US2447576A

US2447576A - Portable radio receiver

Info

Publication number: US2447576A
Application number: US526095A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gilbert E Gustafson
Original assignee: Zenith Radio Corp
Current assignee: Zenith Electronics LLC
Priority date: 1944-03-11
Filing date: 1944-03-11
Publication date: 1948-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 1965-08-24

Description

Aug. 24, 1948. G. E. GUSTAFSON PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVER Filed March 11, 1944 FIG. 3

INVENTOR GILBERT E. G usTAF soN b mm H .s ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1948 stars PGRTAB'LE RADIQ RECEIVER Gilbert ill. 'Gustafson, River Forest, 111., assignor to Illinois Zenith Radio Corporation, a corporation of Application March '11, 1944, Serial No. 526,095

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to radio apparatus, and particularly to such apparatus provided with a loop antenna arranged to be used with the apparatus either mounted on the apparatus or in positions remote from the apparatus.

Portable radio receivers have heretofore been provided with loop antennae which can be used either within the receiver case or housing, or in a 'locat-ion'remote from such case or housing, as, for example, on the window "of a railroad car or other vehicle. Such an antenna whenv used within the receiver case or housing is much 'aifectedby proximity to metal portions of the receiver and, if the receivercase or housing is made of metal, the an tenna is entirely useless when mounted inside of the housing.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a loop antenna mounted in connection with radio apparatus in new "and improved way, whereby it may be used either when fastened to the housing or at a position remote from the apparatus housing, and when fastened to the housing is substantially unaffected by metal parts of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved antenna mounting arrangement for such radio apparatus which is especially useful when the housing for the apparatus is constructed primarily of metal or conductive materials.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an improved antenna arrangement for radio apparatus which can be readily carried while the loop antenna and radio apparatus are in operation.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. This invention itself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by referenoe to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a radio receiver incorporating this invention and arranged for operation with a loop antenna mounted on the window of a metal railroad car;

Fig. 2 shows the same receiver closed up and in inoperative condition for carrying; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are 'elevational views of the rear side of the loop antenna, before and after being arranged for support as shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is an illustration of an operative element of the receiver of Figure 1.

Figure 6' is a partial cross-sectional view of. a. portion of the structure of Figure 4.

In Fig. 1, a radio receiver it having trapezoidalshaped ends as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is illustrated on the seat of a railroad car or automobile. A door H, which normally encloses the front of the receiver is illustrated in an open position, in which it lies in a vertical plane above the receiver iii. The front of the receiver ill, which is normally enclosed by the doorll, has extending therefrom control knobs l2 for the tuning of the receiver and the volume control and on-ofi switch combination, as well as the tuning dial l3, and is found in the apertured area it behind which the loud speaker is placed.

The door ii is formed of dielectric material, such as wood, fiber or plastic, audit is supported on the housing of the receiver ill by relatively long armed metal hinge members it, which extend substantially at right angles to the door M, the hinge members it each having one of its ends fastened to the normally upper portion (Fig. 2) of door l l and having its other end pivotally mounted on receiver ll). The hinge members l5 are each insulated from other conducting portions of the receiver l9, and are connected through leads iii to the radio frequency input terminals on the receiver chassis within the housing of receiver in. Within the door l l, the hinge members i 5 are respectively connected to suitable conductors and to two snap fastener members ll and i8 mounted on the inner side of the door ll. That is, the

snap fasteners ll and it are on that side of the door ll adjacent the control knob l2 when the door It is closed.

Snap fastener elements 3i! and 3E complementary to the snap fastener members ll and it on the door it are carried on one end of a relatively wide tape or web member l9 along the respective edges of which two insulated conductors extend. These two conductors are connected to such complementary snap fastener elements 3i! and 3! at the one end of the tape !9, and at the other end of the tape it those two conductors are respectively connected to snap fastening elements 29 and 2!, supported on that other end of the tape. The same distance lies between the snap fastening elements 2!} and 2B and between the snap fastening elements ll and i8, and likewise between the snap fastening elements 3% and 3| on the tape H3 complementary with the snap fastenrnembers H and E8. The snap fastening membrs ill and M on the end of the tape is remote from the receiver it! are, as may be best seen in Figs. '3 and 4, arranged to snap onto a pair of complementary

snap fastener members

22 and 23, on aloop antenna structure 24. The loop antenna structure 24 comprises a body of dielectricai insulating material upon, or preferably within, which a loop antenna is arranged with the ends of the looped conductor connected respectively to the

snap fastener elements

22 and 23. The body of the antenna structure 24 carries, in addition to the

snap fastener elements

22 and 23 which act as electrical terminals for the loop, supporting snap fastener elements 25 which are suitably spaced to fasten to complementary snap fastener elements 2E supported on the door ll of the receiver l0.

