Vehicle with a satellite dish mounting mechanism for deployably mounting a satellite dish to the vehicle and method for deployably mounting a satellite dish to a vehicle

A vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body having a top portion and a substantially vertical back surface facing generally rearwardly with respect to a forward traveling direction of said vehicle;
• and
• a satellite dish mounting mechanism for deployably mounting a satellite dish to said back surface of said vehicle body, said satellite dish mounting mechanism comprising:
• a base tube secured to the back surface of said vehicle body;
• a shaft telescopically mounted within said base tube, said shaft having a dish carrier portion adapted to carry a satellite dish, said shaft being telescopically mounted within said base tube so as to be movable between a first position wherein said dish carrier portion is adapted to position the satellite dish higher than said top portion of said vehicle body, and a second position wherein said dish carrier portion is adapted to position the satellite dish lower than said top portion of the vehicle body and is thereby protected by said vehicle body from exposure to wind generated by forward movement of said vehicle;
• a releasable locking device for selectively preventing telescopic extension and retraction of the shaft with respect to the base tube;
• and
• a rotational lock connected to the base tube for releasably preventing rotation of the base tube, said rotational lock being releasable to permit rotation of the base tube and thereby permit rotational alignment of the dish carrier portion with a desired satellite signal.

A vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body having a top portion and a substantially vertical back surface facing generally rearwardly with respect to a forward traveling direction of said vehicle;
• and
• a satellite dish mounting mechanism for deployably mounting a satellite dish to the back surface of the vehicle body, said mechanism comprising:
• a base tube secured to the back surface of said vehicle body;
• a shaft telescopically mounted within said base tube, said shaft having a satellite dish mounted near a distal end of the shaft, said shaft being telescopically mounted within said base tube so as to be movable between a first position wherein said mechanism is adapted to position the satellite dish high enough to receive a desired satellite signal in an unobstructed manner, and a second position wherein said mechanism is adapted to position the satellite dish lower than said top portion of the vehicle body so that the satellite dish is protected by said vehicle body from exposure to wind generated by forward movement of said vehicle;
• a releasable locking device for selectively preventing telescopic extension and retraction of the shaft with respect to the base tube;
• and
• a rotational lock connected to the base tube for releasably preventing rotation of the base tube, said rotational lock being releasable to permit rotation of the base tube and thereby permit rotational alignment of the satellite dish with the desired satellite signal.

A method for deployably mounting a satellite dish to a vehicle, said method comprising:

• attaching a base member to a substantially vertical surface of a vehicle facing generally rearwardly with respect to a forward traveling direction of the vehicle;
• operatively connecting a movable member to said base member so that said movable member is movable with respect to said base member in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of said base member;
• fixing a dish carrier portion onto said movable portion, said dish carrier portion being adapted to carry a satellite dish on said distal end of said shaft;
• and
• arranging said base member and said movable member so that said movable member is movable with respect to said base member between a first position wherein said dish carrier portion is adapted to position the satellite dish higher than a top portion of the vehicle, and a second position wherein said dish carrier portion is adapted to position the satellite dish lower than the top portion of the vehicle so that the satellite dish is protected by a portion of the vehicle from exposure to wind generated by forward movement of the vehicle.