JP2003017916A - On-vehicle antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle antenna that does not impair the design of a vehicle and prevents antenna elements from being broken. SOLUTION: A recessed antenna container 2 is formed to a roof 1, and an antenna 10 is contained in the antenna container 2. A containing cover 4 being a component of a part of the roof 1 covers the antenna container 2. Thus, the on-vehicle antenna having no part projecting toward the outside of the vehicle body is obtained to prevent the antenna element from being broken without impairing the design of the vehicle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted antenna that does not have a portion protruding from the vehicle to the outside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, an antenna mounted on a trunk lid or a roof has been known as an antenna mounted on a vehicle. The roof antenna attached to the roof can be a suitable antenna as a vehicle-mounted antenna because the antenna is located at a high place and the roof can be used as a ground plane. Also,
In order to prevent the antenna from easily breaking when the antenna comes into contact with an obstacle during driving and breaks, or when the vehicle is parked, the in-vehicle antenna attached to the vehicle body is not damaged. It has a removable structure.

An example of a conventional vehicle-mounted antenna mounted on a roof is shown in FIG.
Is an antenna unit 10 in which a helical antenna is housed.
1 and an antenna base 102 to which the antenna unit 101 is detachably attached. A resin antenna cover is attached to the antenna portion 101 to form a flexible antenna element. A rubber pad 103 for watertightly attaching to the vehicle body is fitted on the lower surface of the antenna base 102.
A plurality of mounting bolts 104 extend from a base metal fitting (not shown) provided on the lower surface of 2. Further, a coaxial cable 105 for signal transmission introduced into the vehicle body is led out from the base metal fitting. Such a vehicle-mounted antenna 100 is fixed to a mounting hole provided in, for example, a roof of a vehicle body by screwing a mounting nut on the mounting bolt 104.

[0004]

A conventional antenna mounted on a roof, a trunk or the like always has an antenna element protruding from the roof or the trunk. For this reason, there is a problem that the car design may be impaired and may not be accepted by the automobile manufacturer or the user. Also, if the antenna element protrudes from the roof or trunk, it may break due to collision with an obstacle while driving, or the rotating brush of the car wash machine may collide when washing the vehicle, or the garage may There is a problem that the antenna element may be damaged due to contact with the ceiling or the like. In this case, if the antenna element can be removed, it is possible to prevent the antenna element from being broken each time the car is washed or put in the garage, but it is troublesome to remove it when the car is washed or put in the garage. However, even if the antenna element can be removed, the breakage could not always be prevented.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle-mounted antenna that does not require an antenna element protruding from a roof or a trunk, does not impair the design of the vehicle, and can prevent the antenna from being damaged.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention is a vehicle-mounted antenna that is mounted on a vehicle without protruding from the vehicle, and is formed in a concave shape on the vehicle. While closing the antenna part to be stored in the antenna storage part and the antenna storage part,
The vehicle has a radio wave transmitting storage lid that is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the vehicle.

Further, in the vehicle-mounted antenna according to the present invention, the antenna section may be composed of a loop element formed on an insulating antenna substrate. Further, in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention, the antenna section may include a strip conductor formed on an insulating antenna substrate and a ground plane formed on the back surface of the antenna substrate. Furthermore, in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention, the antenna unit is
It may be composed of a patch-shaped conductor formed on an insulating antenna substrate and a ground plane formed on the back surface of the antenna substrate. Furthermore, in the vehicle-mounted antenna according to the present invention, the antenna unit has an inverted F-shape.
It may be a type antenna.

According to the present invention as described above, the antenna portion is housed in the concave antenna housing portion formed on the roof or trunk of the vehicle, and the antenna housing portion is closed by the housing lid. No longer sticks out of the vehicle. Therefore, the design of the vehicle is not damaged, and the antenna can be prevented from being broken. Further, the antenna housing portion can be an antenna such as a mobile phone band antenna, an AM / FM band antenna, a GPS antenna, an antenna for a keyless entry, and the like, which can be miniaturized, a loop element, a strip antenna, a patch antenna. , An inverted F-type antenna can be stored.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an embodiment of an in-vehicle antenna of the present invention. However, FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the configuration of a roof to which the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention is attached, and FIG. 1B shows an embodiment of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention attached to the roof. FIG. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in these drawings is housed in an antenna housing 2 formed of a cylindrical recess formed in a roof 1 of a vehicle. The antenna storage portion 2 is formed by embedding a cylindrical antenna storage box 5 whose bottom surface is closed in the roof 1. However, instead of embedding the antenna storage box 5, a cylindrical recess may be formed in the roof 1.

