Automobile Antenna

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to automobile antennas adapted to be mounted on the roof of an automobile and used, for example, for receiving television signals.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Different types of automobile antennas are known and generally they have the basic construction which includes an antenna body to which the antenna elements are attached and an antenna base which supports the antenna body. The antenna body is mounted with suction cups or magnets to the roof of the vehicle and the antenna body is detachably connected to the antenna base.

Under certain conditions, the projection of an antenna from the top of an automobile causes trouble as, for example, when the automobile is washed with an automatic car washing machine or when the automobile enters a garage having a low ceiling or door or when the automobile is to be covered with a suitable body cover as, for example, of plastic or fabric.

Conventional car antennas cannot be received within the antenna body and therefore the total height of the antenna is large. Thus, the antenna and antenna body comprise a substantial projection above the roof of the automobile. When the automobile is washed by an automatic washing machine or when the automobile enters a garage with low ceiling or a low garage door opening or when covered with a plastic or fabric covering it becomes necessary to remove the antenna structure from the top of the car which is inconvenient and time consuming.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile antenna in which the antenna body does not need to be removed from the automobile when the automobile is washed as, for example, with an automatic washing machine or when the automobile passes through a low opening as, for example, in a garage with a low ceiling or when the automobile is covered with a cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automobile antenna which is very safe in that it will not be easily dislodged from the vehicle.

According to the invention, an automobile antenna is mounted on the roof of the automobile and includes an antenna body formed with antenna receiving grooves and has means for mounting the antenna body on the roof of the automobile which are attached to the bottom of the antenna body and wherein a pair of rod shaped antennas ae rotatably attached to the antenna body such that the rod shaped antennas can be received in the antenna receiving grooves when in the stored position when the antenna is not being used and can be moved to the operating position wherein the antenna rods are extended from the grooves to a predetermined V-shape when in use and wherein locking means are provided for locking the rod shaped antennas in the grooves when in the stored positions and holding means for holding the rod shaped antennas in the operating position when the antenna is being used.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the automobile antenna of a first embodiment of the invention in the extended position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the car antenna of FIG. 1 with the antenna in the stored position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the antenna of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the antenna of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the automobile antenna of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a top cross-sectional view taken along the line of VI--VI from FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line VII--VII from FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line VIII--VIII in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the locking mechanism of the antenna of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of X--X from FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are enlarged cross-sectional views illustrating a second locking means of a modification of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a third embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an automobile antenna comprising a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 1 through 10 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the antenna 1 comprises a pair of telescoping rod antennas 2a and 2b which are pivotally connected to a T-shaped antenna body 3 which is attachable to the roof 7 of an automobile 6 by suction cups 4, 4' and 4" mounted on the ends of the antenna body 3. Instead of suction cups, magnets suitably mounted on the end of the body member 3 may be utilized for attaching the antenna 1 to the roof 7 of the vehicle.

When the antenna is in use, the antenna rods 2a and 2b are extended and telescoped to the extended position to form a shape of the letter V with the apex of the V pointing in the forward direction of the vehicle.

The detail views of FIGS. 2 through 10 illustrate the first embodiment in greater detail and it is to be noted that the antenna body 3 comprises a substantially T-shaped flat base member 10 with a cover member 11 formed on the longer longitudinally extending portion of the T-shaped member 10. The base member and the cover member are attached to each other by screws 12 which may be made of synthetic resin. These screws are illustrated in the sectional view of FIG. 8. The base member 10 and the cover member 11 are designated as the antenna body 3 which is illustrated in FIG. 4 and as shown is flat and has a very small height h.sub.1. The suction cups 4, 4' and 4" are attached to the ends of the T-shaped member 10 by suitable screws.

As illustrated in the sectional view of FIGS. 7 and 8, the side walls 11a and 11b of the cover member 11 slant upwardly and toward each other as shown and oblong openings 13a and 13b are formed in the front end portions of the slant walls 11a and 11b adjacent the suction cup 4 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b of substantially similar circular cross-section are formed in the slant side walls 11a and 11b and extend from the end of the oblong openings 13a and 13b toward the rear ends of the antenna as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. The grooves 14a and 14b are formed to be parallel with each other.

