EP0350308A2 - Antenne tribande pour véhicules - Google Patents

Antenne tribande pour véhicules Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0350308A2
EP0350308A2 EP89306875A EP89306875A EP0350308A2 EP 0350308 A2 EP0350308 A2 EP 0350308A2 EP 89306875 A EP89306875 A EP 89306875A EP 89306875 A EP89306875 A EP 89306875A EP 0350308 A2 EP0350308 A2 EP 0350308A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
telephone
mast
tube
accommodation tube
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP89306875A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0350308A3 (fr
EP0350308B1 (fr
Inventor
Yoshimi Egashira
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Harada Industry Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Harada Industry Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Harada Industry Co Ltd filed Critical Harada Industry Co Ltd
Publication of EP0350308A2 publication Critical patent/EP0350308A2/fr
Publication of EP0350308A3 publication Critical patent/EP0350308A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0350308B1 publication Critical patent/EP0350308B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/27—Adaptation for use in or on movable bodies
    • H01Q1/32—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/1207—Supports; Mounting means for fastening a rigid aerial element
    • H01Q1/1214—Supports; Mounting means for fastening a rigid aerial element through a wall
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q5/00—Arrangements for simultaneous operation of antennas on two or more different wavebands, e.g. dual-band or multi-band arrangements
    • H01Q5/40—Imbricated or interleaved structures; Combined or electromagnetically coupled arrangements, e.g. comprising two or more non-connected fed radiating elements

