Automobile antenna system

• US 4,823,142 A
• Filed: 06/20/1986
• Issued: 04/18/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kondo, Hiroshi, Ohe, Junzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sikes, William L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Doris J.
• Application Number:
  US06/876,704
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 343/711, 343/712, 343/713
• US Class Current: 343/713
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1271 for mounting on windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/32 Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0805 with single receiver and antenna switching H04B7/0822 takes precedence

Abstract

An automobile antenna system for receiving broadcast waves by means of a plurality of antennas, which are provided on a vehicle body, outputs the receiving signal from the antenna which enjoys the optimum reception by automatic changeover. The antenna system includes a pair of glass antennas disposed on the rear window or side windows of the vehicle body and a pair of high-frequency pickups disposed on both sides of the vehicle body apart from the glass antennas by a predetermined distance for effectively picking up high-frequency surface currents which are induced on a vehicle body by broadcast waves, these four antennas constituting a diversity antenna.

Claims

1. An automobile diversity antenna system for receiving broadcast waves by a plurality of antennas disposed on a vehicle body and for outputting a selected antenna received signal from one of the plurality of antennas which is in an optimum receiving state, said antenna system comprising:

a first glass antenna disposed on a first portion of window glass of the vehicle body;

a second glass antenna disposed on a second portion of window glass of the vehicle body;

first high-frequency pickup means including a pickup element, a casing containing the pickup element and having an opening through which a portion of the pickup element is exposed and mounting means for disposing the first high-frequency pickup means at a first vehicle body location opposite to a marginal edge portion of the vehicle body where high-frequency surface currents are induced to flow by the broadcast waves to be received; and

second high-frequency pickup means including a pickup element, a casing containing the pickup element and having an opening through which a portion of the pickup element is exposed and mounting means for disposing the second high-frequency pickup means at a second vehicle body location opposite to a marginal edge portion of the vehicle body where high-frequency surface currents are induced to flow by the broadcast waves to be received.

2. An automobile diversity antenna system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second glass antennas are provided on the right and left rear quarter glasses, respectively, of said vehicle body.

3. An automobile diversity antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein said first and second high-frequency pickup means are longitudinally provided on the right and left front pillars, respectively, of said vehicle body.

4. An automobile diversity antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein said first and second high-frequency pickup means are provided on the edge of a front windshield.

5. An automobile diversity antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein said high-frequency pickup means are provided on right and left trunk hinges, respectively, of said vehicle body.

6. An automobile diversity antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein each of said first and second high-frequency pickup means includes a loop antenna which is fixed along a trunk hinge so as to electromagnetically detect the magnetic flux which is formed by said high-frequency currents flowing on said trunk hinge.

7. An automobile diversity antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein each of said first and second high-frequency pickup means includes a detecting electrode provided in close proximity to a trunk hinge so as to detect high-frequency surface currents by electrostatic coupling between said trunk hinge and said detecting electrode.

8. An automobile antenna system according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein said first and second high-frequency pickup means are provided on the roof edge at positions a distance of more than 1/4 wavelengths apart from said first and second glass antennas.

9. An automobile antenna system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second glass antennas are provided at upper and lower positions, respectively, of a rear window, and said first and second high-frequency pickup means are provided at right and left positions, respectively, of a front roof edge.

10. An automobile diversity antenna system according to claim 1, further including antenna output selecting means for comparing the selected received signal to a reference signal level and switching to another selected antenna received signal from another one of the plurality of antennas when the selected received signal is below the reference signal level.