US2565661A - Radio antenna system - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 28, 1951 s. L lDz 2,565,661

RADIO ANTENNA SYSTEM Filed March 14, 1949 2 Sheets-Shee l 111111111@wir Fl ..5 l g /40 SIDNEY LIDZ ma-ma ATTO R N EY S. LIDZ RADIO ANTENNA SYSTEM Aug. 28, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1949 INVENTGR SIDNEY LIDZ MH @W L ATTORNEY patented ug. 2K8, 51

Sidney Lidz, New York, N. Y., assignor to Tele- Tone Radio Corporation, a corporation of New York Application March 14, 1949,` Serial No. 81,243

This invention relates `to radio antennas for portable and home receivers, and more specifically, to television antennas, especially those of the dipole type. y

The antennas now existing on the market,for instance, those of the telescopic type, are expensive and cumbersome. They impede portability and are not as easily operative as desirable.

One of the objects of this invention is an antennaior antenna system which in its operative condition takes a minimum of space, and which can be easily made operative with a high degree of adj ustability to different conditions. The novel antenna system is also electrically extremely effective, While relatively inexpensive in manufacture and assembly. l v

Another object ofthe invention is an antenna system which may be adapted to any type of re-l ceiver with a minimum of changes or inconvenience, if any, to either antenna or receiver, and which also may have any desired number of elements, dependent upon the` requirements of the receiver. f v' A further object of the invention is a home and portable receiver including such antenna or antenna system, and which inits operative state, has no protruding or projecting parts, all the an-v tenna members being hidden in the receiver housing, yet consuming therein a minimum4 of space and being ready at any time forl operation.

Still another object of the invention is a home or portable receiver in which the antenna or antenna system in its operating position may be readily adjustable to any kdesired angle or Wave lengthv of reception, while not impeding a rapid assembly or disassembly. n.

An additional object of the invention is a home or portable receiver wherein `the antenna or antenna. system, in spite of its facility in assembly or disassembly, permits ready coupling with other elements of the receiver, such as the tuning unit. Thus length and/or angle or position of the an-` tenna may be varied simultaneously from a distance, and preferably synchronously, with the operation of the tuning unit. ,i s l More specifically, the invention provides an antenna or antenna system in the form of an elastic iiexible tape or tapes, such as are used as measuring tapes, which, in their` non-operative state, form a coil of the spirall type, and in their operative state, form longitudinal conductors capable of more or less freely expanding. into space.

Another specic object of theinvention is to `support'. at least twov such yelastic exible tapes tive condition, is preferably completely hiddenv just below the ytype of the receiver cabinet or housing, and'which in its operative condition, permits the'extension into space of the tapes into i a positionprojecting from the receiver; in this position, and` in the `case of two tapes, these' tapes are arranged to form an upwardly open angle which has its apex at or nearthe top, above or within'the cabinet.. f

A further specific object of the invention is to increase the self-supporting properties of the tape or tapes in their operative condition, without reducing their power to recoil by themselves, by dimensioninga cross-section of such tape with a certain width` and curvature which cooperates with a desired length or lengths and the inherent strength and elasticity, so `as to permit self-'support in space for a suiiicient maximum length of say, 40 inches. Still another object of the invention is the selection of the proper material for the tape, which may bemade of steel or plastic, just as a measuring tape lismade of such material, and may be m'ade Vconductive by spraying or plating, or may be' entirely made of suitable elastic flexible and conductive material 'such as Phosphor bronze.

"However, the invention is not limited to any type of material or dimension, because all these factors 'are' believed to be within the expert knowledge of'the engineer, once the principles set forth in this invention are properly understood and practically applied. These and other objects of the invention will be morefully understood from the accompanying drawings, ya description of which now follows.

vFig'. 1 shows schematically a television receiver incorporating,anantenna system of the dipole type, accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2v shows similarly schematically therantenna unit in Fig. 1 forming an independent part of the receiverfwhich may be raised or lowered over and below thetop of the cabinet, as desired, to permititsl placement into operativeor nonoperative position respectively, and simultaneously also, to facilitate angle adjustments when in operative position. 4 n

Figs. 3A, 3B show side and top Views respectively, the latter in section, of a lifting mechanism such as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a cross-section through the re, ceiver and. the antenna unit. The arrangement of the unit `represents a modiiication of Fig. l2 and permits,l angle adjustment ofthe antenna system without the necessity of raising and lowering the unit.

Fig. 4 also illustrates an example of a relative arrangement of two coils in which the antenna tapes are wound back when transport or inactivity is desired.

Fig. 5 shows an alternative relative arrangement of a` pair of coils.