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an antenna for use with automobiles, and more particularly to a three-band automobile antenna used for three different types of bands, i.e. telephone, FM and AM bands.
  • Fig. 7 illustrates a conventional three-band antenna used for telephone, FM and AM bands.
  • a dipole antenna 1 housed in an insulating tube 2 is used for the telephone band, and it has a length of ⁇ /2.
  • This telephone dipole antenna 1 is supported by a supporting column 4 so that it is positioned at a predetermined height above a fender 3 of an automobile.
  • the sup­porting column 4 is a tubular body made of conductive material and is used as an AM/FM antenna.
  • the length of this supporting column 4 is determined by the supporting height of the telephone dipole antenna 1 and is ordi­narily about 25 cm.
  • the supporting column 4 tends to be insufficient sensitivity for AM/FM bands.
  • a booster 5 is used in combination with the supporting column 4.
  • the telephone dipole antenna 1 is fed accomplished via a coaxial cable 6 which passes through the inside of the supporting column 4.
  • the coaxial (feeding) cable 6 is taken up on and fed out from the drum 9 via a motor 8 so that the cable 6 is moved along with a rope 7 which is for extension and retraction of the antenna 1.
  • the coaxial cable 6 In the conventional telephone/FM/AM antennas described above, however, the coaxial cable 6 must be able to withstand various environmental requirements. In other words, the cable 6 must have appropriate cold resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance, etc. Furthermore, in terms of electrical characteristics, the cable 6 must have low dielectric constant, and in terms of mechanical characteristics, it must have good bucking resistance so that it does not show any signs of "snaking.” In order to satisfy these requirements, a "Teflon" material is usually used as an insulator which covers the coaxial cable 6. However, such materials are extremely expensive.
  • the length of the coaxial cable 6 must be longer than the actually required feeding length. As a result, high-frequency loss occurring when the telephone dipole antenna is used in the ultrashort wave region becomes too great to ignore.
  • the diameter of the antenna 1 cannot be very small, and there also are various restrictions on attachment of the antenna.
  • the number of telescoping stages used in the telephone dipole antenna is limited to about two. Due to these restrictions, the length of the so-called “neck-down,” which is the antenna length housed in the vehicle body, tends to increase. Thus, mounting of the antenna in certain types of vehicles is very difficult, and it is more difficult to meet the demands of users.
  • an automobile antenna assembly which includes an antenna mast formed by connecting a first antenna element, which has a phase coil section for negating reversed-phase current used for the telephone, to a second antenna element so that these two antenna elements are free to slide to each other.
  • the antenna mast is housed in an antenna accommodation tube such that the antenna mast can be freely inserted into and withdrawn from the tube, and a separator is connected to a feeding point of the antenna accommodation tube so that it separates the three bands, that is, telephone, FM and AM bands.
  • an antenna mounting assembly made primarily of plastic is used to mount the antenna accommodation tube to the vehicle body, and a means for causing the impedance of the ground path between the grounding part of the feeding point and the vehicle body to be close to zero is incorporated into the antenna assembly.
  • the antenna of the present invention is superior in terms of general applicability and can be serviced using ordinary repair techniques.
  • reference numeral 10 is a two-stage telescoping type antenna mast consisting of two antenna elements 11 and 12.
  • the antenna mast 10 is housed in an antenna accommodation tube 13 which is located in the vehicle body.
  • the first antenna element 11 is inserted into the second antenna element 12 so that the first element 11 can freely slide in the second antenna element 12.
  • the second antenna element 12 is inserted into the antenna accommodation tube 13 so as to freely slide therein.
  • the upper-end portion of the antenna accommodation tube 13, that is, mount 14, is fastened in an attachment hole formed in the vehicle body wall 15.
  • An antenna drive section 17 which includes a rotary drum, rope feed gears, etc. (not shown) and is driven by a motor 16 is provided at the lower end of the accommodation tube 13.
  • the mechanism in the antenna drive section 17 extends and retracts the antenna mast 10. In other words, the drive section 17 retracts the antenna mast 10 into the accommodation tube 13 and withdraws the antenna mast 10 from the accommodation tube 13 via an antenna drive rope (not shown in Fig. 1).
  • a relay box 18 is attached to the middle portion of the antenna accommodation tube 13 and contains therein a relay which is used for a forward and reverse rotation control of the motor 16.
  • An antenna feeding section 19 which is connected to a control box 20 is provided near the upper end of the antenna accommodation tube 13, and a telephone coaxial cable 21, an AM/FM coaxial cable 22 and a +12 V power supply line 23, etc. are connected to the control box 20.
  • a phase coil section 40 which negates the reversed-­phase current used for the telephone is provided at middle portion of the second antenna element 12.