A part of the lower surface of the antenna storage box 5 is
Furthermore, a small recess is formed protruding into the vehicle body,
The connector 3 to which the antenna unit 10 is connected is provided in this recess.
Is provided. From the connector 3, a signal cable 6 for connecting a device provided in the vehicle body and the antenna unit 10 is led out. The antenna storage box 5
It is a box for creating a space for the antenna housing portion 2 that houses the antenna portion 10. It is preferable that the box is a ground plane of the antenna portion 10 by processing and forming a metal plate. However, when the antenna unit 10 includes a ground plane, the antenna storage box 5 may be a synthetic resin molded product. The antenna unit 10 is a mobile phone band antenna, an AM / FM band antenna or a GP.
The antenna 11 is composed of part or all of an antenna such as an S antenna and a keyless entry antenna, and a plug 11 that can be fitted to the connector 3 is provided under the antenna portion 10.
Is provided. That is, when the antenna unit 10 is stored in the antenna storage unit 2, the plug 11 of the antenna unit 10 is fitted into the connector 3 to be stored.

The antenna housing box 5 is closed by the housing lid 4 after the antenna unit 10 is housed in the antenna housing unit 2. The storage lid 4 is attached by being fitted into the roof 1, and at this time, a waterproof seal or an O-ring is provided between the storage lid 4 and the roof 1 to form a waterproof structure. Further, the shape of the storage lid 4 is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the roof 1 so as to form a part of the roof 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent the design of the vehicle from being impaired. Also, the antenna storage box 5
The antenna unit 10 housed inside is preferably a loop element formed on the substrate excluding the AM / FM band antenna, a strip antenna, a patch antenna, or an antenna that can be miniaturized such as an inverted F-type antenna. Also, AM /
Since the FM band antenna has a long wavelength, it is preferable to use an antenna whose length is shortened by a coil or a capacitor.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a structural example of another embodiment of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention. However, FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a configuration of a roof to which the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention is attached, and FIG. 2B shows an embodiment of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention attached to the roof. FIG. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in these drawings is housed in an antenna housing 22 which is a rectangular parallelepiped recess formed in the roof 1 of the vehicle. The antenna storage portion 22 is formed by embedding a rectangular parallelepiped antenna storage box 25 whose bottom surface is closed in the roof 1. However, instead of embedding the antenna storage box 25, a rectangular parallelepiped recess may be formed in the roof 1.

A part of the lower surface of the antenna storage box 25 further projects into the vehicle body to form a small recess, and a connector 23 to which the antenna unit 20 is connected is provided in the recess. From the connector 23, a signal cable 26 for connecting a device provided inside the vehicle body and the antenna unit 20 is led out. The antenna housing box 25 is a box for creating a space for housing the antenna unit 20, and is preferably formed as a ground plane of the antenna unit 20 by processing a metal plate. However, when the antenna unit 20 includes a ground plane, the antenna storage box 25 may be a synthetic resin molded product. The antenna unit 20 is composed of a part or all of antennas such as a mobile phone band antenna, an AM / FM band antenna, a GPS antenna, and a keyless entry antenna. The connector 3 is fitted to the lower portion of the antenna unit 20. A pluggable plug 21 is provided. That is, when the antenna unit 20 is stored in the antenna storage unit 22, the plug 2 of the antenna unit 20 is
The connector 1 is stored by fitting it into the connector 23.

The antenna storage box 25 is closed by the storage lid 24 after the antenna section 20 is stored in the antenna storage section 22. The storage lid 24 is attached by being fitted to the roof 1, and at this time, the storage lid 24
A waterproof seal or an O-ring is provided between the roof and the roof 1 to form a waterproof structure. Further, the shape of the storage lid 24 is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the roof 1 so as to form a part of the roof 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent the design of the vehicle from being impaired. Further, the antenna unit 20 housed in the antenna housing box 25 is AM /
A loop element formed on the substrate excluding the FM band antenna, a strip antenna, a patch antenna, an inverted F antenna, or the like that can be downsized is preferable.
Further, since the AM / FM band antenna has a long wavelength, it is preferable to use an antenna whose length is shortened by a coil or a capacitor.

