said second portion.

Claims

9. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, said openings intersecting each other and a portion of each driven element terminal being in physical and electrical contact with a portion of the respective conductive member, one of said contacting portions being grooved to provide means for retaining said driven element terminal and said conductive member within said block, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

13. An antenna as described in claim 9, said openings comprising slots extending to the outer surface of said blocks.

14. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, said block being formed of a nonconductive material and said openings being spaced from each other a predetermined distance to provide a capacitance that acts to block waves that are below a predetermined frequency, the wall defining said openings defining a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

19. An antenna as described in claim 17, wherein said openings of said coupling members and said frictional connecting means comprise slots extending to the outer surfaces thereof.

20. An antenna as described in claim 20, wherein said slots are mutually perpendicular and intersecting.

22. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of said coupling members comprising a one-piece, generally spherical nonconductive block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular and intersecting slots which extend to the outer surface of said block for receiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship, a portion of each driven element terminal being in physical and electrical contact with a portion of the respective conductive member, one of said contacting portions being grooved to provide means for retaining said driven element terminal and said conductive member within said block, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and said conductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.