  • Fig. 2 illustrates an enlarged cross section of the antenna mast 10.
  • the first antenna element 11 is formed as a conductive rod-shaped body, and a cap 11a is attached at its top end. A recess 11b of the cap 11 fits over the top area of the second antenna element 12 when the first antenna element 11 is inserted inside the second antenna element 12.
  • antenna drive rope 25 One end of an antenna drive rope 25 is connected to the base end of the first antenna element 11 via a joint 24.
  • the antenna drive rope 25 has a rack 25a along the length on its circumferential surface.
  • the antenna drive rope or rack-equipped rope 25 travels in the second antenna element 12 by means of a feed gear (not shown) provided in the antenna drive section 17.
  • the second antenna element 12 consists of three different sections: a conductive section 30 which ensures electrical continuity with the first antenna element 11, a phase coil section 40 which is used to negate reversed-phase current used for telephone, and a telephone antenna section 50.
  • the conductive section 30 is a coaxial tube which includes conductive tubular parts 31, 32, 33 and 34 made of metal, etc.
  • a conductive spring 35 is mounted on the base end of the first antenna element 11, and when the spring 35 is pressed against the inner circumferential surface of the inner tube part 33, it causes electrical continuity between the first and second antenna elements 11 and 12.
  • Reference numeral 36 is a collar which serves as both a seal and a stopper.
  • the phase coil section 40 of the second antenna element 12 is constructed by coaxially installing two insulating tubular members 41 (outside) and 42 (inside). Both are made of an insulating material such as plastic, etc. A phase coil 43 made of metal is interposed between the insulating tubular members 41 and 42.
  • Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate the phase coil 43.
  • the phase coil 43 is a so-called "bifilar" coil which is formed by wrapping a V-shaped conductive wire strip 43a around the external circumferential surface of the inner insulating tubular member 42 as indicated by 43b (in other words, the numeral 43b indicates the wrapped state of the strip 43a).
  • the object of the present invention cap also be achieved using a helical coil, but a bifilar coil is preferable from the standpoint of mass produc­tion.
  • Connecting parts 43c and 43d which are C-shaped, are attached at both ends of the phase coil 43.
  • the connecting part 43c fits into the tubular conductive part 32 of the conductive section 30, and the other connecting part 43d fits into a tubular conductive part 44 so that necessary electrical connection is obtained.
  • the telephone antenna section 50 in the second antenna element 12 is con­structed from a tubular pipe 51 and tubular parts 52 and 53, all made of conductive materials.
  • a part of the insulating tubular member 42 in the phase coil section 40 extends coaxially into the central portion of the telephone antenna section 50.
  • One end of the tubular conductive part 52 is internally threaded so that it engages with threads formed on one end of the tubular conductive part 44 of the phase coil section 40 so that the two parts 44 and 52 are connected electrically and mechanically.
  • the length of the first antenna element 11 is set so that the electrical length thereof is ⁇ /2 to 5 ⁇ /8.
  • the length of the pipe 51 of the telephone antenna section 50 in the second antenna element 12 is set so that the electrical length of the pipe 51 is ⁇ /4 to 3 ⁇ /8. Accordingly, the total extended length of the antenna elements 11 and 12 is an electrical length of 1 to 1.5 ⁇ including the physical length of the phase coil 43.
  • the frequency of the telephone band is usually around 800 MHz, the frequency of the FM band is about 1/10 thereof, and the frequency of the AM band is about 1/1000 thereof. Accordingly, the effect of the phase coil 43 on the FM and AM bands can be ignored.
  • the antenna mast 10 as a whole can receive telephone, AM and FM waves.
  • the structure of the antenna assembly of the present invention is greatly simplified compared to conventional antennas wherein the telephone and AM/FM waves are received separately.
  • the antenna assembly of the present invention has a considerably short "neck-down" dimension and thus a simple structure can be obtained.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates a cross section of the mount 14 used to mount the antenna assembly on the vehicle body wall 15.
  • Figs. 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) show the mount 14 disassembled.
  • An insulation tube 60 provided at the top of the accommodation tube 13 is formed from reinforced plastic, etc.
  • a ground side conductive pipe 61 is provided over the outer circumference of the lower portion of this insulating tube 60.
  • a conductive cap 62 is situated on the upper end of the conductive pipe 61, and a cap-like lower fastening member 63 which also acts as a grounding conductor is fit over the insulating tube 60 above the conductive cap 62.
  • the lower fastening member 63 has projections 63a on the upper surface of the rim which bite into the undersurface of the vehicle body wall 15.
  • An insertion opening 63b for a feeding cable 64 and a drain hole 63c for allowing the drainage of rain water, etc. are formed in the rim of the lower fastening member 63.
