Flat plate TV antenna

• US 5,625,371 A
• Filed: 02/16/1996
• Issued: 04/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R.A. Miller Industries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: R.A. Miller Industries, Inc.
• Inventors: Seward, Glen J., Miller, Paul E., Lynas, Robert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Hoanganh T.
• Application Number:
  US08/602,696
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• Field of Search: 343/867, 343/870, 343/866, 343/742, 343/741, 343/743, 343/744, 343/749, 343/722
• US Class Current: 343/867
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

A television antenna is constructed of a flat plate antenna comprising a plurality of concentric, rectangularly shaped loops formed of conductive material and disposed on a substrate. Each loop forms an antenna for signals in a predefined frequency band within the TV frequency spectrum. An additional loop is disposed within the plurality of concentric loops and is adapted for receiving signals in the FM frequency range. Each of the loops has four sides having an electrical length equivalent to one-quarter wavelength at a center frequency within a frequency band and each side of each antenna loop is connected to a side of another antenna loop and to one of a pair of antenna output terminals. The sides of each loop are formed by conductive strips deposited on a dielectric substrate which is particularly adapted for installation adjacent a dielectric roof panel or the like.

Claims

1. A planar antenna module comprising:

a dielectric substrate;

a plurality of concentric loops formed of conductive material and disposed on the substrate;

first and second antenna terminals;

each loop comprising first and second opposing loop sections of like physical dimensions formed by two adjacent sides of one of the loops, the first and second opposing loop sections of each loop having adjacently disposed ends;

a first of the two adjacent sides of each loop having one end electrically connected to the first antenna terminal and a second of the two adjacent sides of each loop having one end connected to the second antenna terminal;

the first and second opposing loop sections together forming an antenna loop for signals within a predetermined frequency band;

the plurality of concentric antenna loops together forming an antenna structure for a plurality of frequency bands within a predetermined frequency spectrum.

2. The antenna module in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising a capacitor disposed between the adjacently disposed ends of the loop sections of each loop.

3. The antenna module in accordance with claim 2 wherein the loops of conductive material are formed from electrically conductive strips disposed on the dielectric substrate and each of the capacitors is formed by a pair of adjacently disposed conductive strips of conductive material disposed on the substrate and extending from the conductive strips forming the loops.

4. The antenna module in accordance with claim 3 wherein the dielectric substrate comprises a sheet of dielectric material and wherein the electrically conductive strips are deposited on the sheet by a deposition process.

5. A planar antenna module adapted for use in a an automotive vehicle and comprising:

a plurality of concentric loops formed of conductive material and disposed on a dielectric substrate and together forming an antenna for conducting signals in a plurality of frequency bands within a predefined frequency spectrum, each of the loops comprising first, second, third and fourth separate conductor sections of substantially equal length, each of the first, second, third, and fourth conductor sections having a first end and a second end;

a first and a second antenna terminal;

the first end of the first conductor section of an associated loop disposed adjacent the first end of the second conductor section of the associated loop and the second end of the first conductor section disposed adjacent the second end of the fourth conductor section of the associated loop;

the second end of the second conductor section of the associated loop disposed adjacent the second end of the third conductor section of the associated loop;

the first end of the third conductor section of the associated loop disposed adjacent the first end of the fourth conductor section of the associated loop; and

the first end of the first conductor section and the first end of the third conductor section of the associated loop electrically connected to the first antenna terminal and the first end of the second conductor section and the first end of the fourth conductor section electrically connected to the second antenna terminal.

6. The antenna module in accordance with claim 5 wherein the second end of the first conductor section and the second end of the fourth conductor section of the associated loop are capacitively coupled, and wherein the second end of the second conductor section and the second end of the third conductor section of the associated loop are capacitively coupled.

