Positioning mechanism
AssigneeEchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
InventorsJason Matthew Fruh, Morgan Haden Kirby
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Antenna systems include adjustment mechanisms to adjust the position of dish antennas. The adjustment mechanism includes a clip, a bracket, and a cam mechanism. The clip is fixedly coupled to and projects outwardly from a mast. The bracket is pivotally coupled to the mast and is between the stationary clip and cam mechanism. The cam mechanism is pivotally coupled to the clip and positioned to rotate the bracket and the dish antenna as the cam mechanism rotates. The clip is made of a lightweight material to reduce the overall weight of the antenna system to enhance performance.
Claims17
A positioning system, comprising:
- a support member having an upper edge portion;
- and
- a positioning mechanism including
- a clip fixedly coupled to a section of the upper edge portion of the member, the clip protruding outwardly from the support member,
- a cam mechanism rotatably coupled to the clip, and
- a bracket rotatably coupled to the support member and coupled to the cam mechanism with a coupling that permits the bracket to rotate with respect to the support member about an axis of rotation as the cam mechanism rotates.
A positioning mechanism, comprising:
- an eccentric cam;
- a clip pivotally coupled to the eccentric cam and fixedly coupled to a portion of a support member;
- and
- a positionable member rotatably coupled to the support member and adapted to engage the eccentric cam, at least a portion of the positionable member being positioned beneath the clip such that the positionable member moves relative to the support member as the eccentric cam rotates.
A positioning apparatus, comprising:
- a bracket assembly including a support bracket and a movable bracket;
- a cam mechanism physically engaging the bracket assembly to move the movable bracket about a bracket axis to position a movable bracket with respect to the support bracket as the cam mechanism rotates about a cam axis of rotation;
- and
- a clip pivotally coupled to the cam mechanism and including a retainer adapted to receive and fixedly couple to the support bracket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.