Back to results
US 5,293,174 AGranted
Vehicle antenna
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorsJerzy J. Kropielnicki, James D. Last, Brian Easter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorsJerzy J. Kropielnicki, James D. Last, Brian Easter
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to an antenna for use on a motor vehicle, particularly for cellular radio communication. The antenna comprises an elongate conductor applied to the surface of a vehicle window, the length of the antenna elongate conductor being a minor portion of the length of any peripheral side or edge of the vehicle window. A ground plane is provided along the top edge of the vehicle window, and the top end of the conductor antenna is grounded by virtue of its close proximity to the ground plane.
A vehicle window having a plurality of peripheral edges comprising a top edge, a bottom edge and two side edges, and an antenna for use with radio apparatus, said antenna comprising in combination an elongate conductor, applied to one surface of said window, and a separate conductive strip also applied to said surface of the said window and defining a ground plane for the said antenna, the longer side of said conductive strip extending along and contacting one of said peripheral edges to provide said ground plane, the length of said longer side of the said conductive strip extending along and contacting said one of said peripheral edges to provide the said ground plane being greater than half the wavelength of the central frequency of the frequency band to which said radio apparatus is tuned, said elongate conductor having terminal means at its one end and located adjacent to the said strip and separated from said strip by a narrow gap defined between said terminal means and the said strip, and the other end of the said elongate conductor projecting away from said strip, the length of said elongate conductor being a minor proportion of the length of any of said peripheral edges.
A vehicle window having a plurality of peripheral edges comprising a top edge, a bottom edge and two side edges, and an antenna for use with radio apparatus, said antenna comprising in combination an elongate conductor applied to one surface of said window, the dimensions of said elongate conductor being precisely defined for the said antenna to be resonant at the mid-band frequency in the frequency band 890-960 MHz, and a separate conductive strip applied to said surface of the said window and defining a ground plane for the said antenna, the length of the longer side of said separate conductive strip providing said ground plane being greater than half the wavelength of the central frequency of the frequency band to which said radio apparatus is tuned and the longer side of the said separate conductive strip extending along and contacting one of said plurality of peripheral edges to provide the said ground plane, said elongate conductor having terminal means at its one end and located adjacent to the said strip and separated from said strip by a narrow gap defined between said terminal means and the said strip, and the other end of the said elongate conductor projecting away from said strip, the length of said elongate conductor being a minor portion of the length of any of said peripheral edges and the whole of said antenna being capable of being used as an antenna for radio reception and transmission in said frequency band 890-960 MHz.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Supports; Mounting means: for mounting on windscreens
Antennas, i.e. radio aerials
Term ended 8 Mar 2011 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
This invention relates to an antenna for use on a motor vehicle, particularly for cellular radio.
It is well known to use the conductors of heated windows of motor vehicles as radio receiving and transmitting antennas.
Advantageously, such antennas do not project outside the vehicle and are not therefore susceptible to inadvertent damage or vandalization. Also, mounting holes in the vehicle bodywork can be avoided. Efficient reception can be achieved with such antennas on the usual AM and FM broadcast bands, and efficient transmission can be achieved in the 4 m to 2 m VHF mobile radio band, if necessary with the aid of matching and tuning circuitry.
The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of one form of a window according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a detail of the window.
The window is a rear window of a motor car, although it is to be understood that the invention can be applied to any suitable window of any suitable vehicle.
The window comprises a glass pane 1 which is generally rectangular or trapezoidal and has top and bottom long edges 2, 3 which extend at least substantially horizontally, and two short upright side edges 4, 5. The pane 1 may be flat or curved and lies in a plane (or is curved relative to a plane) which is substantially vertical or inclined to the vertical, as is conventional. The pane 1 fits within an opening in a metal body of the vehicle and is sealed relative to the periphery of the opening with a sealing gasket formed from rubber or similar material.
The pane 1 incorporates a heater (demister) which comprises a series of parallel, horizontal wires 6 running between upright busbars 7, 8, such wires and bars being incorporated in the inner surface of the glass pane or applied thereto e.g. as narrow, flat, printed, conductive strips. The bus bars 7, 8 are connected to the usual d.c. power supply of the motor car via an operating switch. Thus, one busbar 7 is connected to earth (i.e. the car body), and the other busbar 8 is connected by a lead to positive power supply via an operating switch which may be located for example on the car dashboard.