EP1239540A1

EP1239540A1 - Artificial tree to camouflage antennas

Info

Publication number: EP1239540A1
Application number: EP02004926A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Calzavara; Luciano Sacher
Original assignee: Calzavara SpA
Current assignee: Calzavara SpA
Priority date: 2001-03-08
Filing date: 2002-03-05
Publication date: 2002-09-11
Also published as: ITUD20010047A1

Abstract

Artificial tree to camouflage antennas (11) comprising at least a bearing structure (12), able to support at least an antenna (11), and a covering (13) able to be associated with the bearing structure (12) and to hide the antenna (11), the covering (13) developing in height for a substantial part of the bearing structure (12). At least the upper part (213) of the covering cooperating with the antenna (11) is made of materials transparent to electromagnetic waves.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns an artificial plant able to be employed to camouflage any type of antenna, or other similar or comparable installation, and the relative supporting structure, in order to reduce the aesthetic impact on the environment where it is installed.
In the following description, the word antenna is to mean any device able to irradiate or receive electromagnetic waves, whether it be of the needle type, panel type, dish type or otherwise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are known the problems deriving from the installation of antennas, for example for cellular phone networks, for radio bridges or suchlike, in areas of great historical or environmental value, or great natural beauty, both inside and outside the city. Such antennas, in fact, have to be located at a considerable height from the ground and this can entail great problems of environmental impact. This problem is a very important one at present, since the networks used by the public or in particular technological fields are continually expanding and therefore need an ever increasing number of antennas.
In order to limit this environmental impact, the suppliers of telephone systems have proposed using supporting poles conformed as trees wherein the foliage, made of synthetic materials, is able to hide the antennas and the relative supports.
There are known various poles for antennas equipped at the upper part with means to attach artificial branches able to reproduce the foliage of a tree.
However, these types of poles have limits and disadvantages which can compromise the correct functioning in reception and transmission of the antenna to which they are applied.
Moreover, they may not be suitable to mask, apart from the antenna and the relative supporting structure, possible complementary structures associated therewith.
The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome such shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain an artificial plant which will be as similar as possible to a real plant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is set forth and characterized in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other innovative characteristics of the main embodiment.
One purpose of the invention is to achieve an artificial plant to camouflage antennas which can be mistaken for natural plants, which offers maximum versatility in use and which will be able to be perfectly integrated into most environments where it is used.
Another purpose of the invention is to provide an artificial plant which does not compromise in any way the correct functioning of the antenna for which it is employed, and which will allow a complete camouflage of this antenna and the supplementary equipment associated therewith.
A further purpose of the invention is to provide an artificial plant which is easy and quick to make and install, and composed of a plurality of parts which can be individually replaced in the event of damage.
The artificial plant according to the invention comprises at least a bearing structure, able to support the antenna to be camouflaged, and a covering able to hide and camouflage the antenna and the relative bearing structure.
The bearing structure comprises at least a central pole and a plurality of arms, arranged radially along its height, on which the covering is able to be fixed.
According to a characteristic feature of the invention, said covering is associated with a substantial part of the bearing structure and at least its upper part, cooperating with the antenna, is made of materials transparent to electromagnetic waves, so as not to compromise the functioning of the antenna.
In a constructional embodiment, preferential but not restrictive, the artificial plant according to the invention reproduces the appearance of a cypress tree and its covering consists of a plurality of panels, each defining a substantially continuous angular sector cooperating with said arms and able to be associated with said bearing structure. The panels are independent of each other and can therefore be individually replaced in the event of damage.
According to another characteristic feature of the invention, the artificial plant includes ascending means, associated with the bearing structure, and usable to access the antenna and the upper part of said structure; said ascending means develop in height along a substantial part of the structure and are arranged in an inner position with respect to the covering and are therefore hidden from the outside.
According to a variant, means are also associated with the bearing structure which are able to support, outside the central pole, but in a position hidden by the covering, the connection cables of the antenna and other technological equipment.
In a preferential embodiment, the ascending means and said means to support the cables are arranged in a reciprocally near position, so as to allow an easy access to said cables by the workers responsible for installation and maintenance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the invention will be clear from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 shows schematically a longitudinal cutaway view of an artificial plant according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a lateral view of the plant shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 shows a part view of a longitudinal section, of a plant according to the invention;
Fig. 4 shows an element of the artificial plant according to the invention;
Fig. 5 shows another element of the artificial plant according to the invention;
Fig. 6 shows a transverse section of the artificial plant according to the invention;
Figs. 7-10 show some details of the element in Fig. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the attached Figures, an artificial plant 10 according to the invention is used to camouflage antennas 11.
In this case, the antenna 11 in question is an antenna for cellular phone networks, but it is obvious that the invention can be applied to other antennas of a different type such as, for example, needle-type, panel-type or dish-type.
In the preferential embodiment shown as an example, moreover, the artificial plant 10 reproduces a cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens), that is a tree which has a very high, straight trunk and evergreen leaves which cover it almost for its entire height.
The artificial plant 10 according to the invention comprises, in its essential parts, a bearing structure 12 and a covering 13.
The bearing structure 12 consists of a central pole 14, axially hollow, with which a plurality of radial arms 15 are associated, and of a stake 48 fixed at the upper part of the pole 14 and able to support the antenna 11; four radial rods 38 are associated, in this case, in a radial arrangement with the stake 48.