Fig. 6 represents a modification of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 illustrates a circuit diagram for connecting an antenna system according to the invention, with the receiver proper.

Fig. 8 represents an alternative circuitdiagram.

Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B show respectively a single coil antenna and its attachment to a coil housing or a shaft supported therein.

Fig. 10 illustrates a coil having-an inner coil shaft coupled to a knob. This permits adjustment of the length of the antenna from the outside or any other point of the receiver, corresponding to different wave lengths or channels associated with the different antenna lengths.

Fig. 11 illustrates the gear mechanism coupling the shaft of an antenna coil to the shaft of a tuning unit of the continuous tuning type, to permit simultaneously with the tuning operation, the adjustment of the coil antenna for an appropriate wave length.

Fig. 12 indicates'a coil assembly mounted for rotation inside the cabinet, but operative from the outside thereof.

Fig. 13 shows a portable television receiver with a coil assembly mounted thereon in a predetermined position of the cabinet.

Fig. 14 gives a cross-section through an antenna tape having a plastic core spread witha conductive powder.

Fig. 15 illustrates a modification of Fig. 12. There is a coil housing supported on the top surface of the receiver slightly below thereof, and operative from above.

In Fig. 1, l represents a receiver cabinet, 2 is a coil unit arranged flush with the top of the cabinet I, and supported within cabinet I with tapes 3 and 4 extending therefromthroughslots 5 and 6. Slots`5 and 6 must be largeenough to permit, in addition, tapes/3 and 4 to support themselves freely at different lengths, which in turn causes the occurrence of'different opening angles 1. Although it is desirable and under certain conditions preferable that theantennas should extend freely into space, it is not indispensable for the purpose of the invention. It is possible to arrange support pointsat various'lengthsl of the antenna tapes when extended, without departing from the spirit ofrlthis'invention.

In non-operating condition, only the bent-out end portions 8, 9 of antenna'tapes 3, 4 are visible from the top of cabinet Slots 5, 6 may be covered by sliding plates I0. This is toprevent dust from collecting into lthe 'cabinet without impeding mobility of the antenna` tapes 3, 4 to assume any desired length or opening angle.

Tapes 3,` 4 are ordinary steel tapes'of about 5/8" width, of the type used in measuring tapes. Such tapes may also'be used with their customary housings, also made'of steel orgplasticgif necessary, which are not shown Yin Fig.v 1.

Tapes 3, 4A are made conductive by an appropriate metal spray or plating well-known in the art, and therefore neither illustratednor described in the drawings.

' Fig. 2 representsan elaboration or modification of Fig. 1, in thata coil-unit I4 israrranged to be lifted out ofcabinet I5, to permit the tapes I6, to be adjusted to any desired direction, in accordance with the angle of reception provided for a particular station or channel.

Such a lifting mechanism is schematically illustrated in Figs. 3A and 3B in elevation and section respectively. 'There the unit I5 is supported on a D-shaped shaft I8, provided along its fiat portion with a series of semi-globular recesses I9. A bracket attached to a vertical wall 2| of the receiver is provided with an opening 22 for receiving a anged sleeve 23 rotatably fitting therein.

Sleeve 23 has a central opening 24 adapted to receive D-shaft |8. Sleeve 23 is also provided lwith a cross-opening 25 adapted to receive in the order mentioned steel ball 26, coil spring 2`| and closing screw 28. In this way,

ball' 26 may be held by the spring pressed against the iiat portion of D-shaft I8 ready to fall into one of the recesses I9, thereby fixing the longitudinal position of D-shaft I8, and thereby the vertical position of unit |5. This will occur as soon as coil unit |5,together with shaft I8 are lifted above the top surface of the receiver cabinet to a desired height.

In this elevated and longitudinally fixed position of shaft I8, the latter, together with coil unit I5, remains still Vrotatable together with sleeve 23 and in opening 22 of bracket 20.

Thus, the directional position of the tape antennas when in operative condition, 4may be adjusted to any desired angle of reception.

Fig. 4 exemplifies the manner in which the coils of a pair of antenna tapes 29, 3E] are arranged inside a supporting box 3|. The housings 32, 33 for the coils are attached to opposite side walls of box 3| in a manner not-shown and irrelevant for the present explanation. The coils'are arranged in yparallel planes but sideways` displaced with respect to eachother so asv-to permit tapes 29, 3U to cross without touching each other.