7. The antenna module in accordance with claim 5 wherein the first end of the first conductor section of a one of the concentric loops is connected to the first end of the second conductor section of an adjacent concentric loop and to the first antenna terminal and wherein the first end of the second conductor section of the one concentric loop is connected to the first end of the first conductive section of the adjacent loop and to the second antenna terminal.

8. The antenna module in accordance with claim 5 wherein the first end of each conductive section is connected to the first end of a conductive section of another of the concentric loops and is further connected to one of the antenna terminals.

9. The antenna module in accordance with claim 5 wherein the separate conductor sections of each of the loops each have an electrical length equivalent to one quarter wavelength of a signal at a selected frequency in one of the frequency bands.

10. The antenna module in accordance with claim 9 wherein the plurality of frequency bands each have a center frequency and wherein the length of conductor sections of adjacent antenna loops equals one quarter wavelength at center frequencies of adjacent frequency bands.

11. The antenna module in accordance with claim 10 wherein each of the antenna loops has a bandwidth extending at least 20 percent of the center frequency of a predefined frequency band above and below the center frequency of the predefined frequency band.

12. An omnidirectional television antenna for use within a fiberglass structure comprising:

a dielectric substrate;

a plurality of strips of conductive material disposed on the substrate forming a plurality of concentric antenna loops together forming an antenna for receiving signals in a plurality of frequency bands together defining the television frequency spectrum;

the plurality of concentric loops comprising an innermost loop and an outermost loop and a plurality of intermediate loops;

each of the frequency bands having a center frequency;

each of the antenna loops comprising first, second, third and fourth separate conductor sections of equal length, the separate conductor sections of each antenna loop together forming a rectangularly shaped loop, each conductor section of each of the loops having an electrical length equivalent to one quarter wavelength of the center frequency of one of the frequency bands;

a first and a second antenna terminal;

each conductor section of each loop having a first end and a second end;

the first end of each conductive section of the outermost loop and of the intermediate loops electrically connected to the first end of a conductive section of the innermost loop, the first end of a conductor section of the innermost loop connected to one of the first and second antenna terminals;

the second end of the first section and the second end of the second section disposed adjacent each other and the first and second sections being capacitively coupled at respective second ends;

the second end of the third section and the second end of the fourth section disposed adjacent each other and the third and fourth sections being capacitively coupled at respective second ends;

each of the antenna loops having a bandwidth extending at least 10 percent of the center frequency of a predefined band in the television spectrum above and below the center frequency of the predefined frequency band.

13. A planar antenna module comprising:

a dielectric substrate;

a plurality of concentric loops formed of conductive material and disposed on the substrate, each loop having a perimeter length equivalent to one wavelength of signals at a center frequency of a frequency band in a multiband television frequency spectrum;

each loop comprising first and second opposing loop sections, each of the first and second opposing loop sections comprising a pair of electrically interconnected conductor sections of equal length, each of the conductor sections having one end electrically connected to an antenna lead wire, the first and second opposing loop sections having like physical dimensions and each of the first and second opposing loop sections forming a half wavelength antenna loop at a selected frequency in a predefined frequency spectrum.

14. The antenna module in accordance with claim 13 and further comprising a capacitor disposed between ends of each of the pairs of conductor sections and wherein the sections of each pair of conductor sections are interconnected via the capacitors.

15. The antenna module in accordance with claim 14 wherein the loops of conductive material are formed from electrically conductive strips and each of the capacitors is formed by a pair of adjacently disposed conductive strips of conductive material disposed on the substrate and extending from the conductive strips forming the loops.

16. The antenna in accordance with claim 15 wherein the dielectric substrate comprises a sheet of dielectric material and wherein the electrically conductive strips are deposited on the sheet by a deposition process.

17. The antenna in accordance with claim 15 wherein the loops of conductive material are interconnected and connected to antenna terminals via spaced apart interconnecting conductor strips on the substrate and wherein the interconnecting conductor strips include crossover sections and the interconnecting strip are spaced apart at the crossover sections by dielectric spacers providing separation between conductors at the crossover sections equal to a separation between spaced apart interconnecting conductors in other sections of the interconnecting conductors.

