EP0375416A2 - Plane slot antenna - Google Patents

Plane slot antenna Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0375416A2
EP0375416A2 EP89313427A EP89313427A EP0375416A2 EP 0375416 A2 EP0375416 A2 EP 0375416A2 EP 89313427 A EP89313427 A EP 89313427A EP 89313427 A EP89313427 A EP 89313427A EP 0375416 A2 EP0375416 A2 EP 0375416A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
coaxial lines
conducting surface
peripheral
signal
plane
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
EP89313427A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0375416B1 (en
EP0375416A3 (en
Inventor
Takuji Harada
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 EP0375416A2 publication Critical patent/EP0375416A2/en
Publication of EP0375416A3 publication Critical patent/EP0375416A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0375416B1 publication Critical patent/EP0375416B1/en
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
    • H01Q13/00—Waveguide horns or mouths; Slot antennas; Leaky-waveguide antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
    • H01Q13/10—Resonant slot antennas
    • H01Q13/16—Folded slot antennas
    • 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
    • H01Q1/325—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the location of the antenna on the vehicle
    • H01Q1/3275—Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles characterised by the location of the antenna on the vehicle mounted on a horizontal surface of the vehicle, e.g. on roof, hood, trunk
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
    • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
    • H01Q9/0407—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna
    • H01Q9/0464—Annular ring patch

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a plane antenna which is installed in a horizontal portion such as roof, trunk lid, etc. of the body surface of an automobile, etc.
  • Antennas without projections are in demand as mobile antennas for use in automobiles, etc., since such antennas eliminate wind noise and improve the external appearance of the vehicle. In this respect, plane or flat plate for antennas are desirable.
  • One type of the plane antenna is a slot antenna.
  • a portion of the antenna conductor is cut out in the form of a circle.
  • the circle cut-out generally is made by uniformly cutting a spaced slots arranged in a circle.
  • a closed-­circle slot is formed between a central conductor and a peripheral conductor.
  • the core conductor of a coaxial cable is connected to the edge of the central conductor, and the outer skin of the coaxial cable is connected to the peripheral conductor, so that signals received by the antenna can be led out via the coaxial cable.
  • the radiation pattern of a conventional device of this type has the form of a distorted figure eight.
  • the directionality varies according to the position where the coaxial cable is connected (i. e., the signal extraction position).
  • the sensitivity also changes. Accordingly, in cases where the direction of motion of the vehicle is frequently altered, there are frequent changes in the sensitivity. In the case of radio reception, etc., this makes the received signal difficult to hear.
  • two or more signal line lead-out positions are provided in a circular slot antenna, and signal is outputted through whichever position is favorable in terms of a specified condition.
  • the reception sensitivity is con­sistently stable even if the direction of motion of the vehicle is frequently changed.
  • Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram which illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.
  • a central conductor or central conducting surface 13 is installed in the central portion of a peripheral con­ductor or peripheral conducting surface 11, and a closed-circle slot or space 12 is formed between the peripheral conductor 11 and central conductor 13.
  • the areas shaded with diagonal lines in Fig. 1 indicate con­ductive parts.
  • the core conductor 21 of a first coaxial cable or coaxial line 20 is connected to the right edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, and the outer skin 22 of the first coaxial cable 20 is connected to the peripheral conductor 11 in a position near the right edge of the central conductor 13.
  • the core con­ductor 31 of a second coaxial cable or coaxial line 30 is connected to the lower edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, and the outer skin 32 of the second coaxial cable 30 is connected to the peripheral conductor 11 in a position near the lower edge of the central conductor 13.
  • the core conductor 23 on the other end of the coax­ial cable 20 and the core conductor 23 at the other end of the coaxial cable 30 are arranged so that switching between the two can be accomplished by means of a switch 40.
  • a detecting means (not shown) is provided so that it detects the strength and/or phase of the reception signal, and operates the switch 40 so that either the coaxial cable 20 or 30 which can provide the most favorable strength and/or phase is selected.
  • the circumference of the closed-circle slot 12 is set so that it is roughly equal to the wavelength of the reception signal.
  • the circular slot antenna 10 as a whole is made of a thin film. In use the antenna is bonded to a plastic trunk lid, etc., of an automobile.
  • the switch 40 In use, if the switch 40 is initially connected to the core conductor 33 of the coaxial cable 30 with the reception signal strength at a prescribed level or higher, and when the direction of motion of the auto­mobile changes so that the strength of the reception signal traveling through the coaxial cable 30 drops below the prescribed level, then this drop in the signal strength is detected by the detecting circuit, and a control means (not shown) switches the switch 40 so that the reception signal is now sent to a receiver (not shown) via the coaxial cable 20. Afterward, if the strength of the signal sent via the coaxial cable 20 should drop, the switch 40 is then switched back to the coaxial cable 30, and the above-mentioned operation is repeated whenever necessary.
  • the switch 40 is used in order to facilitate the description of the invention.
  • the signal extraction position can be selected electronically as described below.
  • a diode is connected to the core con­ductor 23 of the coaxial cable 20, and a bias is applied to this diode in forward and reverse directions.
  • the system is arranged so that the signal traveling through the coaxial cable 20 passes through when a bias is applied, for example, in the forward direction.
  • a diode is connected to the core conductor 33 of the coaxial cable 30 too, and is arranged so that passing or stopping of the reception signal can be selected by changing the application of the bias.
  • the lengths of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 are very short. In other words, it is advantageous to install the diodes close to directly above the closed-circle slot 12. Thus, the transmission loss can be decreased. Of course, it is possible to install the diodes in posi­tions which are not directly above the closed-circle slot 12. Furthermore, it would also be possible to select the signal extraction position electronically by some method other than that described above.
  • the switch 40 is arranged so as to be switched automatically, it would be possible to arrange for manual operation of the switch 40.
  • the core conductors 21 and 31 of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 were connected to the edge portions of the central conductor 13. reason for this is that the reception signal current is concentrated in the periphery or edge of the central conductor 13, especially in the case of the F frequency band, etc.
  • the closed-circle slot 12 is rectangular, the slot 12 could also be square, circular or elliptical in shape. Generally, the efficiency is better if the closed-circle slot is circular.
  • the lead-out positions of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 are installed on the right edge and lower edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, they can be provided on the left edge and upper edge of the central conductor 13.
  • a recep­tion sensitivity remains stable even if the direction of motion of the vehicle in question is frequently altered.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Waveguide Aerials (AREA)
  • Details Of Aerials (AREA)