Suction cups 27, each having a snap fastener element complementary to the snap fastener element 25 on the loop antenna structure 24, may be snapped onto the loop antenna structure to support it upon any smooth dielectric surface such as the window 28 of a metal or shielded vehicle within which the receiver l is disposed.

When the receiver is so arranged, with the antenna structure 24 mounted by means of suction cup 21 on a window 28 and connected through the tape with the radio frequency terminals I! and 18 on the door H of the receiver ill, the receiver may be operated :by means of the knobs E2, the antenna .24 being positioned for good reception of radio frequency energy in the shielded structure.

When the receiver is in a different location Where it is not surrounded by conductive walls such as are usually encountered in vehicles, the ends of the tape is may be detached respectively from the antenna structure 24 and the radio frequency terminals I! and H! on the door I I, and the antenna structure 24 may be fastened on the inside of the door H by snapping together the cooperating

snap fastener elements

25 and 26, and the cooperating radio frequency terminals I7, I8, 22 and 23. The tape [9 may be stowed in a suitable place within the housing of the receiver 10.

When the loop antenna structure 24 is so supported on the inside of the door II, the receiver being in a position surrounded by conducting walls, the loop structure 24 is in a favorable position for the reception of radio frequency energy, since the door H is of dielectric or insulating material, and since the door carries the loop structure 24 at a substantial distance from any metal portion of the radio apparatus within the housing of the receiver Hi.

It may be desired to make the housing of the receiver in except door ll of light metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, and in that case the positioning of the antenna structure 24 upon the inside of the door H in its raised position is exceptionally desirable to maintain the antenna 24 away from any shielding and damping effect which is otherwise produced by the conductive metal housing of the receiver in on the loop antenna. If the housing of the receiver in is made of metal, and if the loop is mounted on or within that metal housing, the pickup of radio frequency energy would be so small as to be useless, and it is then highly desirable to mount the loop as described in accordance with the present invention.

When the loop antenna structure 24 is mounted in accordance with this invention on the door H, the only metal parts of the receiver In being those provided in connection with the radio apparatus carried within the housing of the receiver, the pickup of radio frequency energy by the loop structure 24 is at least twice that obtained when the loop is mounted on or within the housing of the receiver 18 in the normal fashion and relatively near the metal chassis of the receiver.

When the loop antenna structure 24 is mounted on the inside of the door II, as described, a handle 29 provided on the upper surface of the housing of the receiver 10 is readily accessible for the purpose of carrying the receiver with the lid II in the open position, so that the receiver may be thus carried while it is operating.

When it is desired to discontinue operation of the receiver, one of the knobs I2 is adjusted to deenergize the receiver and the door H is moved over the handle 29 and toward the front of the housing of the receiver l0 and downward to cover the knobs l2, where it may be locked in position by suitable locking means. By the provision of the long armed hinge members l5, which are pivoted on the housing of the receiver H] at points on an axis extending substantially through the handle 29, the door ll clears the handle 29 readily. That is, the hinge members I5 are sufficiently long that theyclear the upper surface of the housing of the receiver in by a distance such that the handle 29 may be provided of relatively large size for easy carrying of the receiver. This is so since the hinge members l5 are pivotally mounted on the receiver at a point substantially in the plane of the upper face of the receiver and at a point lying substantially midway between vertical substantially parallel faces of the receiver.

When it is desired to use the receiver Ill illustrated in Fig. 2 in its closed position, the door H is raised and pushed to its position shown in Fig. 1 back of the handle 29, where it is in stable equilibrium and where it lies in a substantially vertical plane a substantial distance behind the plane of the control panel including the knobs l2 and the tuning dial i3 and speaker located behind apertured area l4. With the door H in that position, the set may be operated by the knobs 42, so long as it is in a position where it is not surrounded by a conductive shielding wall such as in a train or automobile.

