GB2511037A

GB2511037A - Mount for a satellite dish

Info

Publication number: GB2511037A
Application number: GB201302892A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Riches; Jack Gover
Original assignee: Maxview Ltd
Current assignee: Maxview Ltd
Priority date: 2013-02-19
Filing date: 2013-02-19
Publication date: 2014-08-27
Also published as: GB201302892D0

Abstract

A satellite dish mount 5 comprises a rest 9 attachable to a stand (3, fig 1) and a support 33 for affixing a satellite dish. The support 33 may rotate relative to the rest 9 in the azimuth direction. The rotation angle may be restricted by a projection (15, fig 9) provided on the rest 9 which abuts the walls of a groove (41, fig 9) provided on the support 33. The support 33 may comprise an arm 51 extending from a dish engagement means 47 for supporting a low noise block converter 53. The arm 51 may be pivoted towards the dish engagement means 47 and held in a collapsed position using magnets. The dish engagement means 47 may be hingedly attached to a main body 35 of the support 33 to adjust the angle of elevation using a screw drive 63.

Description

MOUNT FOR A SATELLITE DISH

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mount for a satellite dish which might be used, for example, as part of portable satellite dish assemblies.

Background to the Tnverition

A satellite dish is a dish shaped parabolic antenna which is typically used to receive television data transmissions from satellites orbiting the earth. These data.

transmissions can be used to produce television images on television sets and to access interactive services. Portable satellitedish assemblies are increasinglypopular and enable 1 0 such data transmissions to be aeccased from any location with unobstructed access to a satellite signal. These portable satellite dish assemblies are therefore used in mobile homes, caravans and other remote habitats where it is desired to receive a satellite signal.

A typical portable satellite dish assembly comprises a tripod, a satellite dish mount and a satellite dish. The satellite dish is fixed to the satellite dish mount and the combined mount and dish are attached to the tripod to enable the satellite dish to be supported at an elevated level above wound. The entire assembly can be manipulated to direct the satellite dish toward a satellite for the receipt of a data transmission.

There arc many such portable satellite dish assemblies. One assembly comprises a tripod, a satellite dish and a satellite dish mount which is affixed to the tripod by a plurality of nuts and bolts. Such a system is awkward to assemble and difficult to manipulate in order to locate and obtain a strong satellite signal. Another such assembly comprises a similar arrangement with a custom metal mount or bracket that is bolted to the tripod and to which the dish may be secured. The assembly requires special tools to adjust both the elevation arid azimuth ofthe dish and is therefore intl.exible and awkward to use. There are also tblly automated assemblies which automatically adjust the elevation and azimuth of the dish to obtain a strong satellite signal. Problems with automated solutions such as these include that they arc not always user friendly and they also tend to he relatively expensive compared to manually adjusted assemblies.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved satellite dish mount.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mount for a satellite dish comprising a rest that may be attached to a stand on a surface and a support to which a satellite dish may be affixed, wherein the support comprises a formation arranged to engage with the rest so that, when the rest is attached to a stand.

the support is held above the surface by the stand.

Advantageously, the mount can be easily mul quickly assembled and arranged on a stand such as a tripod so that a satellite signal can be located. Having a rest on which the support may sit allows a very simple engagement mechanism between the two components. Thus a mount according to the present invention does not require complicated assembly and can be done without the need for more than one user and additional attachment means.

The rest and the support may be engaged in a mating connection. The rest may comprise the male connector and the support may comprise the female connector.

Alternatively, the rest may comprise the female connector and the support may comprise the male connector.

The support may be arranged to rotate relative to the rest when the two arc engaged. The rest and the support may comprise mutually cooperating formations arranged to limit rotation of the support relative to the rest between two positions. The forrnaton of the rest may comprise a projection and the formation of the support may comprise a groove into which the projection may extend and the groove may comprise two walls against which the projection may abut, said two walls providing the points between which the support may rotate. The support may be limited to rotate through an angle of approximately 77 degrees.

The support may comprise a main body, a dish engagement means and an. arm for supporting a low noise block converter (LNB) arm that extends from the dish engagement means and that is hingedly attached to the dish engagement means. The dish engagement means may be hingcdly attached to the main body to enable the anglc of elevation of the dish engagement means to he adjusted relative to the main body. The anil maybe arranged to hinge toward the dish engagement means.

The satellite dish mount may further comprise a magnet holder that is attachable to a satellite dish, said holder comprising a magnet, wherein the arm comprises a magnet that is arranged to attract the magnet of the holder so that, when a satellite dish is attached to the dish engagement means and the holder is attached to the dish, the arm may be hinged toward the dish engagement means and, hence, the dish and held in place due to the attractive force between the magnet on the arm and the magnet on the holder.

