PROTECTIVE ANTENNA COVER FOR VEHICLES

Abstract

A closed-loop radiator for receiving circularly polarized satellite radio signals underneath a shell-type protective antenna cover made of dielectric plastic comprises a closed-loop conductor and vertical radiators that are connected thereto; the closed-loop conductor and the vertical radiators are applied as a coating to the inner surface of the protective antenna cover and form an electrically conducting, interconnected antenna structure.

Claims

1-21. (canceled)

22. A protective antenna cover composed of dielectric plastic formed as a loop radiator for the reception of circularly polarized satellite radio signals whose opening defines a reference plane, the protective antenna cover comprising a loop and at least one linear radiator connected thereto and extending in the direction of the reference plane, wherein the loop and the linear radiator are applied to the inner surface of the protective antenna cover as a coating and form an electrically conductive and contiguous antenna structure.

23. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the contour of the inner surface of the contour is configured by shaping the inner surface of the protective antenna cover for a design of electrically conductive surfaces in a manner such that the loop is formed on a surface in parallel with the reference plane.

24. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the linear radiator extending toward the reference plane is formed by an electrically conductively coated strip surface.

25. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein a flat capacitance electrode is applied in a coated manner as an electrically conductive areal structure on a formation of the inner surface of the protective antenna cover formed in parallel with and at a spacing from the reference plane and is electrically conductively connected to the lower end of the linear radiator.

26. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein a counter-electrode is formed by an electrically conductive base plate at the lower end of the at least one linear radiator to connect said at least one linear radiator to said electrically conductive base plate.

27. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein an areal counter-electrode that is connected to an antenna connector is formed that is electrically insulated from an electrically conductive base plate for the capacitive connection of a lower end of a linear radiator to the antenna connector in the plane of the electrically conductive base plate.

28. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein all flat parts disposed on an outer surface and all flat parts disposed on the inner surface of the protective antenna cover adopt an angle to a common horizontal reference plane of no more than 89.5.

29. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the protective antenna cover has the shape of one of an internally hollow stepped pyramid, at least in the interior, whose lower side walls are adjacent to the reference plane, with the stepped pyramid having in parallel with the reference plane two substantially horizontal part surfaces located thereabove in the form of a first peripheral step and a planar top surface disposed thereabove, and an internally hollow stepped pyramid, at least in the interior, whose lower side walls are adjacent to the reference plane, with the stepped pyramid having in parallel with the reference plane two substantially horizontal part surfaces located thereabove in the form of a first peripheral step and a planar top surface disposed thereabove, and with four capacitance electrodes being located at the lower side of the lower horizontal part surface, in each case in its four corners, and/or with the loop being located at the lower side of the upper top surface.

30. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein four capacitance electrodes are each connected via a respective linear radiator to a corner of the loop disposed thereabove.

31. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein it has the shape of a truncated pyramid, at least in the interior, that has four side walls and a top surface, with the side walls being adjacent to the reference plane.

32. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the loop is connected at each of its four corners to a respective linear radiator that leads, respectively starting from the respective corner, along an inner edge between side walls contacting the corner until it ends at a spacing from the reference plane.

33. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein a plurality of vertical radiators are connected at a spacing from the reference plane to a respective capacitance electrode that is configured at a respective corner of the protective antenna cover in the form of a horizontal surface extending at a spacing from and in parallel with the reference plane and being formed by a gradation of the lower side of the side walls.

34. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the electrically conductive coating is applied at least partly in the form of one of an electrically conductive lattice structure, and an electrically conductive lattice structure whose mesh is essentially smaller than of the wavelength.

35. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the loop radiator is combined with at least one terrestrial vertical antenna for further radio services having a terrestrial antenna connector point at the center of the loop.

36. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein two terrestrial antennas having a common terrestrial antenna connector point at the center of the loop are present in it, of which the one is provided as a terrestrial broadband communication antenna for LTE communication and the other terrestrial reception antenna is provided for the coverage of frequency bands at a lower frequency.

37. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 36, wherein both terrestrial antennas are formed from strip-shaped and electrically conductive conductor tracks that converge cluster-like at the antenna connector point and that are formed from surfaces formed in V shape in the interior of the protective antenna cover.

38. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein the electrically conductive antenna structure is printed onto the inner jacket surface of the protective antenna cover or is applied using a laser.

39. The protective antenna cover in accordance with claim 22, wherein it has a greater extent in a first direction in the reference plane than in a second direction extending transversely thereto; and wherein conductor tracks of a terrestrial broadband communication antenna are angled out of a plane extending in the first direction and conductor tracks of a higher terrestrial reception antenna are angled out of a plane extending in the first direction.

40. A method of manufacturing a protective antenna cover composed of dielectric plastic formed as a loop radiator for the reception of circularly polarized satellite radio signals whose opening defines a reference plane, the protective antenna cover comprising a loop and at least one linear radiator connected thereto and extending in the direction of the reference plane, wherein the loop and the linear radiator are applied to the inner surface of the protective antenna cover as a coating and form an electrically conductive and contiguous antenna structure, wherein the production of the antenna structure takes place in the interior of the protective antenna cover from a direction that extends substantially perpendicular to the reference plane.

41. The method in accordance with claim 40, wherein the antenna structure is printed or is generated with the aid of a laser on the inner side of the protective antenna cover; and/or wherein the direction has an angle of at least 5 with respect to all the surfaces to be provided with the antenna structure.

Description

[0039] The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to embodiments. The associated Figures show in detail:

[0040] FIG. 1 a loop radiator 1 in accordance with the prior art with vertical radiators 4, 4a-d and capacitors 5a-d at their lower ends, e.g. as a sheet metal structure with a holder on plastic supports;

[0041] FIG. 2 a) a loop radiator as an electrically conductive coating on the inner surface of a shell-shaped protective antenna cover 1a composed of a dielectric plastic in accordance with the invention. The oblique view of the inner space of the protective antenna cover 1a shows the coated surfaces as net structures. The boundary on the lower side of the protective antenna cover 1a (hatched) extends in a plane (reference plane 16) for connection to the electrically conductive base surface 6 in the final assembly. The loop 3 and the electrodes 5a-d of the capacitors at the lower ends of the substantially vertical radiators 4a-d are applied to horizontal surface parts of the correspondingly shaped protective antenna cover 1a as a conductive coating;

[0042] b) a loop radiator as an electrically conductive coating on the inner surface of a shell-shaped protective antenna cover 1a as in a), but with a view of the inner space from below. The chain dotted line Q describes the view of the cross-section Q. of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1c); and

[0043] c) the cross-sectional drawing shows the spacing 11 between the capacitance electrodes 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and the electrically conductive base surface 6 or the counter-electrode for forming the antenna connector 5e. The observation of the required capacitance values with the aid of the consistency of this spacing 11 is given by the dimensionally stable shape of the protective antenna cover 1a and by its temporal durability. The angle of inclination a of the substantially vertical inner surfaces of the protective antenna cover 1 with respect to the line perpendicular to the conductive base surface 6 can amount to at least 5 and should not fall below the coating angle 19 with a processing direction 17 in parallel with the latter (FIG. 4);

[0044] FIG. 3 an exploded drawing to represent the loop radiator fictionally released from the protective antenna cover 1a and having the loop 3 and the vertical radiators 4 as electrically conductive surfaces (lattice network) above an electrically conductive base surface 6 shown as an electrically conductively coated circuit board 2. The capacitance electrode 5d is capacitively coupled to the antenna connector 5e via the insulated conductive surface formed as a counter-electrode on the coated circuit board that forms said antenna connector 5e;

