GB2470412A

GB2470412A - Moulded satellite dish cover with rim and tab fastening arrangements

Info

Publication number: GB2470412A
Application number: GB0908856A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Craig Brown; Paul Broadwood
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-05-22
Filing date: 2009-05-22
Publication date: 2010-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 2029-05-22
Also published as: GB2470412B; GB0908856D0

Abstract

A moulded satellite dish cover 3, which fits over the front face of a satellite dish, comprises a rearward facing rim 3a and at least one tab 4, 5, 6, located inward of the rim 3a, with an upstanding part. The cover 3 is arranged such that the rim 3a of the cover may be fastened to the rim of a first satellite dish or the tab or tabs 4, 5, 6 of the cover may be used to fasten to the rim of a smaller or differently shaped dish 1 to that of the first satellite dish. The tab 4, 5, 6 may be an elongate upstanding plastic tab portion with a foot portion welded or adhered to the rear surface of the cover. The tab 4, 5, 6 may be resilient such that it can be flattened or at least flexed so the cover 3 can suitably comply with the surface of the first satellite dish. The cover 3 may be secured to the dish 1 by releasable barbed clip fasteners 8. The cover 3 and tabs 4, 5, 6 may be made of high impact polystyrene and the cover may include an aperture through which a LNB arm may pass.

Description

Satellite Dish Cover

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to covers for satellite dishes.

Background to the Invention

Satellite dish covers are very popular in the USA in residential areas as a means of personalizing! enhancing the appearance of otherwise bland satellite dish installations and also providing shielding! protection of the dish from rain, snow and ice. They are sold in a wide variety of forms including as plastics mouldings designed to fit over at least the front face of the satellite dish or as fabric bags to enclose the whole of the dish and LNB as fuller environmental protection. Many of the covers carry graphics such as flags, team logos or clipart type images on their front face.

In general the bag-type dish covers can be versatile to fit different dishes and have a drawstring to tighten in place but the moulded plastics forms of dish cover are, however, generally not adaptable to different shaped!sized dishes. a respective different moulding is thus needed for each of the many different shapes or sizes of dish. Even in the UK where most of us watch only Skytm satellite or Freesattm there are at least two main dish sizes used and up to four common sizes -38-40cm, 43-45cm, 60cm and 80cm -with round or oval variants.

Some cheaper options are available that are merely secured in place to a dish by double-sided adhesive tape and thus could be used on different dishes but this is generally highly undesirable since the tape will either not withstand buffeting winds and precipitation over time or will bond the cover so tightly that it cannot be readily removed! replaced if desired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method and means for securing a satellite dish cover to a satellite dish that overcomes or mitigates against these problems of the prior art -enabling a moulded cover to be installed or removed relatively straightforwardly from two or more differently shaped! sized dishes.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a moulded satellite dish cover to fit over the front face of a satellite dish having a rearward facing rim similar to, or to correspond to, the rearward facing rim of such a dish, the cover being characterized in that it has at least a first tab proximate but inboard of the rim of the cover and which has an upstanding part which may be clipped! clamped to the rim of a satellite dish, whereby the cover may be fastened by the cover's rim to the rim of a first satellite dish or by the tab to the rim of a smaller satellite dish is than the first satellite dish.

Particularly preferably the tab is able to flex so that the upstanding part may be substantially flattened or at least pushed toward the rear face of the dish whereby the cover can comfortably fit to the first, larger, dish.

Suitably the tab resiliently flexes whereby the upstanding part is biased to the upstanding state. In the upstanding state the upstanding part suitably is substantially but not necessarily strictly perpendicular to the rear face of the cover. In the upright state the tab upright part suitably is at or proximate an angle to the rear face of the cover that corresponds to the angle between the rim of the dish and the rear of the dish.

Particularly preferably at least a second tab is provided on the cover proximate but inboard of the rim of the cover spaced apart and preferably substantially opposing, eg diametrically opposite, the first tab.

The cover suitably has an aperture for the satellite dish LNB arm to pass through. In a preferred embodiment the second tab has a third tab adjacent to it but spaced around the rim from it a distance approximately corresponding to the width of the aperture for the LNB arm.

Preferably the tab has a foot part that is securely adhered! welded to the rear face of the cover. The tab is suitably of plastics, preferably the same as or compatible to the plastics used to mould the cover. A high strength adhesive, may be used to chemically weld the tab foot part to the rear face of the cover. For polystyrene the preferred adhesive is toluene (methyl benzene) based. Alternatively a heat welding step may be used.