Otherwise, Fig. 4 represents a modification of Figs. 1 and 2 in that the top-wall 34 of box 3| is not square shaped but roundtting into a corresponding round opening which is recessed at the edgeV as shown in the drawing, in top wallv 35 of receiver. Inthis way, box 3| and the associated antenna tapesl 29, 30, maybe rotated at anydesired angle -of reception, for example, by turning linob 36v attachedtoy the top wall 34 of box 3|. Such rotation may be achieved without involving any lifting of box-3|.

yFig. 5 schematically"illustrates'a modication of the coil arrangement of Fig. 4. Thev coils yor coil housings 31,38 are mounted, insulated from each other by -an insulating ydiscSS with which they form together a singleunit Vflatly arranged side byside in parallel planes.

Housings3'|,^38 are vof conducting metal and the inner ends of the antenna tapesY are attached to housings 31,38 or to-shafts 40, V4| mounted in the vhousings so as to `have electrical contact therewith.

In this way, electrical connection between the receiver-proper andthe antenna unit may be achieved independently'from' the assembly of unit parts 31, as and 3s.

In Fig. 6 a Apair of coil housings42, 43 are mounted in electrical contact with each other for a circuit where it is'desired to have the inner ends of the tapes permanently interconnected.

Fig. 'l shows a circuit diagram in which the innerends of tape antennas '44,* 45A are insulated from each other and also connected to the terminals of the primary 46 of a transformer 4l. The secondary 48 of transformer 41, at one terminal thereof, at 49, is grounded, and atthe other terminal thereof, at 50, is connected to the inner conductor 5| of a transmission line, the outer conductor 52 of which is also grounded.

Fig. 8 represents another circuit diagram in which the inner ends of a pair of antenna tapes 53, 54 are electrically interconnected at 55, and also grounded.

Antenna 54 at a distance from point 55 of about one-third of its length, is connected at point 56, to the inner conductor 51 of a transmission line. The outer conductor 58 in this line is grounded.

Figs. 9A and 9B illustrate a coil housing 59 made of metal or plastic with the inner end 60 of tape 6| connected at 62 to a flat spring 63 which in turn is attached to shaft 64 mounted in housing 59.

If necessary, spring 63 may be omitted and the end 60 of tape 6| directly attached to shaft 64 in housing 59. Then only the springiness inherent in the tape is used to effect or faciiltate automatic recoil of tape 6|.

Tape 6| may be printed or engraved appropriately to indicate wave length, station, channel or any other reference to the function of the antenna at a predetermined length.

Also, if necessary, housing and tape may be provided with any other shape, dimensions, construction or material without exceeding the scope of this invention.

Fig. 10 shows a coil housing 65 coupled over shaft 66 and transmission gears 61, 68, to a turning knob 69. This is to permit adjustment of the antenna length by turning a knob 0r a similar member which may be attached outside of the receiver or at any other point distant from the coil. A corresponding stationary scale may be provided cooperating with knob 69 to indicate the position of the knob or length of the antenna tape, extending from housing 65, or corresponding channel or station, or any other identication marks.

Any type of transmission may be inserted between shaft 66 and knob 69, without exceeding the scope of this invention.

It is apparent that not only one coil but two or more coils may be attached to the gear or any transmission mechanism to permit simultaneous and equal tape extension within the framework of this invention.

Fig. 11 indicates schematically the shafts 10, 1| of two antenna tape coils (not shown) Shaft 12 carrying knob 13 is coupled to shafts 10, 1| over gears 14, 15, 16, 11; thus knob 13 will turn the coils attached to 10, 1| in opposite directions, thus permitting through gears 14-11 simultaneous and equal extension into space of the tapes associated with the two coils (not shown). Gear 11 is also coupled over an additional gear 18 to shaft 19 of a tuner unit or to any other shaft coupled with such tuner unit.

'I'hus it becomes possible from knob 13 to control not only the length of the two coil tapes, but also the tuning position of the receiver.

By appropriate dimensioning of gears 14--18 or any other suitable transmission mechanism of the linear and non-linear type, the length of the antenna tapes may be brought substantially to correspond with the tuning position required for such antenna length, thus permitting synchronism between tuning positions and antenna length adjustments.

Fig. 12 shows a pair of square-shaped coil housings 80, 80 attached to opposite sides of a comceiver and held in place by a ring plate 81 attached vto the inside of top wall 86. There is also a flanged extension 88 on the bottom side of plate 8| which feeds into a corresponding opening of bracket 89 attached to side wall 90 of the receiver. This extension 88 permits guidance of unit 19, 80, 9|, while it is rotated by knob 83.

YTapes 9|, 92 when in operative position extend through appropriately dimensioned radial slots in disc 85, which permits simultaneous rotation of the two tapes without lifting the unit.

In non-operative position, the coil unit is practically flush with or covered by the top surface 86 of the receiver.