  • the feeding cable 64 is a coaxial cable, and the central core conductor 64a of this cable 64 is connected by soldering, etc. to a conductive pipe 65 which is inserted into the insulating tube 60 so as to be positioned around the internal circumference of the tube 60.
  • the outer conductor 64b of the cable 64 which is a braided wire, is connected by soldering, etc. to the rim near the insertion opening 63b of the lower fastening member 63.
  • the connected sections of the feeding cable 64 are molded in an insulating material 66, i.e. reinforced plastic, etc. so that the molding is integrated with the insulating tube 60.
  • An upper fastening member 67 formed from an insulating material such as reinforced plastic, etc. is inserted from above the vehicle body wall 15 into the attachment hole formed in the vehicle body wall 15.
  • a ring-from pad 68 made of soft rubber, etc. is interposed between the upper fastening member 67 and the vehicle body wall 15.
  • the insulating tube 60 which projects upward through the central hole of the upper fastening member 67, has external threads on the circumferential surface thereof. The upper surface of the upper fastening member 67 is pressed downward by a first nut 69 which engages with the external threads of the insulating tube 60.
  • the antenna accommodation tube 13 as a whole is stationary to the vehicle body wall 15.
  • the antenna mast 10 is inserted into the antenna accommodation tube 13, which is fixed in place with respect to the vehicle body wall 15, through the opening at the upper end of the insulating tube 60.
  • a conduc­tive sleeve 70 (as illustrated in Figs. 5(a) and 5(c)) is fitted beforehand around the external circumference of the base portion of the antenna mast 10.
  • This conductive sleeve 70 is formed from a conductive spring material such as phosphor bronze.
  • Contacts parts 70a and 70b are cut out and caused to project from the middle section of the conductive sleeve 70, and a flange 70c is formed around the upper end of the conductive sleeve 70.
  • the flange 70c of the conductive sleeve 70 is caught by the upper edge of the insulating tube 60, and the conductive sleeve 70 is positioned in the conductive pipe 65.
  • the flange 70c of the conductive sleeve 70 is pressed against the upper edge of the insulating tube 60 by a presser 71 which is made of soft rubber, etc. and acts as a waterproof packing.
  • a second nut 72 locks the presser 71 when the inner threads of the second nut 72 engage with the external threads of the first nut 69.
  • the antenna mast 10 is housed in the antenna accommodation tube 13 so that it can be freely inserted into or withdrawn from the antenna accommodation tube 13.
  • the antenna mast 10 remains in a state of pressure contact by the contact part 70b of the conductive sleeve 70 fixed in the insulating tube 60.
  • Electrical connection of the antenna assembly is formed via a conductive path comprising the antenna mast 10, conductive sleeve 70, conductive pipe 65 and core conductor 64a of the feeding cable 64.
  • a flange 10a formed at the lower end of the antenna mast 10 abuts against the lower-end rim of the conduc­tive sleeve 70 which is fixed in place as described above. Accordingly, the antenna mast 10 is prevented from slipping out of the antenna accommodation tube 13.
  • the distance, i.e. the physical length L, between the outer conductor 64b of the power supply cable 64 and the vehicle body wall 15 is designed so as to become as close to 0 or ⁇ /2 as possible when calculated in terms of electrical length.
  • the impedance in the ground path is near zero, and the ground loss in the telephone band is extremely small.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates the electrical circuit of the antenna assembly of the present invention in which wave separators 81 and 82, known in prior art, consist of L elements (coils) and C elements (condensers), respec­tively, and are housed in the control box 20 along with a booster 83.
  • a cable 21 is connected to the C element of the wave separator 81, and a cable 22 and a power supply line 23 are connected to the booster 83.
  • a relay 90 which includes a coil 91 and switching contacts 92 and 93, is set in the relay box 18. The relay 90 is designed so that when the automobile ignition switch IGN-SW is switched ON, the relay 90 is acttated in an ON mode and causes forward rotation of the motor 16 so that the antenna mast 10 is extended.
  • the relay 90 When the ignition switch IGN-SW is switched OFF, the relay 90 is actuated in an OFF mode and causes reverse rotation of the motor 16 so that the antenna mast 10 is retracted. At the respective time at which the extension and/or retraction of the antenna mast 10 is completed, limit switches LSl and LS2 are actuated so that the power to the motor 16 is cut off.
  • the present invention provides a three-band automobile antenna in which there is no need to install a telephone antenna feeding cable through the interior of the antenna mast, and in which high-frequency loss is small.
  • the antenna assembly has a simple and compact structure, is light in weight, has a short "neck-down" dimension and is therefore superior in general application terms.
  • the antenna assembly is superior in terms of mass production characteristics and can be manufactured at low cost.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Details Of Aerials (AREA)
  • Support Of Aerials (AREA)
EP89306875A 1988-07-07 1989-07-06 Antenne tribande pour véhicules Expired - Lifetime EP0350308B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP63169942A JPH0219004A (ja) 1988-07-07 1988-07-07 車両用三波共用アンテナ
JP169942/88 1988-07-07