Abstract

A plane slot antenna including a peripheral con­ducting surface (11), a central conducting surface (13) provided in the peripheral conducting surface with a space (21) in between, and a plurality of coaxial lines (20, 30). The cores (21, 31) of the coaxial lines are connected to the central conducting surface at different points thereof and outer skins (22, 32) of the coaxial lines are connected to the peripheral conducting sur­face. The antenna further includes a switch (40) pro­vided between the coaxial lines and a signal receiver so that the switch changes a connection between one of the coaxial lines and the signal receiver so that the antenna receives signal of best possible strength and phase.

Description

  • The present invention relates to a plane antenna which is installed in a horizontal portion such as roof, trunk lid, etc. of the body surface of an automobile, etc.
  • Antennas without projections are in demand as mobile antennas for use in automobiles, etc., since such antennas eliminate wind noise and improve the external appearance of the vehicle. In this respect, plane or flat plate for antennas are desirable.
  • One type of the plane antenna is a slot antenna. In this antenna, a portion of the antenna conductor is cut out in the form of a circle. In other words, the circle cut-out generally is made by uniformly cutting a spaced slots arranged in a circle.
  • In other words, in the slot antennas, a closed-­circle slot is formed between a central conductor and a peripheral conductor. The core conductor of a coaxial cable is connected to the edge of the central conductor, and the outer skin of the coaxial cable is connected to the peripheral conductor, so that signals received by the antenna can be led out via the coaxial cable. Furthermore, the radiation pattern of a conventional device of this type has the form of a distorted figure eight.
  • However, in the conventional antenna of the above-mentioned type, the directionality (sensitivity) varies according to the position where the coaxial cable is connected (i. e., the signal extraction position). As a result, when the direction of motion of the vehicle (such as an automobile, etc.) changes, the sensitivity also changes. Accordingly, in cases where the direction of motion of the vehicle is frequently altered, there are frequent changes in the sensitivity. In the case of radio reception, etc., this makes the received signal difficult to hear.
  • In the present invention, two or more signal line lead-out positions are provided in a circular slot antenna, and signal is outputted through whichever position is favorable in terms of a specified condition.
  • In the present invention, since two or more signal line lead-out positions are provided, and signal is out­put through the best lead-out position in terms of a specified condition, the reception sensitivity is con­sistently stable even if the direction of motion of the vehicle is frequently changed.
  • This invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken in con­junction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
  • Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram which illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.
  • In the circular slot antenna 10 shown in Fig. 1, a central conductor or central conducting surface 13 is installed in the central portion of a peripheral con­ductor or peripheral conducting surface 11, and a closed-circle slot or space 12 is formed between the peripheral conductor 11 and central conductor 13. The areas shaded with diagonal lines in Fig. 1 indicate con­ductive parts.
  • The core conductor 21 of a first coaxial cable or coaxial line 20 is connected to the right edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, and the outer skin 22 of the first coaxial cable 20 is connected to the peripheral conductor 11 in a position near the right edge of the central conductor 13. The core con­ductor 31 of a second coaxial cable or coaxial line 30 is connected to the lower edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, and the outer skin 32 of the second coaxial cable 30 is connected to the peripheral conductor 11 in a position near the lower edge of the central conductor 13.