18. An omni-directional flat plate television antenna for use in an automotive vehicle and adapted for receiving television signals, the antenna comprising:

a first cluster comprising a first plurality of adjacently disposed concentric loops for receiving signals in a first television frequency range and having physical dimensions falling within a first range of dimensions;

a second cluster comprising a second plurality, smaller than the first plurality, of adjacently disposed concentric loops for receiving signals in second television frequency range, higher than the first television frequency range, the second cluster spaced apart from the first cluster and the concentric loops of the second cluster having physical dimensions falling within a second range of dimensions smaller than the first range of dimensions;

a third cluster comprising a third plurality of adjacently disposed concentric loops for receiving signals in a third frequency range higher than the second frequency range, the third cluster spaced apart from the second cluster and concentric loops having physical dimensions falling within a third range of dimensions smaller than the second range of dimensions;

each of the concentric loops comprising first, second, third and fourth separate conductor sections of substantially equal length, the first and second conductor sections of each loop extending on one side of a center line and extending toward the center line and the third and fourth conductor sections of each loop extending on another side of the center line and toward the center line;

a first and a second antenna terminal;

the first, second, third and fourth conductor sections of each loop arranged such that the first conductor section of a predefined loop has one end disposed adjacent one end of the second conductor section of the predefined loop and the third conductor section of the predefined loop has one end disposed adjacent one end of the fourth conductor section of the predefined loop;

the one end of the first, second, third and fourth conductor sections of each loop each connected to one of the antenna terminals.

19. The antenna in accordance with claim 18 wherein the one end of the first conductor sections of each loop of the first plurality of loops is electrically connected to the one end of the first conductor section of an adjacent loop of the first plurality of loops and to the one end of a second conductor section of a loop of the second plurality of loops and to the one end of the first conductor section of a loop of the third plurality of loops and to the first antenna terminal, and wherein the one end of each of the second conductor sections of each loop of the first plurality of loops is electrically connected to the one end of the second conductor section of an adjacent loop of the first plurality of loops and to the one end of a first conductor section of a loop of the second plurality of loops and to the one end of the second conductor section of a loop of the third plurality of loops and to the second antenna terminal.

20. The antenna in accordance with claim 19 wherein the one end of each of the third conductor sections of each loop of the first plurality of loops is electrically connected to the one end of the third conductor section of an adjacent loop of the first plurality of loops and to the one end of the fourth conductor section of a loop of the second plurality of loops and to the one end of the third conductor section of a loop of the third plurality of loops and to the first antenna terminal;

the one end of each of the fourth conductor sections of each loop of the first plurality of loops is electrically connected to the one end of the fourth conductor section of an adjacent loop of the first plurality of loops and to the one end of the third conductor section of a loop of the second plurality of loops and to the one end of the fourth conductor section of a loop of the third plurality of loops and to the second antenna terminal.

21. The antenna in accordance with claim 18 wherein the conductor sections of the first plurality of loops have an electrical length equivalent to one-quarter wavelength of signals in the UHF television frequency range and the conductor sections of the second and third plurality of loops have an electrical length equivalent to one-quarter wavelength of signals in the VHF television frequency range.

22. The antenna in accordance with claim 18 wherein the first plurality of loops comprises four separate loops and wherein the separate conductor sections of the separate loops of the first plurality of loops each has a length between approximately 31 inches and approximately 43 inches.

23. The antenna in accordance with claim 22 wherein the second plurality of loops comprises three separate loops and wherein each of the separate conductor sections of each of the separate loops of the second plurality has a length of between approximately 13 inches and approximately 18 inches.

24. The antenna in accordance with claim 23 wherein the third plurality of loops comprises two separate loops and wherein each of the separate conductor sections of each of the separate loops of the third plurality of loops has a length between approximately 3.5 inches and approximately 6.5 inches.