The rod antennas 2a and 2b are formed with base portions 15a and 15b, respectively, which are receivable into the oblong openings 13a and 13b, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 7 pivot screws 16a and 16b connect the base portions 15a and 15b to the cover member 11 so that the base portions 15a and 15b and the rod antennas 2a and 2b may be pivoted outwardly from the cover member 11. Bushings 17 and 17' surround the screws 16a and 16b, respectively, and slide washers 18 and 18' are used for mounting the base portions 15a and 15b to the cover member 11 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The screws 16a and 16b serve as pivot points for the rod antennas 2a and 2b. In use, the screws 16a and 16b do not become loose after repeated rotation of the base portions 15a and 15 b which carry the rod antennas 2a and 2b. The base portions 15a and 15b may be made of a suitable metal.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, an electrical connection is made to the antenna from an electrical cord 8 which has a pair of leads 8a and 8b which are soldered to lug terminals 20a and 20b that are attached to the base portions 15a and 15b thus to make electrical contact with the extending rod portions 2a and 2b of the antenna.

The rod antenna elements 2a and 2b can be rotated around the screws 16a and 16b and since the screws 16a and 16b are inclined as illustrated in FIG. 7 by the angle .theta..sub.1 relative to the vertical and the angle .theta..sub.1 might be, for example, about 35.degree. relative to the verticle as shown in FIG. 7. This will cause the rod antennas 2a and 2b to move in the slant planes Fa and Fb, respectively, which planes are at 90.degree. relative to the axis of the screws 16a and 16b.

As shown in the top view of FIG. 3 when the antenna is to be placed in the stored position the rod antennas 2a and 2b are telescoped to the shortest length of the rods and are pivoted relative to the screws 16a and 16b so that the rods 2a and 2b are received into antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 8 wherein they lie parallel to each other in the horizontal plane. When the antenna is to be used, the antenna rods 2a and 2b are rotated about the screws 16a and 16b from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b to the extended position so that they form a V-shaped antenna illustrated by chain lines in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the base portions 15a and 15b when in the fully extended position engage a stopper member 19 which is formed integrally with the cover member 11 so as to prevent the rod antennas 2a and 2b from moving beyond the limits established by the stopper member 19.

As shown in FIG. 6, end portions 21a and 21b of a torsion spring 21 engage grooves or openings 22a and 22b formed in the base portions 15a and 15b of the rod antennas 2a and 2b so as to urge the rod antennas 2a and 2b in the directions of the arrows A' and B'.

When the rod antennas 2a and 2b are to be moved into the stored position, they are pivoted into the cover member 11 by rotating them in the directions illustrated by arrows A and B against the tension of the torsion spring 21 and when the rod antennas 2a and 2b are in use, they are automatically rotated and held by the spring action of the torsion spring 21 in the extended position. The rod antennas 2a and 2b are maintained in the V-shaped extended position by the torsion spring 21 and by the position limiting action of the stopper member 19. As illustrated in FIG. 3, an angle .theta..sub.2 exist between the extended antenna rods 2a and 2b in the operating position. The angle .theta..sub.2 may be about 80.degree.. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the elevation angle .theta..sub.3 of the rod antennas 2a and 2b in the side view may be about 30.degree.. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the elevation angle .theta..sub.4 of the rod antennas 2a and 2b as viewed from the front end is about 35.degree.. These values for the angles .theta..sub.1, .theta..sub.2, .theta..sub.3 and .theta..sub.4 are the optimum angles for receiving radio waves with a television antenna.

When the rod antennas 2a and 2b are in the stored position, they are locked in the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b by the locking mechanisms illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 and which are also shown in FIG. 2 which illustrates knobs 25 and 25', respectively, attached to the ends of rods 2a and 2b. The knobs 25 and 25' are attached to the tops of the central rods 24 of the retractable rod antennas 2a and 2b and engaging holes 26 are formed in the centers of the knobs 25 and 25' as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Pins 27 are attached to the rear portions of the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b and are receivable in the openings 26 formed in the ornamental knobs 25 and 25'.

In the locked position, the knobs 25 are slid to the locked position shown in solid line in FIGS. 9 and 10 wherein the pins 27 are received into the openings 26 so as to lock the rods 2a and 2b in the grooves 14a and 14b. Of course, so as to lock the knobs 25 on the pins 26 the knobs 25 must be slid to the chain line illustrated position of FIG. 9 and then moved to the solid line position of FIG. 9.

