Communications: radio wave antennas – Antennas – With vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-21
2001-03-20
Wong, Don (Department: 2821)
Communications: radio wave antennas
Antennas
With vehicle
C296S180100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06204820
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to antenna mounts for motor vehicles, and in particular antenna mounts for motor vehicles such as tractor trailers carrying air deflection or drag reduction equipment including roof fairings mounted to the cab of a vehicle, fairing shaped roofs, or fairing shaped raised roofs, to reduce air resistance during operation of the vehicle.
Roof fairings for motor vehicles, and in particular, tractor trailers, are generally known to the art, and are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,424; 4,919,472; 5,174,626; and 5,755,485. Roof fairings and other wind deflection apparatus are mounted to the roof of a cab of a tractor trailer truck for deflecting air over the front wall of a trailer being towed by the cab to reduce air resistance during operation of the tractor trailer. U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 249,783; 314,163; and 339,314 disclose additional designs for wind deflection apparatus mounted to, or defined on, the roof of a cab for a tractor trailer truck.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,062; 5,389,942; 5,402,134; and 5,410,325, generally disclose antennas used in conection with motor vehicles.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,931,809 and 4,370,658 disclose antennas carried on air deflection apparatus mounted to the roof of a cab of a tractor trailer truck.
Known antenna mounts carried by air deflection apparatus of motor vehicles, and in particular roof fairings mounted to the cabs of tractor trailer trucks, exhibit several disadvantages. In order to protect the antenna from the external environment and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, antennas have been mounted internally within the hollow volume of a roof fairing. However, by enclosing an antenna within the fairing, the fairing interferes with transmission and reception of radio signals. Additionally, mounting an antenna within a fairing restricts the manner in which the roof fairing is finished. For example, electro-static painting requires a conductive part such as aluminum or steel. Plastic and fiberglass parts require a conductive primer or gelcoat to compensate. However, conductive coatings adversely affect the transmission and reception of signals by an antenna enclosed under the fairing so that fairings which are intended to house an enclosed antenna cannot be efficiently painted by an electro-static process, but must be separately painted “off-line” by the truck manufacturer.
Known antennas mounted externally to roof fairings exhibit other disadvantages. These antennas extend above the top of the fairing and are subject to damage from overhead obstructions such as tree branches. Antennas which extend beyond the top of the fairing are subject to excessive stress and susceptible to damage during normal operation of the vehicle. Moreover, because a portion of the antenna extends above the top of the roof fairing, it adversely affects reduction of air resistance provided by the roof fairing during operation of the vehicle.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a device for mounting an antenna externally to air drag reduction apparatus for a motor vehicle, and in particular roof fairings mounted to the cab of a tractor trailer or roof fairings integrally formed as the roof or raised roof of the cab of a tractor trailer, overcoming the disadvantages of the known devices. In accordance with this primary objective, an antenna mount is affixed to the outer surface of a roof fairing, is mounted in an opening cut out from a roof fairing, or is integrally defined on the outer surface of a roof fairing, and is arranged and oriented relative to the roof fairing to optimize the efficiency of radio signal transmission and reception while reducing the disadvantages of known external antenna mounts. Therefore, the antenna mount in accordance with the present invention avoids the numerous disadvantages associated with internal antenna mounts enclosed within the hollow interior of a roof fairing, and optimizes the efficiency of an antenna mounted externally to a roof fairing or other drag reduction equipment carried by a motor vehicle. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present provides an improved antenna mount for motor vehicles, and in particular, tractor trailer trucks. The antenna mount is installed on air deflection equipment carried by the motor vehicle, and in particular, a fairing located above the cab portion of the motor vehicle. The antenna mount is installed on an external portion of the roof fairing by affixing it directly to a portion of the outer surface of the fairing, by installing it in an opening cut from the outer surface of the fairing, or by defining the roof mount integrally with a portion of the outer surface of the fairing during fabrication of the fairing. Preferably, the antenna mount is of a streamlined design to reduce aerodynamic drag which might be caused by the portion of the antenna mount extending beyond the outer surface of the roof fairing.
The antenna mount is oriented relative to the fairing such that the top of an antenna received in the antenna mount does not extend above the maximum height of the roof fairing. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the antenna mount is at least six inches below the maximum height of the fairing. Additionally, in the preferred embodiments of the invention, the antenna mount is installed on a roof fairing such that the plane of orientation of the antenna mount defines an angle relative to the plane of the roof of the rear trailer towed by the tractor trailer truck, does not exceed 12 degrees. Preferably, the antenna mount is disposed off-center and closer to the driver's side of the cab than the passenger's side of the cab so as to avoid damage to the antenna by overhead obstructions on the right side of the road, as for example tree branches extending into the roadway.
In the preferred embodiments of the invention, cowls and covers can be provided to protect the antenna installed in the antenna mount. The covers and cowls can be integrally defined with the roof fairing, or can be provided as separately removable components. Preferably the cover or cowl is designed to be streamlined to reduce any aerodynamic drag which might be caused by the antenna or the antenna mount extending beyond the outer surface of the fairing.
The present invention enables an antenna for a motor vehicle, particularly a satellite antenna, to be installed externally on air deflection equipment, particularly roof fairings, for motor vehicles thereby enhancing signal transmission and reception and avoiding other known disadvantages associated with antennas partially or completely enclosed internally within air deflection equipment on the motor vehicle. However, the antenna mount is positioned and oriented relative to the roof fairing and the motor vehicle so as to significantly reduce and minimize known disadvantages associated with externally mounted antennas. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the antenna is fixedly mounted in the antenna mount, thereby eliminating the use of moving parts or other complicated mechanical structures to reduce the overall cost of the antenna mount. Although the antenna mount in accordance with the present invention is particularly useful in connection with satellite antennas, it is also useful for other types of antennas employed for communications with motor vehicles, particularly tractor trailer trucks.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5961092 (1999-10-01), Coffield
Clinger James
Stone Mark P.
Wong Don
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