Ceiling tile antenna and method for constructing same
First Claim
1. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, wherein the dielectric element is a ceiling panel comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A ceiling tile antenna for use in wireless local area networks and voice networks. A patch style antenna is manufactured in which the dielectric substrate is the ceiling tile itself, and the radiating element and the ground plane are fixed to the face and back of the tile, respectively. Since the ceiling tile acts as the antenna, the back of the ceiling tile does not have to be routed out to create a cavity for an antenna pod. The sizes of the radiating element and the ground plane are not an issue; therefore no miniaturization of the elements is required. Compared to microstrip antennas, a ceiling tile antenna provides a wider bandwidth and higher gain due to the thicker dielectric substrate used for the ceiling tile construction. Therefore, it is easier to achieve multiple resonances. The ceiling tile used as an antenna can be made from mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
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Citations
31 Claims
- 1. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, wherein the dielectric element is a ceiling panel comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
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14. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, the dielectric element comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride wherein the radiating element and ground element are affixed to opposite surfaces of a floor covering.
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15. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, the dielectric element comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride wherein the radiating element and ground element are affixed to opposite surfaces of a wall panel.
- 16. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element wherein the dielectric element is a ceiling panel.
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22. A method for manufacturing a ceiling panel antenna for an indoor communications system, comprising the steps of:
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determining a geometric shape for each of a radiating patch and a ground patch based on an operating bandwidth of the indoor communications system;
forming the determined geometric shapes from conductive sheets;
forming a small hole through a ceiling panel for passing a conductor of a coaxial cable through the ceiling panel to the radiating patch;
attaching the radiating patch to a front surface of the ceiling panel;
conductively fastening the conductor to the radiating patch;
attaching the ground patch to a back surface of the ceiling panel; and
conductively attaching a shielding of the coaxial cable to the ground patch. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, wherein the dielectric element is an acoustical ceiling panel comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
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30. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and a dielectric element, wherein the dielectric element is an acoustical wall panel comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
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31. An antenna for use in indoor communications systems comprising a radiating element, a ground element and dielectric element, wherein the dielectric element is an acoustical floor panel comprising a material selected from the group consisting of mineral fiber, medium density fiber board, fiberglass, drywall and polyvinyl chloride.
Specification