So as to unlock the rod antennas 2a and 2b from the grooves 14a and 14b, the knobs 25 are slid to the chain line position illustrated in FIG. 9 to move the knobs 25 axially on the ends 24 of the antenna rods so that the rods will be extended by the spring 21 to the operating position.

The antenna of the invention has a height h.sub.1 of the antenna body 3 which is very small. The antenna body 3 is generally flat and when the antenna is not in use and in the stored position the antenna rods 2a and 2b are received and locked in the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b of the antenna body 3 which holds the rods in the horizontal position. Thus, when in the stored position, the antenna 1 can remain on the roof of the car during washing with an automatic washing machine or when the vehicle passes through an opening which has low overhead clearance such as a low garage or when the vehicle is to be covered with a body cover. The rod antennas 2a and 2b can be quickly and easily inserted into the antenna rod stored position and since the rod antennas 2a and 2b are locked in the stored position by the knobs 25 and the associated locking pin 27, the rod antennas will not unexpectedly move from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b and be engaged with a washing brush so as to damage it or the antenna when the vehicle is being washed. This renders the car antenna of the invention very safe during operation.

When the car antenna is to be used, the lock which holds the rod antennas 2a and 2b in the grooves 14a and 14b are released and the rod antennas 2a and 2b will be automatically projected to the operating position from the antenna grooves 14a and 14b by the action of the torsion spring 21 and they will be automatically extended to the predetermined angles. The operation is simple and quick and the rod antennas 2a and 2b will extend upwardly and rearwardly as shown in FIG. 1.

The angle to which the rod antennas 2a and 2b is accurately regulated and controlled by the stopper member 19 and the rod antennas 2a and 2b will be positioned at an elevation angle which assures that they are sufficiently separated from the roof 7 and radio waves will be received under the optimum conditions.

The predetermined elevation angle of the rod antennas 2a and 2b is determined in a simple manner by assuring that the pair of screws 16a and 16b which function as the fulcrum for the antenna rods 2a and 2b are slanted at the suitable angle .theta..sub.1 as shown in FIG. 7. In the invention, the rods 2a and 2b can be retracted, extended, locked and released by the ornamental knobs 25 and very small number of parts is required for the antenna. The construction of the antenna is simple and inexpensive because of the small number of steps for assembling the antenna and the resulting car antenna is very simple in construction. Also, there are very few things which can go wrong with the antenna and the antenna is very reliable.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention and in this embodiment the rod antennas 2a and 2b when mounted in the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b can be locked or released by a single touch operation rather than the movement of a pair of knobs 25 as in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 10.

A pair of engaging members 32a and 32b which have pins 31a and 31b which extend toward the rod antennas 21a and 21b are mounted at the rear ends of the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b. The pins 31a and 31b of the engaging members 32a and 32b can be inserted into the engaging holes 26 of the ornamental knobs 25 and 25'. The engaging members 32a and 32b are slidably received into openings 33a and 33b formed in the rear end walls of the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b. Engaging members 32a and 32b are connected to a laterally extending connecting member 34 as shown. A pair of leaf springs 35a and 35b urge the connecting member 34 forward toward the rod antennas 2a and 2b and are connected to the rear wall of the body member 11.

A knob 36 is attached to a shaft which extends through an opening 37 formed in the rear wall of the cover member 11 and the other end of the shaft is connected to the member 34 such that movement of the knob upwardly and downwardly relative to FIGS. 11 and 12 will move the engaging members 32a and 32b as shown.

A pair of stopper members 38a and 38b are mounted adjacent the engaging members 32a and 32b and are slidably receivable through openings 39a and 39b formed in the rear ends of the side walls of the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b. The stopper members 38a and 38b are urged by a spring 40 toward the engaging members 32a and 32b. Spring end 40a urges member 38a toward engaging member 32a and spring end 40b urges stopper member 38b toward engaging member 32b. The torsion spring 40 is formed generally in the shape of a pair of scissors.

In this embodiment the locking and locking release mechanism provides that the pins 31a and 31b are inserted into the engaging holes 26 of the ornamental knobs 25 and 25' to lock the rod antennas 2a and 2b in the stored position when the rod antennas 2a and 2b are stored in the antennas receiving grooves 14a and 14b. The ornamental knobs 25 and 25' are in contact with the stopper members 38a and 38b to push them inwardly against the torsion spring 40.