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0350308A2 true EP0350308A2 (fr) 1990-01-10
EP0350308A3 EP0350308A3 (fr) 1991-01-23
EP0350308B1 EP0350308B1 (fr) 1994-12-14

Family

ID=15895754

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP89306875A Expired - Lifetime EP0350308B1 (fr) 1988-07-07 1989-07-06 Antenne tribande pour véhicules

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0350308B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH0219004A (fr)
DE (1) DE68919927T2 (fr)
ES (1) ES2068247T3 (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0429255A2 (fr) * 1989-11-17 1991-05-29 Harada Industry Co., Ltd. Antenne tribande commune (radio, AM et FM) pour automobile
US5148183A (en) * 1990-06-01 1992-09-15 Algira Primo Inc. Four-way antenna
US5345247A (en) * 1992-11-13 1994-09-06 Algira Primo Inc. Five-way antenna system
US6236374B1 (en) 1992-03-19 2001-05-22 Televerket Antenna arrangement for transmitting at least two frequencies using a single antenna

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2572657B2 (ja) * 1990-02-14 1997-01-16 原田工業株式会社 同軸線路付自動車用三波共用アンテナ
JP2692670B2 (ja) * 1995-12-28 1997-12-17 日本電気株式会社 携帯無線機用アンテナ

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4095229A (en) * 1977-02-22 1978-06-13 General Motors Corporation Triband vehicle antenna
US4393383A (en) * 1979-11-16 1983-07-12 Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. Mobile antenna mounting assembly
GB2185635A (en) * 1986-01-22 1987-07-22 Gen Motors Corp Antenna for a motor vehicle for am-fm-cellular telephone multiband transmissions/receptions
US4725846A (en) * 1986-12-12 1988-02-16 Western Mobile Communications, Inc. Disguise antenna operating in the cellular band

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6149502A (ja) * 1984-08-17 1986-03-11 Nippon Denso Co Ltd 自動車用アンテナ
JPH084202B2 (ja) * 1986-08-09 1996-01-17 富士通テン株式会社 自動車用アンテナ装置

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4095229A (en) * 1977-02-22 1978-06-13 General Motors Corporation Triband vehicle antenna
US4393383A (en) * 1979-11-16 1983-07-12 Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. Mobile antenna mounting assembly
GB2185635A (en) * 1986-01-22 1987-07-22 Gen Motors Corp Antenna for a motor vehicle for am-fm-cellular telephone multiband transmissions/receptions
US4725846A (en) * 1986-12-12 1988-02-16 Western Mobile Communications, Inc. Disguise antenna operating in the cellular band

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
MOTOROLA TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE BULLETIN, vol. 3, no. 1, March 1983, page 40; S. WRZESINKSI: "CB antenna that snaps onto an AM/FM automotive antenna" *

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0429255A2 (fr) * 1989-11-17 1991-05-29 Harada Industry Co., Ltd. Antenne tribande commune (radio, AM et FM) pour automobile
EP0429255A3 (en) * 1989-11-17 1991-09-18 Harada Industry Co., Ltd. Three-wave shared antenna (radio, am and fm) for automobile
US5134419A (en) * 1989-11-17 1992-07-28 Harada Industry Co., Ltd. Three-wave shared antenna (radio, am, and fm) for automobile
US5148183A (en) * 1990-06-01 1992-09-15 Algira Primo Inc. Four-way antenna
US6236374B1 (en) 1992-03-19 2001-05-22 Televerket Antenna arrangement for transmitting at least two frequencies using a single antenna
US5345247A (en) * 1992-11-13 1994-09-06 Algira Primo Inc. Five-way antenna system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE68919927D1 (de) 1995-01-26
EP0350308A3 (fr) 1991-01-23
JPH0219004A (ja) 1990-01-23
ES2068247T3 (es) 1995-04-16
DE68919927T2 (de) 1995-05-18
EP0350308B1 (fr) 1994-12-14

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