[0045] FIG. 4 a protective antenna cover 1a with an electrically conductive coating as a loop antenna in accordance with the invention with a view obliquely from below into the opening of the protective antenna cover. The protective antenna cover is configured in the form of a pyramid that is hollowed out from the bottom, is truncated, and is in particular stepped. Care has been taken here that this shape can be manufactured in a simple injection molding technique. The surfaces marked as a lattice network show the elements of the loop radiators in this projection. The shell margins extend in the above-named reference plane 16. An elongated coating device 18 that can, for example, be implemented as a pressure pin for a direct printing of the conductive layer or, for example, also as a laser beam can be present for the printing, in particular to be carried out in dot form, of an electrically conductive layer. The tip of the pressure pin or the diameter of the laser beam respectively determines the grain fineness of the print and thus the fineness of the structures to be designed. The coating device 18 is aligned in the processing direction 17. The coating angle 19 between this direction 17 and the surface to be printed is selected as at least 5 to ensure a coating with a sharp contour;

[0046] FIG. 5 a) a view from below into the opening of the protective antenna cover 1a with an electrically conductive coating as a loop radiator in accordance with FIG. 4. The chain dotted lines Q1 to 05 show the line for the representation of the corresponding cross-sections in the following Figures b) to e);

[0047] b) the representation of the cross-section in accordance with the line Q1 shows the steep side walls of the pyramid that extend, for example, at an angle of less than 90 and greater than 75 to the reference plane 16. In this position, the capacitance electrodes 5b (bottom left) and 5c (bottom right) and the counter-electrodes are shown that are formed by the electrically conductive base surface 6, on the one hand, and by the antenna connector 5e, on the other hand;

[0048] c) a representation of the cross-section in accordance with the line Q2 analog to b). The capacitance electrodes are not affected here;

[0049] d) a representation of the cross-section in accordance with the line Q3. The vertical radiators 4, 4a-d are inclined at an angle toward the reference line perpendicular to the base surface 6 that can amount to between 0 and 70;

[0050] e) a representation of the cross-section in accordance with the line Q4; and

[0051] f) a representation of the cross-section in accordance with the line Q5;

[0052] FIG. 6 an exemplary embodiment of two loops 3 and 3 having a common center, applied to the protective antenna cover 1a, that is designed in a similar manner as in FIGS. 4 and 5 as a truncated pyramid hollowed out from below. The representation shows in an advantageous embodiment of the invention the view of the protective antenna cover are marked by a lattice network of both the inner and outer loop radiators 3, 3. Both loop radiators can e.g. be respectively designed by a suitable dimensioning of the loop 3 and 3 respectively and of the capacitors for the same frequency for the combined use of antenna diversity technologies. In this respect, the inner loop radiator is designed as a 1st order radiator, i.e. for an azimuthal phase distribution of 2 over a revolution, and the outer loop radiator is designed as a 2nd order radiator, i.e. for an azimuthal phase distribution of 2*2 over a revolution. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the outer loop radiator can equally be equipped for the reception of a further satellite radio service at a lower frequency than that of the inner loop radiator having only four vertical radiators 4;

[0053] FIG. 7 in a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the loop radiator is combined with a terrestrial broadband communication antenna 15, for example for LTE communication, and with a terrestrial reception antenna 14, for example for AM/FM/DAB radio reception. The special advantage of the combination shown comprises the complete electromagnetic decoupling of the terrestrial antennas from the loop radiator 1 for satellite reception;

[0054] a) the advantageous combination capability of the terrestrial antennas with a common terrestrial antenna connector 13 at the center of the loop radiator can be seen from the view of the protective antenna cover 1a in FIG. 7a obliquely from below. The terrestrial broadband communication antenna 15 is substantially formed from strip-shaped electrically conductive conductor tracks 12 that converge at the terrestrial antenna connector point 13 and that are lasered or printed on surfaces formed in V shape on the designed in a similar manner by strip-shaped electrically conductive conductor tracks 12 printed or lasered on with the common antenna connector point 13; and

[0055] b) shows this arrangement with a view from below from which the combination of the terrestrial reception antenna 14at whose upper end an end capacitor 16 is formedwith the broadband communication antenna 15 can be seen;