Figure 13 shows portable or home receiver 93 with the coil schematically indicated at disc 94 with knob 95 projecting therefrom. In the arrangement shown, the unit is arranged in the left back corner of the top surface 94 of receiver 93. In this arrangement it has been found advisable for minimum space requirements and ready portability to arrange television tube 96 j,immediately above the tuning unit 91 indicated by dotted lines. Loudspeaker 98 is arranged on o1' near one of the inclined side walls, preferably side wall 99, and preferably the right one, as shown, which give the receiver a pyramidal shape.

Fig. 14 shows schematically a tape in cross-sections with a plastic, preferably Bakelite base |00, sprayed or plated with conductive powder 0|. The curvature of the tape serves to enhance its self-supporting properties. Instead of or in addition to curvature, a central rib or a groove may be provided to increase such support.

Instead of the arrangement shown, metal may be incorporated inside the plastic tape in the form of metal strip or metallised paper, without exceeding the scope of this invention.

Fig. 15 s'hows a modification of Fig. 12 in that the holding plate |03 of the coil unit (80 in Fig. 12) is shown upheld only by deck plate |04. There is no rotational mounting inside the receiver.

A number of screws |05V are provided circumferentially arranged on the bottom side of disc |04 and provided with sleeves |05, which form guides cooperating with the inner edge of the ring plate |06 attached to the inside of top wall |01.

Thus the entire unit may be suspended on a single disc shaped plate |04 without additional guidance except a sliding action between sleeves |05 bracket and ring plate |06. Thus construction and assembly of the coil unit may be simplifled for certain conditions.

It is of course possible to design any sort and type of coil unit and unit support in accordance with the invention and for the purpose of its application, without exceeding the scope of this invention.

For example, instead of linearly extending into space, the tape may be in the form of a loop, which is either open in the form of an inverted U or closed, starting from one point near the top of the cabinet and returning to a point near that starting point. There also may be two loops of this type extending `in :opposite ,directions form-ing; adjacent yinverted 4U s fora cluster-:like loop structure. fAll these modifications; arewithin the scope of this invention.

Another example ,of `modifying the ,invention as described and illustrated, consists in `providing a curvature in the tape which isopposite to ythe curvature shown in Fig.,9A. ,IngFig. '9A at :|08, tape BI is shown to' be curved concavely with respect to the centre G4 of coil housingjES. While this is the usual way of curving tapes available on the market, such arrangement `hasjthe disadvantage that the tape or tapes as shown, for example, Yin Figs. 4 and 5 emerge from their associated coils at thebottom of the coil housing.

In a modication of the curvature as shown in Fig. 9A, in dotted lines at |99, tape 6| is curved convexlywith respect to the centre 64 of coil housing 59. This'makes itpossible, as shown in Fig. 12, to provide tapes emerging from the `tops of thefassociated housings and to arrangethese housings 80, 80 (prime) co-axially-With a minimum of space requirements, while at the Ysame time providing free extensioninto space over a sucient length.

In the case of convex'curvatures it has been particularly Vadvisable to provide -an additional spring as shown in Fig. 9B, at 63, to facilitate the re-winding of the coil tape.

What I claim is:

1. In a television apparatus, a cabinet and an antenna system supported by said cabinet, said system comprising a pair of conductors each hav- 8 rotatableonsaidcabinet to permit rotation of the conductors `independent from the Alongitudinal positiomof said conductors.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said coils aire supported as a unit arranged before operation .below the` surface of the cabinet, an opening being provided in said surface and means raising the unit for operation above the surface through said opening.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the coils are supported as a unit substantially below thesurface ofthe cabinet, the top of said unit being flush with the top of the cabinet,.and having ,openings permitting the conductors to eX- tend therethrough, saidunit being supported rotatable onsaidcabinet to permit rotation of the conductors independent from the longitudinal position of the conductors, said conductors being rotatable from theoutside of the cabinet.

4. Television Aapparatus according to claim. 1 wherein the two conductors are attached to axes which are mechanically coupled to each other and wherein there is a tuner mechanically coupled to said Yaxes so as to permit length of antenna'and tuning position to be coordinated.

SIDNEY LIDZ.

REFERENCES VCITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,626,803 .Fishback May 3, 1927 1,666,480 Zillger Apr. 17, 1928 2,157,278 Blackmore May 9, 1939 2,180,398 Chapman Nov. 21, 1939 .2,207,084 Bowers July 9, 1940 2,259,628 Fener Oct. 21, 1941 2,276,935 `Como Mar. 17, 194 2,283,524 White May 19, 1942 2,321,556 .Raskhodo June 8, 1943 2,521,798 Leonard Sept. 12, 1950

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