Here, the antenna unit 1 is formed by using a loop element.
0 and the antenna unit 10 when the antenna unit 20 is configured
The structure of the antenna unit 20 is shown in FIG. Figure 3 (a)
Indicates a configuration of an antenna unit 10 capable of receiving circularly polarized waves, which can be used as an antenna of a mobile phone band, a GPS antenna, an antenna for keyless entry, and the like. Since the antenna storage box 5 has a cylindrical shape, A circular loop element 10b is formed on the antenna substrate 10a. A plug 21 is provided at the end of the loop element 10b.
Is provided. 3B shows a configuration of an antenna unit 20 capable of receiving circularly polarized waves that can be used for a GPS antenna, an antenna for keyless entry, etc., and is rectangular because the antenna storage box 25 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A rectangular loop element 20b is formed on the doughnut-shaped antenna substrate 20a. A signal cable 26 is formed at the end of the loop element 20b. The loop elements 10 are provided on the antenna substrates 10a and 20a.
In addition to b and 20b, an amplifier circuit for amplifying the received signal may be incorporated. The power supply at this time may be wired from inside the vehicle body into the antenna storage boxes 5 and 25.

Next, a configuration example of an embodiment in which a strip antenna is used in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention is shown in a sectional view in FIG. 4, and a configuration example of the strip antenna is shown in FIG. The vehicle-mounted antenna of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 is adapted to be housed in an antenna housing portion 37 formed of a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped recess formed in the roof 1 of the vehicle. Antenna storage 37
Is formed by forming a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped recess in the roof 1.

A part of the lower surface of the antenna housing 37 further projects into the vehicle body to form a small recess, and the coaxial cable 36 is introduced into this recess. However,
You may make it provide the connector to which the antenna part 30 is connected in this recessed part. The antenna unit 30, which is a strip antenna, is housed in the antenna housing unit 37. FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the antenna unit 30 that is a strip antenna. The antenna unit 30 has a strip-shaped antenna element on the front surface of the antenna substrate 31 having the ground plane 33 formed on the entire back surface acting as a dielectric. 32 is formed. A feeding point 34 is provided at a predetermined position of the antenna element 32, and a core wire 36a of a coaxial cable 36 is connected to the feeding point 34. However, the illustrated antenna unit 30 is an antenna for linearly polarized waves, and when it is an antenna for circularly polarized waves, the antenna element 32 may be configured by a patch antenna including a perturbation element.

The antenna unit 30 having such a configuration is housed in the antenna housing unit 37, and the ground plane 33 of the antenna unit 30 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the antenna housing unit 37 and electrically grounded to the vehicle body. Has been done.
Further, the shield conductor 36b of the coaxial cable 36 is connected to the ground plane 33, and the core wire 36a of the coaxial cable 36 is connected to the feeding point of the antenna element 32 as shown in FIG. This antenna storage 37 is
After the antenna unit 30 is housed inside, it is closed by the housing lid 34. The storage lid 34 is attached by being fitted to the roof 1, and at this time, the storage lid 34 and the roof 1 are attached.
A waterproof seal and an O-ring are provided between and to form a waterproof structure. Further, the shape of the storage lid 34 is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the roof 1 so as to form a part of the roof 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent the design of the vehicle from being impaired. Note that the antenna substrate 31 may be incorporated with an amplifier circuit that amplifies the received signal. The power supply at this time is from the inside of the car
Just wire inside. Further, in FIGS. 4 and 5, the coaxial cable 36 is directly led out from the antenna unit 30, but the antenna is attached to the connector provided in the lower portion of the antenna housing unit 37 similarly to the vehicle-mounted antenna shown in FIG. 1 or 2. The plug provided on the portion 30 may be fitted.

Next, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a structural example of an embodiment in which an inverted F-type antenna capable of receiving horizontally polarized waves and vertically polarized waves is used in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.
FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the inverted F-type antenna. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6 is housed in an antenna housing portion 37 which is formed in a roof 1 of a vehicle and which is formed of a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped recess. The antenna housing portion 37 is formed by forming a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped recess in the roof 1.

A part of the lower surface of the antenna housing 37 further projects into the vehicle body to form a small recess, and the coaxial cable 36 is introduced into this recess. However,
A connector to which the inverted F-type antenna 40 is connected may be provided in this recess. An inverted F-type antenna 40 is stored in the antenna storage portion 37. The configuration of the inverted F-type antenna 40 is shown in FIG. 7. The inverted F-type antenna 40 includes a planar conductor plate that acts as a ground plane 41, and
A planar radiation conductor plate 43 arranged substantially parallel to the ground plane 41, and a connection conductor plate arranged substantially orthogonal to the ground plane 41 that connects a part of one side of the radiation conductor plate 43 to the ground plane 41. And 44. A feeding point 42 is provided at a predetermined position of the radiation conductor plate 43, and the core wire 36a of the coaxial cable 36 is connected to the feeding point 42.