[0056] FIG. 8 protective antenna covers 1a are used for the application of such antennas on a vehicle roof whose width is smaller transversely to the direction of travel than longitudinally to the direction of travel for technical flow reasons;

[0057] a) a representation of the exemplary design of the cross-section of a protective antenna cover 1a in accordance with the invention (transversely to the direction of travel) with the surfaces electrically conductively coated with strip shaped conductor tracks 12 for the loop radiator and the terrestrial broadband communication antenna 15. These conductor tracks are in particular angled in a V shape in the plane transversely to the direction of travel. It is advantageous for a high quality coating of the protective antenna cover 1a from below from the direction of the perpendicular dashed line not to fall below the coating angle 19 of =5 between this line and the surface to be coated at any point; and

[0058] b) the strip shaped conductor tracks 12 of the terrestrial reception antenna 14 that is higher in comparison with the broadband communication antenna 15 is shown in the representation of a section of the protective antenna cover 1a in accordance with the invention along the direction of travel. These conductor tracks 12 are, in contrast to those of the broadband communication antenna 15, angled in V shape in the plane along the direction of travel. Both antennas meet in the common terrestrial antenna connector point 13.

[0059] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are shown again in the following: [0060] 1. A protective antenna cover (1a) composed of dielectric plastic is defined as a loop radiator for the reception of circularly polarized satellite radio signals whose opening defines a reference plane (16), comprising a loop (3, 3) and at least one linear radiator (4, 4a-d) connected thereto and extending in the direction of the reference plane (16), wherein the loop (3) and the linear radiator (4, 4a-d) are applied to the inner surface of the protective antenna cover (1a) as a coating and form an electrically conductive and contiguous antenna structure. [0061] 2. A protective antenna cover in accordance with example 1, [0062] characterized in that [0063] the contour of the inner surface of the contour (1a) is configured by shaping the inner surface of the protective antenna cover (1a) for a design of electrically conductive surfaces in a manner such that the loop (3, 3) is formed on a surface in parallel with the reference plane (16). [0064] 3. A protective antenna cover in accordance with example 1 or example 2, [0065] characterized in that [0066] the linear radiator (4, 4a-d) extending toward the reference plane (16) is formed by an electrically conductively coated strip surface. [0067] 4. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0068] characterized in that [0069] a flat capacitance electrode (5a 5b, 5c, 5d) is applied in a coated manner as an electrically conductive areal structure on a formation of the inner surface of the protective antenna cover (1a) formed in parallel with and at a spacing (11) from the reference plane (16) and is electrically conductively connected to the lower end of the linear radiator (4, 4a-d). [0070] 5. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0071] characterized in that [0072] a counter-electrode is formed by an electrically conductive base plate (6) at the lower end of the at least one linear radiator (4, 4a-d) to connect said at least one linear radiator (4, 4a-d) to said electrically conductive base plate (6). [0073] 6. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0074] characterized in that [0075] an areal counter-electrode (5e) that is connected to an antenna connector (5) is formed that is electrically insulated from an electrically conductive base plate (6) for the capacitive connection of a lower end of a linear radiator (4, 4a-d) to an antenna connector (5) in the plane of the electrically conductive base plate (6). [0076] 7. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0077] characterized in that [0078] all flat parts disposed on an outer surface and all flat parts disposed on the inner surface of the protective antenna cover (1a) adopt an angle to a common horizontal reference plane (16) of no more than 89.5. [0079] 8. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0080] characterized in that [0081] it has the shape of an internally hollow stepped pyramid, at least in the interior, whose lower side walls are adjacent to the reference plane (16), with the stepped pyramid having in parallel with the reference plane (16) two substantially horizontal part surfaces located thereabove in the form of a first peripheral step and a planar top surface disposed thereabove, and with in particular four capacitance electrodes (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) being located at the lower side of the lower horizontal part surface, in each case in its four corners, and/or with the loop (3) being located at the lower side of the upper top surface. [0082] 9. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0083] characterized in that [0084] four capacitance electrodes (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) are each connected via a respective linear radiator (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) to a corner of the loop (3, 3) disposed thereabove. [0085] 10. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0086] characterized in that [0087] it has the shape of a truncated pyramid, at least in the interior, that has four side walls and a top surface, with the side walls being adjacent to the reference plane (16). [0088] 11. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0089] characterized in that [0090] the loop (3, 3) is connected at each of its four corners to a respective linear radiator (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) that leads, respectively starting from the respective corner, along an inner edge between side walls contacting the corner until it ends at a spacing (11) from the reference plane (16). [0091] 12. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0092] characterized in that [0093] a plurality of vertical radiators (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) are connected at a spacing (11) from the reference plane (16) to a respective capacitance electrode (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) that is configured at a respective corner of the protective antenna cover (1a) in the form of a horizontal surface extending at a spacing (11) from and in parallel with the reference plane (16) and being formed by a gradation of the lower side of the side walls. [0094] 13. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0095] characterized in that [0096] the electrically conductive coating is applied at least partly in the form of an electrically conductive lattice structure whose mesh is in particular essentially smaller than of the wavelength. [0097] 14. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0098] characterized in that [0099] the loop radiator is combined with at least one terrestrial vertical antenna (14, 15) for further radio services having a terrestrial antenna connector point (13) at the center of the loop (3, 3). [0100] 15. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0101] characterized in that [0102] two terrestrial antennas having a common terrestrial antenna connector point (13) at the center of the loop (3, 3) are present in it, of which the one is provided as a terrestrial broadband communication antenna (15) for LTE communication and the other terrestrial reception antenna (14) is provided for the coverage of frequency bands at a lower frequency such as LTE communication in the low band or AM/FM/DAB radio reception. [0103] 16. A protective antenna cover in accordance with example 15, [0104] characterized in that [0105] both terrestrial antennas are formed from strip-shaped and electrically conductive conductor tracks (12) that converge cluster-like at the antenna connector point (13) and that are formed from surfaces formed in V shape in the interior of the protective antenna cover (1a). [0106] 17. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0107] characterized in that [0108] the electrically conductive antenna structure is printed onto the inner jacket surface of the protective antenna cover or is applied using a laser. [0109] 18. A protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0110] characterized in that [0111] it has a greater extent in a first direction (direction of travel) in the reference plane than in a second direction extending transversely thereto; and in that conductor tracks (12) of a terrestrial broadband communication antenna (15) are angled out of a plane extending in the first direction and conductor tracks (12) of a higher terrestrial reception antenna (14) are angled out of a plane extending in the first direction. [0112] 19. A method of manufacturing a protective antenna cover in accordance with at least one of the preceding examples, [0113] characterized in that [0114] the production of the antenna structure takes place in the interior of the protective antenna cover (1a) from a direction (17) that extends substantially perpendicular to the reference plane (16). [0115] 20. A method in accordance with claim 19, [0116] characterized in that [0117] the antenna structure is printed or is generated with the aid of a laser on the inner side of the protective antenna cover (1a). [0118] 21. A method in accordance with example 19 or example 20, [0119] characterized in that [0120] the direction (17) has an angle (19) of at least 5 with respect to all the surfaces to be provided with the antenna structure.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0121] 1 loop radiator [0122] 1a protective antenna cover [0123] 2 electrically conductively coated circuit board [0124] 3 loop [0125] 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d vertical radiators [0126] 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d capacitance electrodes [0127] 5, 5e antenna connector [0128] 6 conductive base surface [0129] 7, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d loop coupling points [0130] 8 vertical parts [0131] 9 horizontal parts [0132] 10 spacing of the height h [0133] 11 spacing [0134] 12 strip shaped conductor tracks [0135] 13 terrestrial antenna connector point [0136] 14 terrestrial reception antenna [0137] 15 terrestrial broadband communication antenna [0138] 16 reference plane [0139] 17 processing direction [0140] 18 coating apparatus [0141] 19 coating angle