  • The core conductor 23 on the other end of the coax­ial cable 20 and the core conductor 23 at the other end of the coaxial cable 30 are arranged so that switching between the two can be accomplished by means of a switch 40.
  • Furthermore, a detecting means (not shown) is provided so that it detects the strength and/or phase of the reception signal, and operates the switch 40 so that either the coaxial cable 20 or 30 which can provide the most favorable strength and/or phase is selected.
  • The circumference of the closed-circle slot 12 is set so that it is roughly equal to the wavelength of the reception signal.
  • The circular slot antenna 10 as a whole is made of a thin film. In use the antenna is bonded to a plastic trunk lid, etc., of an automobile.
  • In use, if the switch 40 is initially connected to the core conductor 33 of the coaxial cable 30 with the reception signal strength at a prescribed level or higher, and when the direction of motion of the auto­mobile changes so that the strength of the reception signal traveling through the coaxial cable 30 drops below the prescribed level, then this drop in the signal strength is detected by the detecting circuit, and a control means (not shown) switches the switch 40 so that the reception signal is now sent to a receiver (not shown) via the coaxial cable 20. Afterward, if the strength of the signal sent via the coaxial cable 20 should drop, the switch 40 is then switched back to the coaxial cable 30, and the above-mentioned operation is repeated whenever necessary.
  • In the above description, the switch 40 is used in order to facilitate the description of the invention. In actuality, however, the signal extraction position can be selected electronically as described below.
  • Specifically, a diode is connected to the core con­ductor 23 of the coaxial cable 20, and a bias is applied to this diode in forward and reverse directions. The system is arranged so that the signal traveling through the coaxial cable 20 passes through when a bias is applied, for example, in the forward direction. Furthermore, a diode is connected to the core conductor 33 of the coaxial cable 30 too, and is arranged so that passing or stopping of the reception signal can be selected by changing the application of the bias.
  • Furthermore, it is preferable to set the lengths of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 as extremely short. In other words, it is advantageous to install the diodes close to directly above the closed-circle slot 12. Thus, the transmission loss can be decreased. Of course, it is possible to install the diodes in posi­tions which are not directly above the closed-circle slot 12. Furthermore, it would also be possible to select the signal extraction position electronically by some method other than that described above.
  • In the above description, though the switch 40 is arranged so as to be switched automatically, it would be possible to arrange for manual operation of the switch 40.
  • Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the core conductors 21 and 31 of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 were connected to the edge portions of the central conductor 13. reason for this is that the reception signal current is concentrated in the periphery or edge of the central conductor 13, especially in the case of the F frequency band, etc.
  • Furthermore, though in the embodiment, the closed-circle slot 12 is rectangular, the slot 12 could also be square, circular or elliptical in shape. Generally, the efficiency is better if the closed-circle slot is circular.
  • In addition, though the lead-out positions of the coaxial cables 20 and 30 are installed on the right edge and lower edge of the central conductor 13 with respect to Fig. 1, they can be provided on the left edge and upper edge of the central conductor 13. Moreover, it would also be possible to install more than two signal line lead-out positions or more than two coaxial cables. In such cases as well, the output would be extracted from whichever position is favorable in order to attain the best possible strength and/or phase of the reception signal.
  • Thus, according to the present invention, a recep­tion sensitivity remains stable even if the direction of motion of the vehicle in question is frequently altered.