The inverted F-type antenna 40 having such a structure is housed in the antenna housing portion 37, and the ground plane 41 of the inverted F-shaped antenna 40 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the antenna housing portion 37 and electrically connected to the vehicle body. It is designed to be grounded. The shield conductor 36b of the coaxial cable 36 is connected to the ground plane 41, and the coaxial cable 3
The core wire 36a of 6 is connected to the feeding point 42 of the radiation conductor plate 43 as shown in the drawing. This antenna storage 37 is
After the inverted F-type antenna 40 is stored inside, the storage lid 34
Is blocked by. The storage lid 34 is attached by being fitted to the roof 1, and at this time, a waterproof seal or an O-ring is provided between the storage lid 34 and the roof 1 to form a waterproof structure. Further, the shape of the storage lid 34 is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the roof 1 so as to form a part of the roof 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent the design of the vehicle from being impaired. The antenna storage 37
An amplifier circuit for amplifying the received signal may be incorporated therein. The power supply at this time may be wired from inside the vehicle body into the antenna housing portion 37. Further, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the coaxial cable 36 is directly led out from the antenna unit 40, but the antenna is attached to the connector provided in the lower portion of the antenna housing unit 37 similarly to the vehicle-mounted antenna shown in FIG. 1 or 2. The plug provided on the portion 40 may be fitted.

By the way, the storage lid 3 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
The peripheral edge of 4 projects inward in a ring shape, and this ring-shaped projecting portion is fitted into the upper portion of the peripheral side portion of the antenna housing portion 37. In this case, an engaging portion is provided in which the peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped protruding portion is inclined outward, and the engaging portion is engaged with the upper portion of the peripheral side portion of the antenna housing portion 37. Further, the shape of the engaging portion can be various known shapes, and the shape of the locking portion can be changed according to this shape. Further, an adhesive may be applied around the fitted storage lid 34 to provide a waterproof structure. Further, in each of the embodiments described above, when the magnet is provided on the lower surface of the antenna part and the antenna part is housed in the antenna housing part, the antenna part is fixed to the antenna housing part by being attracted by the magnet. May be.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the antenna portion is housed in the concave antenna housing portion formed on the roof or trunk of the vehicle, and the antenna housing portion is closed by the housing lid. The antenna protrudes out of the vehicle body. Further, in FIGS. 4 and 5, the coaxial cable is directly led out from the antenna unit 30, but like the vehicle-mounted antenna shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. The plug provided in the antenna unit 30 may be fitted to the connector provided in the lower portion. Disappears. Therefore, the design of the vehicle is not damaged, and the antenna can be prevented from being broken. Further, the antenna housing portion can be an antenna such as a mobile phone band antenna, an AM / FM band antenna, a GPS antenna, an antenna for a keyless entry, and the like, which can be miniaturized, a loop element, a strip antenna, a patch antenna. , An inverted F-type antenna can be stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of an in-vehicle antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the embodiment of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an antenna unit used in the embodiment of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment using a strip antenna in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a strip antenna in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment using an inverted F-type antenna in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an inverted F-type antenna in the vehicle-mounted antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional vehicle-mounted antenna.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 roof 2,22,37 Antenna storage 3,23 connector 4,24,34 storage lid 5,25 antenna storage box 6,26 signal cable 10, 20, 30 Antenna part 10a, 20a, 31 Antenna substrate 10b, 20b loop element 11,21 plug 32 antenna elements 33, 41 ground plane 35,42 feeding point 36 coaxial cable 36a core wire 36b shield conductor 40 inverted F type antenna 43 Radiation conductor plate 44 Connection conductor plate 100 car antenna 101 antenna 102 antenna base 103 rubber pad 104 mounting bolt 105 coaxial cable

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification Code FI Theme Coat (Reference) H01Q 13/08 H01Q 13/08

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An in-vehicle antenna that is mounted on a vehicle without protruding from the vehicle, the antenna section being housed in an antenna housing section formed in a concave shape in the vehicle, and the antenna housing section being closed. An in-vehicle antenna, comprising: a radio wave transparent storage lid that is substantially continuous with the curved shape of the vehicle. 2. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to claim 1, wherein the antenna section is composed of a loop element formed on an insulating antenna substrate. 3. The antenna section is composed of a strip conductor formed on an insulating antenna substrate and a ground plane formed on the back surface of the antenna substrate. In-vehicle antenna. 4. The antenna part is composed of a patch-shaped conductor formed on an insulating antenna substrate and a ground plane formed on the back surface of the antenna substrate. 1. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to 1. 5. The vehicle-mounted antenna according to claim 1, wherein the antenna section is an inverted F-type antenna.