The support may comprise a cavity for an integrated satellite locating device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a satellite dish assembly comprising a mount according to the first embodiment, a stand to which the mount maybe attached and a satellite dish which is attachaNe to the mount.

The mount may be arranged such that, when it is attached to the stand and a satellite dish is attached to the mount, the satellite dish is directed in the same general direction as a chosen element of the stand. The chosen element may comprise a visual indicator.

Detailed Description of the Tnvention

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a satellite dish assembly comprising a mount according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the satellite dish assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a side cross section view of a mount according to the present invention with a satellite dish attached thereto; Fig. 4 shows a rear view of the mount and satellite dish shown in Fig. I; Fig. 5 shows a side view of the mount and satellite dish shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shows a perspective view ofthe mount and satellite dish shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 shows an enlarged perspective view of a part of the mount attached to a part of the stand shown in Fig. I; Fig. 8 shows the part shown in Fig. 7 when in a disassembled state; Fig. 9 shows an enlarged underside view of the mount shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 10 shows a second enlarged underside view of the mount shown in Fig. 3 with part cross section; Fig. 11 shows a part of the mount shown in Fig. I with the satellite dish attached thereto and with an arm of the mount in a collapsed state; Fig. 12 shows a front view of a. part of the mount shown in Fig. I; Fig. 13 shows a side view of the part sho in Fig. 12; Fig. 14 shows a rear side view of the part shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 15. shows an enlarged perspective view of an end of the arm of the mount shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 16 shows an enlarged cross section side view of the end of the arm shown in Fig. 15; Fig. 17 shows an enlarged view of a magnet holder which is affixed to the satellite dish shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 18 shows an enlarged view of the interaction of the end of the arm shown in Fig. 1 with the magnet holdcr shown in Fig. 17 when the arm is in the collapsed state shown in Fig. 11; and Fig. 1.9 shows a rear perspective view of a part of the mount shown in Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a satellite dish assembly 1 comprising a stand 3 in the fonn of a tripod, a satellite dish mount 5 which is attached to the tripod 3 and a satellite dish 7 which is attached. to the mount 5, The tripod 3 may be arranged on a substantially flat surface in order to maintain the mount 5 and satellite dish 7 at a distance above the surface.

The mountS comprises a rest 9 in the form of a moulded plastics hollow cylinder which is open at one end. A lip 11 is formed around the circumference of the open end and a short stud 13 extends from the other end ofthe rest 9. A short projection 1 5 extends from die outer wall of the rest 9 along the lip ii and temiinates at the edge of the lip. The projection has two angled sides 17, 19 that extend toward one another and that are linked by a short side 21 that is substantially tangential to the curved edge of the lip.

The rest 9 is moulded in two parts 23, 25 that may be connected together to form the completed rest. The two parts 23, 25 are arranged to fit around a similarly shaped cylinder such as the main support pole 27 of the tripod 3. Two male connectors (no shown) extend from the inner surface of one of the parts 25 and two correspondingly positioned female connectors 29 extend from the inner surface of the other part 23 so that, when the two parts 23,25 are placed together, the male and female connectors mate and the two parts are held together. Holes 31 are formed through the end of the pole 27 of the tripod 3 to enable the male and female connectors to extend through and fix the rest 9 to the end of the pole 27. Whilst the rest 9 of this embodiment is separate from the stand 3, it is envisaged that the rest 9 could also be an integral part of the stand 3.

The mount 5 further comprises a support 33 made from moulded plastics material, The support 33 comprises a main body section 35 which is substantially cuboidal in shape and which comprises a hollow recess 37 formed in its lower face. The hollow recess 37 is shaped to receive the rest 9 and to accommodate the stud 1 3 so that the support 33 can he secured against the rest 9. The recess 37 also compnses a ledge 39 that is arranged to sit against the lip 11 of the rest 9 when the support 33 is seated on the rest 9. The recess 37 is shaped to permit the support 33 to rotate relative to the rest 9 when in the seated configuration. The recess 37 further comprises a shallow groove 41 S along the inside wall of the recess 37 which is arranged to accommodate the projection of the rest 9. The groove 41 comprises two substantially parallel sides 43, 45 and a curved side 47 that extends between the two parallel sides 43, 45. The angled sides 17, 19 of the projection 15 of the rest 9 are arrangcd to abut against the two parallel sides 43,45 of the groove to thereby limit rotation of the support body 35 relative to the rest 9. The sides 17, 19 of the projection 15 are angled such that, when a side 43 of the groove 41 abuts against the adjacent angled side 19 of the projection 15, the two sides 41, 19 are substantially parallel to one another. The groove 41 and projection 15 are shaped to permit rotation of the support 33 relative to the rest 9 through an angle of 77 degrees.