The tab may suitably be elongate, having a shape similar to an angle iron but of a plastics that allows resilient flex between the foot part and upright part. Suitably both the cover and the or each tab are of HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) and suitably of the order of 1.5mm thick. A white HIPS is preferred and best suited for printing! marking the front face of the cover is The arrangement of the present invention allows a user to securely fit the cover to at least two different sizes of satellite dish using clips. The cover may be demounted if desired by unclipping the clips. The clips are suitably sized to approximately correspond to the depth of the cover and dish rim and preferably of spring steel suitably having barbs or inwardly directed teeth to grasp the plastics of the cover and the material of the dish firmly.

A lever such as a screw-driver may be used to prise each clip open again when required.

Unlike the known art the cover is versatile, effective and reliable. It can be used with multiple dish shapes and sizes and is low cost and easy to manufacture and install.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a rear perspective view from below of an oval 38-40cm (measured top-to-bottom) SKY satellite mini-dish showing the rearward projecting rim and the configuration of the LNB arm projecting forwardly through the dish near its bottom edge; Figure 2 are side elevation and front elevation views of a bespoke inch-long clip for clipping the tab of the cover to the inch-deep rim of the dish; Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the cover showing the cover's corresponding rearward projecting rim and the aperture for the LNB arm; io Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper part of the cover clip-fastened at the tab to the rim of a small satellite dish (whereas it would be clip-fastened at the rim of the cover to the rim of a larger sized dish); Figures 5A and 5B are close-up rear perspective views of the upper and lower parts of the cover to show the upper and lower tabs in greater detail.

is Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, this shows a conventional oval SKY satellite mini-dish 1, showing the rearward projecting rim la of the dish 1 and the configuration of the LNB arm 2 projecting forwardly through the dish 1 near the bottom edge of the dish 1.

The cover 3 illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5 is a 1.5mm thick matte white HIPS moulding shaped to conform and fit to the front and rim of a medium-sized (43-45cm) satellite dish (not shown).

The cover 3 has artwork and! or text imprinted or otherwise applied on its front face and has an inch-deep rearward projecting rim 3a that closely conforms to the rearward projecting rim la of the medium-sized satellite dish. The convex rear face 3b of the cover 3 is adapted to nest into the concave front face of the dish 1 and with the rearward projecting rim 3a of the cover 3 tightly embracing the rearward projecting rim 1 a of the dish 1.

The cover 3 is fastened to the dish 1 by use of two or more inch-long clips 8 that clip the cover rim 3a to the dish rim la at different positions around the perimeter of the nested dish! cover assembly.

As can be seen in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the rear face 3b of the cover 3 is provided with a set of dish-mounting tabs 4, 5, 6 at intervals around the perimeter and lying just inboard of the rim 3a. These tabs 4, 5, 6 serve as a substitute rim for mounting the cover 3 to a 38-40cm mini-dish, which is of substantially lesser diameter than the medium-sized dish and than the rim 3a of the cover 3.

io Each tab 4, 5, 6 is formed of 1.5mm thick HIPS as elongate straight or curving strips having an L-shaped end elevation and thus resembling an angle iron but, being of plastics, having resilient flex. Each tab 4, 5, 6 has a foot part, eg 5a as shown in Figure SB, that is securely adhered! welded to the rear face 3b of the cover 3 and has an upright part Sb. The upright is part Sb is able to flex! collapse downwardly against the foot part Sa to allow the tabs 4, 5, 6 to move out of the way, flattening against the rear face 3b of the cover 3 when the cover 3 is mounted to a medium-sized dish 1 A high strength adhesive, eg toluene-based adhesive, is used to chemically weld the tab foot part 5a to the rear face of the cover.

Referring to Figure 3, when the cover is mounted to a smaller-sized dish such as the 38-40cm mini-dish each clip 8 is fitted to clip the rim la of the dish 1 to a respective tab upright 3b, 4b, Sb -not to the rim 3a of the cover 3. The illustrated clips 8 are suitably sized to approximately correspond to the depth of the cover and dish rims 3a, la and of spring steel. The clips 8 have opposing arms 8a, 8b which are linked to resiliently flex together!apart and the arms 8a, 8b terminate in barbs!inwardly directed teeth 8c, 8d to grasp the plastics of the cover 3 and the material of the dish 1 firmly. A lever such as a screw-driver may be used to prise each clip 8 open again when required.