The pole 14 is made of metal and, in this case, consists of three segments, first 114, second 214 and third 314, arranged axially aligned from the bottom to the top; the three segments 114, 214 and 314 are connected to each other by joining plates 16 and have different diameters which progressively decrease from the first 114 to the third 314 segment.
A rack 18 is associated with the pole 14 and is able to support the connection cables 19 of the antenna 11 in a position outside the pole 14.
The first segment 114 of the pole 14 is able to be arranged partly buried and has at the lower part a base plate 17 by means of which it is able to be anchored to the foundations; it also has two apertures 24, the upper one of which allows to insert the cables 19 inside the pole 14, while the lower aperture allows the cables 19 to emerge into the ground.
In a preferential embodiment, on the first segment 114 of the pole 14, at least in its lower section which is not affected by the covering 13, a cover 47 is applied reproducing the pattern of the bark of the plant to be imitated.
The arms 15 consist of metal profiles arranged radially along the height of the pole 14; to be more exact, they are arranged so as to define four vertical rows 115 arranged at 90° with respect to each other and symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis "y" of the pole 14. A ladder 20 is associated with one of said rows 115, in a position near the cables 19, and can be used by the workers responsible for installing and maintaining the antenna 11.
Said ladder 20 extends substantially for the height of the pole 14 and is provided with a suitable safety element 21.
In correspondence with the third segment 314, in proximity to the antenna 11, the arms 15 are associated with respective struts 23 able to support a foot-board 22 on which the workers can stand during the installation and maintenance operations.
The covering 13 consists of a plurality of first 25 and second 26 panels, shaped substantially as a continuous angular sector, which can be pre-fabricated and then associated with the bearing structure 12 during the installation of the artificial plant 10. To be more exact, the first panels 25 are attached to the arms 15 while the second panels 26 are attached to the foot-board 22 and the rods 38.
Said panels 25, 26 constitute autonomous elements which can be individually replaced simply and quickly in the event of damage.
The part 113 of the covering 13, which extends substantially as far as the foot-board 22, is substantially cylindrical in shape and is made with a plurality of first panels 25, conformed in angular sections with a substantially continuous surface, each one able to define an angular portion of the covering 13, in this case of an amplitude "α" equal to about 90° and a height "h" corresponding to the distance between two arms 15 of a row 115.
Each first panel 25 comprises a metal frame 27 consisting of two curved cross-pieces 28 lying on a substantially horizontal plane and joined together by three vertical uprights 29.
In this case, the curved cross-pieces 28 are made of angular profiles, while the uprights 29 are made of flat profiles.
The metal frame 27 constitutes a continuous surface on which to rest the covering, so that said covering can be applied in an almost continuous manner, without leaving holes or spaces which are not occupied by the covering; moreover, the resulting covering is perfectly stable, thanks to the extensive anchorage surface ensured by said frame 27.
The frame 27 is lined on the outside by a wide-meshed net 30, made of metal wires covered by thermoplastic material, which is covered by a close-meshed net 31 made of polyethylene, advantageously green; there are tufts of camouflage 32 attached to the wide-meshed net 30 by means of attachment means, through with respect to the close-meshed net 31; these reproduce the appearance of the cypress tree and are advantageously made of polyethylene wires with a steel reinforced core.
In a preferential embodiment, said tufts of camouflage 32 are applied by means of stapling using automatic equipment.
The upper part 213 of the covering 13, that is, the part arranged around the antenna 11, is made with second panels 26, in this case four in number; said second panels 26 become narrow in shape as they go upwards and each of them is able to cover an angle of about 90° so as to define, in their entirety, a structure shaped like a pointed arch, advantageously with the upper extremity rounded.
Every second panel 26 comprises a supporting frame 33 consisting of five cross-pieces with a curved development, a lower 34, three intermediate 35 and an upper 36, and of a plurality of curved uprights 37 orthogonal thereto.
The lower cross-piece 34 and the upper cross-piece 36 are made of metal, respectively by means of angular profiles and tubular profiles.
The upper cross-pieces 36 are associated with the rods 38 of the stake 48 and, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, are connected to each other by means of flanges 43.
The intermediate cross-pieces 35 are made of tubular elements made of PVC, or other plastic material, covered by a resin fibreglass sheath which increases the rigidity and solidity thereof; the curved uprights 37 consist of flat resin fibreglass profiles.
Each supporting frame 33 is fixed at the lower part to the metal frame 25 underneath by bolting the lower cross-piece 34 onto a corresponding cross-piece 28 (Fig. 7).
In the constructional embodiment shown here, the curved uprights 37 are fixed in a different way to the relative cross-pieces 34, 35, 36.
Said uprights 37 are in fact bolted to the lower cross-pieces 34 (Fig. 7), while they are tied to the intermediate cross-pieces 35 by means of ropes 40 made with fibreglass wires (rowing) impregnated with resin (Fig. 9).
The uprights 37 are also anchored to the upper cross-piece 36 by means of U-shaped stirrups 39 which partly surround the upper cross-piece 36; nuts 41 are screwed onto the threaded ends 39a of the stirrups 39, with washers 42 interposed (Fig. 8), which clamp said uprights 37.
The supporting frame 33 is lined on the outside by a wide-meshed net 44 made of polyethylene associated with a close-meshed net 45, also made of polyethylene; tufts of camouflage 46, without any metal core, are applied on the wide-meshed net 44 by means of attachment means which are through with respect to the close-meshed net 45.
The upper part 213 of the covering 13 is therefore substantially without metal elements in the zone affected by the antenna 11 since the lower cross-pieces 34 and the upper cross-pieces 36 are respectively below and above said antenna 11; in this way, in correspondence with the latter, the upper part 213 of the covering 13 is substantially transparent to electromagnetic waves and hence does not interfere with the functioning of the antenna 11.
It is obvious that modifications or additions of parts can be made to the invention without departing from the field and scope thereof.
For example the pole 14 can be made in two, four or more segments, and the rows 115 of arms 15 can be other than four in number.
And again, the profiles used for the frames 25 and 26 can be different from those described.
It is also obvious that, although the invention makes reference to a specific example, a skilled person in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of artificial plant, all of which shall come within the field of the present invention.