Any other suitable angle ma.y be used that limits the rotation of the support relative to the rest to permit only a limited portion of the sky to be scanned in which the highest concentration of satellites might be found.

The support 33 further comprises a dish engagement bracket 47 that is hingedly attached to the upper part of the main body 35 and that may be rotated relative to the main body 35 to change the angle of elcvation of the bracket 47. The bracket 47 comprises a number of fixings that enable a satellite dish 7 to be affixed thereto so that movement of the bracket 47 causes a corresponding movement of the dish 7, In this embodiment the bracket is configured to accommodate two different satellite sizes, one with a diameter of 55cm and the other with a diameter of 65cm. A cavity 48 is formed in the side of the bracket 47 opposite the satellite dish 7 and is configured to accommodate a satellite locating device 49 commonly referred to as a Sat flndei-. The cavity 48 is also configured to accommodate a Satellite Identification Finder if it is desired to use one. An internal channel is formed within the bracket 47 to enable routing of cabling from the Sat finder 49 and other components of the satellite assembly (to be described later). The channel is an-anged. to direct any internal cabling to a single region of connections so that the components of the satellite dish assembly I can be conveniently accessed from a single point.

An arm 51 for supporting a low noise block converter (LNB) 53 is hingedly attached to the lower side of the dish engagement bracket 47. The arm 51 is restricted to move between two extreme positions. The first positionis the extendedposition, whereby the ann 51 is hinged away from the bracket 47. The angle of elevation of the ann 51 in the first position is chosen to enable the LNB 53 to be easily positioned to receive the concentrated bcams of the satellite signal that are reflected by the dish 7. To this end an angled LNB support 55 is provided at the end of the arm 51 to accommodate the LNB 53 and direct it toward the centre of the dish 7. The second position is the collapsed position in which the arm 51 is hinged in toward the bracket 47 and, hence, the dish 7. When in the second position, the risk of damage to the LNB 53 is limited and permits safer transportation of the satellite dish assembly 1.

An integral magnet 57 is formed within the end of the LNB support 55 and is arranged to attract a magnet (not shown) adhered to the dish 7 when in the second, collapsed position. To enable the dish magnet to be easily secured against the dish without affecting the reflection of the satellite signal, a pad 59 made from plastics material having a spark finish is provided which has a recess 61 on the underside for receiving a magnet. The magnet is inserted into the pad which is then adhered to the satellite dish 7 at a position at which the LNB support 55 will he in close proximity, if not in engagement, in the collapsed position. The two magnets attract one another in the collapsed position and ensure that the arm 51 is retained relative to the dish 7 andhraeket 47 in the collapsed position. The wall thickness of the two respective interfacing walls of the LNB holder 55 and the mirror pad 59 are chosen to be minimal to ensure as strong an attractive force between the two magnets as possible. Cabling from the LNB 53 is muted along the ann 51 and into the channel formed within the main body where it is rerouted to the cable output region.

The support further comprises an adjustment mechanism 63 between the main body 35 and the dish bracket 47 to enable the elevation of the bracket 47 relative to the body 35 to be easily changed. The adjustment mechanism 63 comprises a custom pitch lead drive whose screw extends through the main body and engages with a corresponding thread lomied in the dish bracket 47. The screw has a knob 64 attached to on.e end to permit the screw to be easily turned from behind the satellite dish 7. Rotation of the screw causes the dish bracket 47th be urged away or toward the main body 35 depending on the direction of rotation to change the elevation ofthe bracket 47 and dish 7. The pitch lead drive is designed to provide elevation from between approximately 10 degrees to approximately 50 degrees. The lead of the screw is chosen to he 4mm and the adjustment mechanism 63 is desied such that one revolution of the screw corresponds to a change in elevation of the dish bracket of approximately 2 degrees. Thus, the adjustment mechanism 63 enables easy and fine adjustment of the elevation of the dish 7. A pointer extends from the bottom of the dish bracket 47 so that, as the elevation of the bracket is changed, the position of the pointer changes. The pointer travels along a marked scale 67 to enable quick reference to the elevation of the bracket 47.

Th.e support 33 thrthcr comprises an azimuth rotation lock 69 which comprises a screw that extends into the main body 35 and that can be engaged with the rest 9 to lock the support 33 relative to the rest 9 when the support 33 is at the correct azimuth angle. A knob is conveniently provided to enable easy adjustment of the lock.