When the operating knob 36 is pulled rearwardly to the upper position relative to FIGS. 11 and 12 against the leaf springs 35a and 35b, the pins 31a and 31b of the engaging members 32a and 32b will be simultaneously drawn out of the engaging holes 26 of the ornamental knobs 25 and 25' to release and unlock the rod antennas 2a and 2b. They will immediately be automatically projected from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b by the action of the torsion spring 21 and will be extended in the operating V-shape.

When the operating knob 36 is released by the operator, the engaging members 32a and 32b will be moved forward by the action of the leaf springs 35a and 35b. The stopper members 38a and 38b will be projected outwardly as shown in FIG. 12 by the spring action of the torsion spring 40 at the time when the rod antennas 2a and 2b will have been projected from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b. The forward moving engaging members 32a and 32b come into contact with the stopper members 38a and 38b as shown by the chain line view in FIG. 12. Thus, the forward movement of the engaging members 32a and 32b is limited by the stopper members 38a and 38b. Thus, the engaging members 32a and 32b do not move to the positions where they were when they engaged the ornamental knobs 25 and 25' of the rod antennas 2a and 2 b.

When the rod antennas 2a and 2b are again retracted into the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b, the ornamental knobs 25 and 25' come into contact with the stopper members 38a and 38b and push them inwardly to the positions shown by the chain line view in FIG. 12 against the torsion spring 40. When this occurs, the stopper members 38a and 38b will be disengaged from the engaging members 32a and 32b so that the engaging members 32a and 32b will be moved forwardly by action of the leaf springs 35a and 35b and the pins 31a and 31b of the engaging members 32a and 32b will be inserted into the engaging holes of the ornamental knobs 25 and 25'. Thus, the rod antennas 2a and 2b will be automatically locked in the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b.

FIG. 13 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention wherein a pair of antenna rods 2a and 2b are mounted into a pair of antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b formed in the upper surface 14 of the antenna body 3. The grooves 14a and 14b are parallel to each other and the antenna rods 2a and 2b move into the grooves from above.

The rod antennas 2a and 2b are supported at their front ends by pivot mechanisms 43a and 43b which allow them to rotate in the vertical and the horizontal directions. When the automobile antenna 1 is used, the rod antennas 2a and 2b are first rotated upwardly to the positions shown in dot dash lines in FIG. 13 from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b and then they are horizontally rotated to the predetermined positions shown by the two-dot dash lines in FIG. 13. Thus, they are extended to the predetermined desired V-shape. In this embodiment, a pop-up mechanism may be employed for automatically moving the rod antennas 2a and 2b to the positions shown by the dot dash lines in FIG. 13 so as to move the antenna rods to the extended operating position.

FIG. 14 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the invention where a single antenna receiving groove 45 is made in the central portion of the upper part 42 of the antenna body 3 and the antenna rods 2a and 2b are introduced into the single antenna receiving groove 45 from above. The antenna rods 2a and 2b are extended outwardly to the operating position when the antenna is in use.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 the cross-section of the antenna receiving grooves 14a, 14b and 45 may be V-shaped. With this construction, pivot pins for supporting the rod antennas 2a and 2b will be inclined and mounted in the inverted V-shaped grooves as in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 10. With such mounting, the rod antennas 2a and 2b can be moved directly to the predetermined desired positions from the antenna receiving grooves 14a and 14b from the stored positions.

In the above described embodiments, the ornamental knobs 25 and 25' are used in the locking mechanism for locking the rod antennas in the stored position. However, instead of ornamental knobs, the base portions of the rod antennas formed as pipe portions may be used as a portion of the locking mechanism.

In the embodiments described, the spring 21 and the stopper member 19 are used as the holding mechanism for holding the rod antennas in the extended V-shaped. However, it is to be realized that any locking means for locking the base portions of the rod antennas may be used in the holding mechanism instead of the spring 21 and the stopper 19.

In the above described embodiments, the rod antennas are automatically moved out into the V-shaped operating position from the antenna receiving grooves by the action of springs. However, the antenna elements may also be manually moved to the operating position without the use of springs.

In the description suction cups 4, 4' and 4" are illustrated for mounting the antenna body on the roof of the vehicle, however, magnets or other mechanical attaching means may be used for this purpose.

Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope as defined by the appended claims.