Motor-vehicle antenna mount

• US 20050237249A1
• Filed: 04/07/2005
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hirschmann Electronics GmbH (Belden Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hirschmann Electronics GmbH (Belden Inc.)
• Inventors: Nagel, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 7,218,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/713
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1214 through a wall
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3275 mounted on a horizontal surface of the vehicle, e.g. on roof, hood, trunk

Abstract

A flat base plate sits atop a motor-vehicle panel and is formed with a mounting pin extending downward through the panel. A flat antenna circuit board sits on the base plate, and a connector cable extends upward through the pin and through the base plate and is connected to the circuit board. A one-piece mounting element is unitarily formed with an upper face and latch legs projecting upward from the upper face and having barb ends latchingly engageable with the circuit board to retain the circuit board on the upper face. It is further unitarily formed with a lower face and latch legs projecting downward from the lower face through the base plate and roof panel and having barb ends latchingly engageable with the roof panel to hold the circuit board and base plate down against the roof panel.

Claims

1. In combination:

a motor vehicle panel;

a flat base plate sitting on the panel and formed with a mounting pin extending downward through the panel;

a flat antenna circuit board sitting on the base plate;

a connector cable extending upward through the pin and through the base plate and connected to the circuit board; and

a one-piece mounting element unitarily formed with an upper face,

latch formations projecting from the upper face and latchingly engageable with the circuit board to retain the circuit board on the upper face,

a lower face, and

latch formations projecting from the lower face through the base plate and roof panel and latchingly engageable with the roof panel to hold the circuit board and base plate down against the roof panel.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the mounting element is plastic.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the latching formations are oppositely extending sets of elastically deflectable arms having outer ends formed with barbs, the circuit board and base plate being formed with respective arrays of throughgoing holes through which the respective arms project.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein the mounting element is formed offset from the arms with an outwardly projecting guide pin, the circuit board being formed with a throughgoing hole in which the guide pin is received when the respective latch formations are engaged with the circuit board.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the mounting element is formed with a seat in which the cable is snugly engageable.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein the seat is so constructed that it guides the cable through a stress-relieving bend.

7. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein there are two such cables and two such seats of different sizes.

8. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein the seat is formed with a cross-wise cable-gripping ridge.

9. An antenna assembly for installation on a motor-vehicle roof panel, the antenna assembly comprising:

a flat base plate sitting on the panel and formed with a mounting pin extending downward through the panel;

a flat antenna circuit board sitting on the base plate;

a connector cable extending upward through the pin and through the base plate and connected to the circuit board; and

a one-piece mounting element unitarily formed with an upper face,

laterally deflectable latch legs projecting upward from the upper face and having barb ends latchingly engageable with the circuit board to retain the circuit board on the upper face,

a lower face, and

laterally deflectable latch legs projecting downward from the lower face through the base plate and roof panel and having barb ends latchingly engageable with the roof panel to hold the circuit board and base plate down against the roof panel.