Claims (5)

1. A plane antenna of the type of a circular slot antenna, characterized in that two or more signal line lead-out positions are provided and an output is extracted from whichever position is favorable in terms of a specified condition.
2. A plane antenna according to claim 1, charac­terized in that said specified condition is the strength or phase of the reception signal.
3. A plane antenna according to claim 1, charac­terized in that selection of one of said two or ore lead-out positions is accomplished electronically.
4. A plane slot antenna characterized by comprising:
a peripheral conducting surface (11);
a central conducting surface (13) provided in said peripheral conducting surface with a space (21) in between;
a plurality of coaxial lines (20, 30), core conduc­tors (21, 31) of said coaxial lines connected to said central conducting surface at different points on said central conducting surface and outer skins (22, 32) of said coaxial lines, connected to said peripheral con­ducting surface; and
a switching means (40) provided between said coax­ial lines and a signal receiver, said switching means switching a connection between one of said coaxial lines and said signal receiver depending upon the strength and phase of received signal.
5. A plane slot antenna according to claim 4, characterized by further comprising a detecting means detecting said strength and phase of said received sig­nal so that said switching means switches said connec­tion between said coaxial lines and said signal receiver.
EP19890313427 1988-12-23 1989-12-21 Plane slot antenna Expired - Lifetime EP0375416B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP325505/88 1988-12-23
JP32550588A JPH02170702A (en) 1988-12-23 1988-12-23 Plane antenna

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0375416A2 true EP0375416A2 (en) 1990-06-27
EP0375416A3 EP0375416A3 (en) 1990-11-14
EP0375416B1 EP0375416B1 (en) 1995-07-12

Family

ID=18177626

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19890313427 Expired - Lifetime EP0375416B1 (en) 1988-12-23 1989-12-21 Plane slot antenna

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0375416B1 (en)
JP (1) JPH02170702A (en)
DE (1) DE68923440T2 (en)
ES (1) ES2076969T3 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5355144A (en) * 1992-03-16 1994-10-11 The Ohio State University Transparent window antenna
WO1999066587A1 (en) * 1998-06-17 1999-12-23 Harada Industries (Europe) Limited Multiband vehicle antenna
GB2352334A (en) * 1999-05-05 2001-01-24 Asg Technology Ltd Conclealed slot antenna for vehicle

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR0145052B1 (en) * 1993-12-29 1998-08-01 와다 요시히로 Insulator for vehicle body, vehicle antenna and its setting method

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3665480A (en) * 1969-01-23 1972-05-23 Raytheon Co Annular slot antenna with stripline feed
US4229744A (en) * 1979-03-14 1980-10-21 The United States Of America As Represented By The Field Operations Bureau Of The Federal Communications Commission Directional annular slot antenna
EP0261762A1 (en) * 1986-07-25 1988-03-30 General Motors Corporation Vehicle roof mounted slot antenna with separate AM and FM feeds
EP0262755A1 (en) * 1986-07-25 1988-04-06 General Motors Corporation Vehicle roof mounted slot antenna with am and fm grounding

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS583302A (en) * 1981-06-29 1983-01-10 Mitsubishi Electric Corp Antenna device for car mounting

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3665480A (en) * 1969-01-23 1972-05-23 Raytheon Co Annular slot antenna with stripline feed
US4229744A (en) * 1979-03-14 1980-10-21 The United States Of America As Represented By The Field Operations Bureau Of The Federal Communications Commission Directional annular slot antenna
EP0261762A1 (en) * 1986-07-25 1988-03-30 General Motors Corporation Vehicle roof mounted slot antenna with separate AM and FM feeds
EP0262755A1 (en) * 1986-07-25 1988-04-06 General Motors Corporation Vehicle roof mounted slot antenna with am and fm grounding

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
RADIO AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEER. vol. 45, no. 7, July 1975, LONDON GB pages 357 - 367; Parsons et al.: "Diversity techniques for mobile radio reception " *

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5355144A (en) * 1992-03-16 1994-10-11 The Ohio State University Transparent window antenna
WO1999066587A1 (en) * 1998-06-17 1999-12-23 Harada Industries (Europe) Limited Multiband vehicle antenna
US6498588B1 (en) 1998-06-17 2002-12-24 Harada Industries ( Europe) Limited Multiband vehicle antenna
GB2352334A (en) * 1999-05-05 2001-01-24 Asg Technology Ltd Conclealed slot antenna for vehicle
GB2352334B (en) * 1999-05-05 2003-08-13 Asg Technology Ltd Concealed radio antenna system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE68923440D1 (en) 1995-08-17
EP0375416B1 (en) 1995-07-12
JPH02170702A (en) 1990-07-02
DE68923440T2 (en) 1995-12-07
ES2076969T3 (en) 1995-11-16
EP0375416A3 (en) 1990-11-14

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