The tripod 3 has a south' indicator on one of its legs to act as a base line reference and enable the satellite dish assembly to he correctly setup. The holes 31 in the tripod 3 to which the rest 9 may be attachcd are positioned such that, when the rest 9 is attached to the tripod 3, the projection 15 of the rest 9 faces generally south in the same direction as the south leg. The groove 41 formed in the recess 37 of th.e main body 35 of the support 33 is positioned such that, when the support 33 is seated on the rest 9 and the projection 15 extends into the groove 41, the LNB arm 51 faces generally south. Thus, the relative arrangcmcnt of the tripod leg, tripod holes 31, rest 9, support body 35. dish bracket 47 and LNB arm 51 enable the satellite dish assembly I to he easily and conveniently set to face in the correct direction for locating satellite signals. The support 33 ffirther comprises a spirit level (not shown) to enable the satellite dish assembly 1 to bc correctly positioned on a substantially horizontal surface.

In use, the tripod 3 is setup and arranged on a surface such that the main pole 27 is substantially upright. A compass is used to establish south and the south' leg is arranged to point generally in that direction. The rest 9 is then attached to the top of the main tripod pole 27 via the engagement holes 31 such that the projection 15 faces in the same general direction as the south leg. It is also envisaged that the tripod may he supplied with the rest preassembled on the tripod. The support 33 is then seated on the rest 9 and tripod 3 via the recess 37 on the underside of the main body 35. For the support 33 to be correctly seated, thc groove 41 of the recess 37 must be positioned over the projection 1 5. This ensures the support 33 cannot be easily seated in the opposite direction such that the satellite dish 7 also points in the wrong direction. Since the dish bracket 47 and aim 51 are arranged to extend away from the groove side of body 35, when the support 33 is correctly seated on the rest 9, the dish bracket 47, dish 7 and LNB ann 51 all face generally toward south, When the dish 7 is arranged to face generally south, a coaxial lead is connected to the F output which is incorporated into the main body 35 to provide an electrical connection between a television set and the LNB 53. The LNB 53 may also be electrically connected to the Sat finder 49 to enable different satellites to be located Once connected, the elevation of the dish bracket 47 and dish 7 are adjusted by turning the knob 64 of the adjustment mechanism 63 either clockwise or anticlockwise until the desired elevation is reached. The azimuth is then slowly scanned by rotating the support 33 relative to the tripod 3 across the 77 degrees of freedom until a clear picture is received on the television set, thereby indicating a strong signal. The support lock 69 is then tightened to lock the support 33 relative to the rest 9 and tripod 3.

The above embodiment is described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSI. A satellite dish mount comprising a rest that may be attached to a stand on a surface and a support to which a. satellite dish maybe affixed, wherein the suppdrt is configured to engage with the rest so that, when the rest is attached to a stand and the support is engaged with the rest, the support is held above the surface by the stand.
2. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rest and the support are engaged in a mating connection.
3. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rest comprises the male connector and the support comprises the female connector.
4. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rest comprises the female connector and the support comprises the male connector.
5. A satellite dish mount as claimcd in any preceding claim, wherein the support is arranged to rotate relative to the rest when the two are engaged.
6. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rest and the support comprise mutually cooperating formations arranged to limit rotation of the support relative to the rest between two positions.
7. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 6, wherein the formation of the rest comprises a projection and the formation of the support comprises a groove into which the projection may extend and wherein the groove comprises two walls against which the projection may abut, said two walls providing the points between which the support may rotate.
8. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 7, wherein the support is limited to rotate through an angle of approximately 77 degrees.
9. A satellite dish mount as claimed in. any preceding claim, wherein the support comprises a main body, a dish engagement means and an arm for supporting a low noise block converter (LNB) aim that extends from the dish engagement means and that is hingedly attached to the dish engagement means.
10. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 9, wherein the dish engagement means is hingedly attached to the main body to enable the angle of elevation of the dish engagcmcnt means to be adjusted relative to the main body.
11. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 9 of claim 10, wherein the arm is arranged to hinge toward the dish engagement means.
12. A satellite dish mount as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a holder that is attachable to a satellite dish, said holder comprising a magnet, wherein the aim comprises a magnet that is arranged to attract the magnet of the holder so that, when a satellite dish is attached to the dish engagement means and the holder is attached to the dish, the arm may be hinged toward the dish engagement means and, hence, the dish and held in place due to the attractive force between the magnet on the arm and the magnet on the holder.
13. A satellite dish mount as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support comprises a cavity for an integrated satellite locating device.
14. A satellite dish mount as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15. A satellite dish assembly comprising a satellite dish mount as claimed in any preceding claim, a stand to which the satellite dish mount may be attached and a satellite dish which is attachable to the mount.
16. A satellite dish assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the mount is arranged such that, when it is attached to the stand and a satellite dish is attached to the mount, the satellite dish is directed in the same general dircction as a chosen element of the stand.
17. A satellite dish assembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the chosen element comprises a visual indicator.