If the receiver in is to be used within an enclosure where some shielding is experienced, the loop structure 24 is unsnapped at the door H and the tape l9 removed from the place where it is stored within the receiver it. One end of the tape i 9 is snapped onto the snap fastener elements or radio frequency terminals l'l and ill on the door 5 l, and the other end of the tape is is snapped onto the snap fastening elements forming the electrical loop terminals on the loop structure 24. Suction cups 2? are removed from a position within the housing of receiver I0 wherein they are stowed, and they are snapped on the snap fastening elements 25 on the loop structure 24. The loop structure 24 is then fastened by means of the suction cup 2'! to a smooth surface such as the window 28, whereupon the radio receiver l0 may be made to operate by adjustment of the knobs l2.

It is to be noted that when the structure 24 is mounted on a surface such as the window 28 by means of a suction cup 21, the same side is presented to the view of an operator of the receiver H as is presented by the loop structure 24 when it is mounted on the door II. A suitably modest and attractive design is applied to that side of the loop structure 24, in keeping with the appearance of the remainder of the receiver Ill. On the other side of the loop structure 26, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and d, a more elaborate design of an advertising nature may be placed, that side being obsoured by the door I I when the loop 24 is mounted thereon, but being visible through the window 28 from outside the vehicle when the loop 24 is mounted on the window 28.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In radio apparatus comprising a case enclosing a radio circuit having two terminals and a door closing at least a portion of one side of said case, the combination of long arm hinge members permanently fixed substantially perpendicularly to one edge of said door and permanently secured pivotally on an adjacent side of said case about an axis lying substantially parallel to said one side of said case and substantially midway of said adjacent side of said case, a handle substantially centrally located on said adjacent side of said case, said door being arranged to open on said hing members away from said case a distance sufficient to move over said handle to a position on the other side of said handle from said one side of said case, a unitary loop antenna structure having snap fastening means connected in circuit therewith, snap fastening means complementary to said snap fastening means of said antenna structure arranged on that side of said door adjacent said case when said door is closed, means for connecting said snap fastening means of said door with said two terminals of the radio circuit through said hinge members, and a flexible two conductor transmission line having snap fastening means on the ends thereof respectively complementary to said snap fastening means on said antenna structure and said snap fastening means on said door, said line being detachably connected between said door and said antenna structure and providing connections through said snap fastening means, line, and hinge members between said antenna structure and said radio circuit terminals, said two first mentioned snap fastening means being arranged so that said antenna structure may be supported on said door and connected to said two terminals by cooperation between said two first mentioned snap fastening means when said line is detached from the door and antenna.

2. In radio apparatus comprising a case enclosing a radio circuit and a door closing at least a portion of one side of said case, the combination of long armed hinge members permanently fixed to said door and permanently secured pivotally adjacent another side of said case on a line spaced a substantial distance from said one side of said case, said door being arranged to open upon said hinge members away from said one side of said case and to move over said other side of said case to a position removed from one side of said case, an antenna, means for detachably securing said antenna on said door, said means comprising complementary snap-fastening means on said door and said antenna, means for connecting said antenna with said radio circuit through said securing means and said hinge members, means for electrically connecting said snap fastening means together whensaid antenna is detached from said door thereby to connect said antenna with said radio circuit, and means for quickly attachably and detachably securing said antenna on a surface spaced from said apparatus, the last means having snap fastening means complementary to said snap fastening means on said antenna thereby to secure said last securing means on said antenna after detachment of said antenna from said door.

GILBERT E. GUSTAFSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 783,003 Westerbeck Feb. 21, 1905 1,093,110 Christopher Apr. 14, 1914 1,640,370 Asplund Aug. 30, 1927 1,809,028 Fanarjian June 9, 1931 1,901,808 Hammer Mar. 14, 1933 2,202,930 Steiner June 4, 1940 2,255,897 Rebori Sept. 16, 1941 2,295,191 Adams Sept. 8, 1942 2,315,315 Cairnes Mar. 30, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 79,094 Sweden Nov. 28, 1933