Claims

Artificial plant to camouflage antennas (11) comprising at least a bearing structure, able to support at least an antenna (11), and a covering able to be associated with said bearing structure and to hide said antenna (11), said covering (13) developing in height for a substantial part of said bearing structure (12), characterized in that at least its upper part (213) cooperating with said antenna (11) is made of materials transparent to electromagnetic waves.
Artificial plant as in claim 1, wherein said bearing structure (12) comprises at least a central pole (14) and a plurality of arms (15) arranged radially and along the height of said pole (14), on which said covering (13) is able to be fixed, characterized in that said bearing structure (12) comprises a stake (48) at its upper part, associated with a plurality of rods (38) on which the upper part (213) of said covering (13) is able to be fixed.
Artificial plant as in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said covering (13) is made with a plurality of panels (25, 26) conformed as an angular sector and of the interchangeable type, said sectors (25, 26) defining a substantially continuous supporting surface.
Artificial plant as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it comprises, in an inner position with respect to said covering (13), ascending means (20) to access said antenna (11) and the upper parts of said bearing structure (12), said ascending means (20) being associated with said bearing structure (12) and developing in height for a substantial part thereof.
Artificial plant as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it comprises means (18) able to support the connection cables (19) of said antenna (11) outside said pole (14).
Artificial plant as in claims 4 and 5, characterized in that said ascending means (20) are arranged in proximity to said means (18) to support cables (19) so as to allow an easy access to the latter.
Artificial plant as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said bearing structure (12) comprises a foot-board (22) arranged in proximity to the base of said antenna (11).
Artificial plant as in claim 3, characterized in that the lower part (113) of said covering (13) is substantially cylindrical in shape and is composed of first panels (25) with a curved development of height ("h") mating with the vertical distance between two adjacent rows of said arms (15), and angular amplitude ("α") mating with the angle defined by two adjacent arms (15) located at the same height.
Artificial plant as in claim 3, characterized in that the upper part (213) of said covering (13) is substantially conformed as a pointed arch and is composed of second panels (26) conformed as an angular sector of a desired amplitude.
Artificial plant as in claims 8 and 9, characterized in that each of said panels (25, 26) comprises at least a frame (27, 33) able to define a substantially continuous supporting surface for a wide-meshed net (30, 44), associated with a close-meshed net (31, 45), tufts of camouflage (32, 46) being associated with said nets (30, 31, 44, 45) to reproduce a desired tree-like appearance.
Artificial plant as in claims 8 and 10, characterized in that the frame (27) of said first panels (25) is made with metal profiles and comprises at least two cross-pieces (28), lying on a substantially horizontal plane, and a plurality of substantially vertical uprights (29), able to connect said cross-pieces (28).
Artificial plant as in claims 8 and 10, characterized in that at least the wide-meshed net (30) and the tufts of camouflage (32) of said first panels (25) have an inner metal core covered by a layer of plastic material.
Artificial plant as in claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the frame (33) of said second panels (26) comprises, at least in correspondence with said antenna (11), cross-pieces (35) made of plastic material joined together by curved uprights (37) made with resin fibreglass profiles.
Artificial plant as in claim 13, characterized in that said cross-pieces (35) are fixed to said uprights (37) by means of tying with rope means (40) made with fibreglass wires impregnated with resin.
Artificial plant as in claim 13 or 14, characterized in that said cross-pieces (35) consist of tubular profiles made of PVC or other plastic material, covered with a resin fibreglass sheath.
Artificial plant as in claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the wide-meshed net (44), the close-meshed net (46) and the tufts of camouflage (46) of said second panels (26) are made completely of plastic material, such as polyethylene or similar.
Artificial plant as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it looks like a cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens).