AU2002100173A4

AU2002100173A4 - Antenna Mount

Info

Publication number: AU2002100173A4
Application number: AU2002100173A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ming-Tien Lin
Original assignee: Tv Chung Enterprise Co Ltd
Current assignee: TV CHUNG ENTERPRISE CO Ltd
Priority date: 2002-03-07
Filing date: 2002-03-07
Publication date: 2002-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2010-03-07

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

INNOVATION

PATENT

Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Antenna mount The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1 ANTENNA

MOUNT

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an antenna mount, and more particularly to an antenna mount attached to rafters of a roof.

2. Description of Related Art With reference to Fig. 7, a conventional antenna mount is composed of a first connector an antenna post a stiffener (70) and a second connector The first connector (50) has a right angled bracket (51) attached to a flat surface of a rafter (55) by fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, etc. The right angled bracket (51) has two ends and mates with a perpendicular flat top and side of the rafter A post base (53) extends out from one end of the right angled bracket (51) and has a distal flat portion (not numbered).

The antenna post (60) is securely attached vertically to the distal flat portion of the post base and an antenna (60) is connected to a free end of the antenna post The stiffener (70) has two ends, telescopes and is composed of an outer tube (71) and an inner tube (73) slidably mounted in the outer tube Thus the stiffener is extendable and retractable so the length of the stiffener (70) can be changed by adjusting corresponding positions between the inner and the outer tubes (71, 73). One end of the stiffener (70) is attached to a middle portion of the antenna post and the other end of the stiffener (70) is attached to the stiffener base (83).

The second connector (80) has a structure similar to the first connector and is composed of a right angled bracket (81) and a stiffener base The right angled bracket (81) is attached to another flat rafter (57) by fasteners such as screws, 2 nuts and bolts, etc. The right angled bracket (81) has two ends and mates with a perpendicular flat top and side of the rafter The stiffener base (83) extends out from one end of the right angled bracket (81) and has a distal flat portion (not numbered) to connect with an end of the stiffener To use this conventional antenna mount, the rafters (55, 57) must be flat and have a perpendicular top face and side face to correspond to the right angled bracket (51, 81) so the conventional antenna mount can be securely attached to the rafters.

However, when the rafters are inclined or do not have perpendicular faces, the conventional antenna mount cannot be securely attached to the rafters.

The antenna mount in accordance with the present invention has arisen to adapt to rafters of different types to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantage of the conventional antenna mount.

The main objective of the invention is to provide an antenna mount that can be used on rafters of different inclines or widths.

Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an antenna mount in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the antenna mount in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an operational perspective view of the antenna mount in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an illustrative perspective view of the antenna mount, which is secured on an inclined rafter; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the antenna mount in Fig. 1 attached to a wider rafter; Fig. 6 is an operational perspective view of the antenna mount in Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a perspectives view of a conventional antenna mount in accordance with the prior art.

With reference to the to Figs. 1 and 2, an antenna mount in accordance with the present invention is adapted to attach to rafters and is composed of a pedestal body and at least one wing (20) attached to the pedestal body The pedestal body (10) has an inner and outer end and a flat antenna base (11) at the outer end. An antenna post (112) is securely mounted vertically on the antenna base (11) by a connecting means such as clamping, bolting or welding. The antenna base (11) comprises an inclined portion (not numbered) extending toward the inner end of the pedestal body (11) and a middle flat portion (not numbered) is formed at a distal end of the inclined portion. A connecting portion (12) is an inclined plate formed on the inner end of the middle flat portion and extending toward the rafters.

A

longitudinal slot (14) is defined in a middle of the connecting portion (12) and divides the connecting portion (12) into two parallel parts. Multiple lateral slots (16) are defined in the each part of the connecting portion (12) perpendicular to the longitudinal slot (14).

With reference to Figs. 1 6, at least one wing (20) is secured under the pedestal body The wings (20L, 20R) are mirror images of each other. The two wings (20L, 20R) are both L-shaped long plates and each has a top face and a side face. A slit (22) is longitudinally defined in the top face parallel with the longitudinal slot (14) in the connecting portion Multiple bolt holes (24) are defined in the side face. When the antenna mount is assembled, each lateral slot (16) in the pedestal body is aligned with the corresponding slot (22) in the wing (20L, 20R). A short bolt (162) penetrates the lateral slot (16) in the connecting portion (12) and the slot (22) in the wing (20L, 20R) and a nut (164) is screwed on each bolt (162) to firmly attach the wing (20L, 20R) to the pedestal body Furthermore, multiple long bolts (242) are inserted through the bolt holes (24) and holes (not shown) drilled in the rafter. A nut (244) is screwed onto each long bolt (242) to securely attach the antenna mount to the rafter.

With reference to Figs. 2-6, the antenna mount can be attached to rafters in different operational configurations.

With reference to Fig. 2, when a rafter (30) is thinner than the width of the longitudinal slot (14) in the pedestal body the rafter (30) is held inside the longitudinal slot Then, the two wings (20L, 20R) are secured under the connecting portion (12) of the pedestal body (10) by the short bolts (162) such that the rafter (30) is clamped between the two wings (20L, 20R) that are further secured to the rafter (30) by fasteners such as the long bolts (242). the short bolts (162) can be moved in the lateral slots (16) to cause the two wings (20R, 20L) to contact the side faces in case that the rafter (30) is too narrow to perfectly engage the longitudinal slot (14).

With reference to Fig. 3, the wings (20R, 20L) are able to move outward or inward to adjust the position of the antenna post (122) with regard to the edge of the roof by sliding the short bolts (162) along the slot (22) in the wings (20R, With reference to Fig. 4, rafters (30) are often inclined at an angle that does not correspond to the inclined angle of the connecting portion (12) of the pedestal body To keep the antenna post (12) straight, a gap is formed between the connecting portion (12) and the rafter (30) and parts of the wings (20R, 20L) do not contact the rafter The angle of the pedestal body (10) can be adjusted by drilling the holes through which the long bolts (242) pass to attach the wings (20) to the rafter at an angle to cause the antenna post (112) to be vertical. Therefore, the wings 20L) are move outward as necessary to have the pedestal body (10) clear the rafter by sliding the short bolts (162) along the slot (22) in the wings (20R, 20L). Thus, the antenna mount is firmly mounted on the rafter With reference to Fig. 5, when the rafter (30) is wider than the longitudinal slot the connecting portion (12) of the pedestal body (10) abuts the rafter but always keeps the antenna post (112) straight. The distance between the two wings 20L) is adjusted so the wings (20R, 20L) abut the side faces of the rafter (30) by moving the short bolts (162) along the lateral slots (16).

With reference to Fig. 6, the antenna mount is modified as an antenna mount assembly similar to the conventional one. The assembly comprises two pedestal bodies (10) and one stiffener The stiffener (40) has two ends with one end connected to the antenna post (112) attached to the antenna base (11) and the other end attached to the other pedestal body It should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made 6 in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. An antenna mount adapted to secure on a rafter of a roof and comprising: a pedestal body (10) having a flat antenna base (11) with an antenna post (112) securely erects on the antenna base and a connecting portion (12) protruding from the antenna base (11) and having multiple moving slots (16) defined in the connecting portion; and at least one wing (20R, 20L) adjustably secured under the pedestal body in position, that each at least one wing (20R, 20L) is L-shaped long plates with a top face attaching to the connecting portion (12) and a side face adapted for attaching to the rafter each at least one wing (20R, 20L) having: a slit (22) longitudinally defined in the top face and adapted for being in parallel with the rafter and multiple bolt holes (24) defined in the side face for screwing the wings (20R, 20L) on the rafter

2. The antenna mount as claimed in claim 1, wherein two symmetrical wings 20L) are secured under the connecting portion (12) of the pedestal body (10) to sandwich the rafter

3. The antenna mount as claimed in claim 2, in which a slot (14) is longitudinally defined in the connecting portion (12) for holding the rafter (30) inside the slot (14) when the rafter (30) has a width thinner than a width of the slot (14).

4. An antenna mount assembly comprising: two pedestal bodies (10) adapted to secure on two corresponding rafters respectively and each pedestal body (10) having a flat antenna base and a connecting portion (12) protruding from the antenna base (11)and having multiple moving slots (16) defined in the connecting portion; and at least one wing (20R, 20L) adjustably secured under the pedestal body (10) in position, that each at least one wing (20R, 20L) is L-shaped long plates with a top face attaching to the connecting portion (12) and a side face adapted for attaching to the rafter each at least one wing (20R, 20L) having a slit (22) longitudinally defined in the top face and adapted for being in parallel with the rafter and multiple bolt holes (24) defined in the side face for screwing the wings (20R, 20L) on the rafter wherein one of the pedestal bodies (10) has an antenna post (112) securely erects on the antenna base (11) thereof; and an adjustable stiffener (40) extending between the antenna post (112) and the antenna base (11) of the other pedestal body DATED this 7th day of March 2002 TV CHUNG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN. VIC. 3122.