Digital UHF/VHF antenna

• US 7,626,557 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2007
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bradley L. Eckwielen
• Original Assignee: Bradley L. Eckwielen
• Inventors: Eckwielen, Bradley Lee, Hagen, David LeRoy
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens; Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Chuc
• Application Number:
  US11/731,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 976 Days
• Field of Search: 343/727, 343/757, 343/797, 343/811, 343/853, 343/878, 343/893
• US Class Current: 343/757
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/085 Flexible aerials; Whip aerials with a resilient base
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/125 Means for positioning
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/04 Means for collapsing H-antennas or Yagi antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/30 the primary active element being centre-fed and substantially straight, e.g. Yagi antenna
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/08 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a rectilinear path waveguide fed H01Q21/0037
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 23/00 Antennas with active circuits or circuit elements integrated within them or attached to them
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/00 Arrangements for simultaneous operation of antennas on two or more different wavebands, e.g. dual-band or multi-band arrangements combinations of separate active antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system H01Q21/30
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/40 Imbricated or interleaved structures; Combined or electromagnetically coupled arrangements, e.g. comprising two or more non-connected fed radiating elements

Abstract

The invention comprises a Digital UHF/VHF (DUV) Antenna with a driven DUV antenna preferably boosted by an amplifier mounted close to the DUV dipole and a DUV signal line with antenna, amplifier, and signal line contacts being conductively bonded. The DUV dipole is preferably enhanced by a VHF enhancer and/or by a UHF enhancer comprising one of a reflective and a directive element. The UHF/VHF enhancer preferably includes an RF booster with a reflective element displaced from the longitudinal axis and near the driven antenna to enhance VHF signals. The DUV antenna is preferably configured for DTV reception in the VHF high band range of 174 MHz to 216 MHz, and in the UHF range of 470 MHz to 698 MHz.

Claims

1. A DUV antenna having a forward pointing X axis comprising:

an antenna support;

a driven antenna comprising

two antenna elements, each antenna element having;

an inner RF element contact; and

an antenna element support attached to the antenna support;

a plurality of passive RF enhancers selected from;

an RF booster comprising an RF reflective element displaced from the X axis and supported by the antenna support;

a VHF enhancer supported by the antenna support, comprising one of;

a VHF reflector, and a VHF director; and

a UHF enhancer supported by the antenna support, comprising one of;

a UHF reflector, and UHF director; and

a signal line communicatively connected to the DUV RF contacts;

wherein the driven antenna is configured for a first odd to even rational number wave resonance within a prescribed UHF frequency range, and, a second odd to even rational number wave resonance within a prescribed VHF frequency range;

wherein the driven antenna has an electrical length LD between 375 mm and 1192 mm; and

wherein the plurality of passive RF enhancers are configured to enhance the driven DUV antenna performance in the prescribed UHF frequency range and in the prescribed VHF frequency range.

2. The DUV antenna of claim 1 further comprising an RF amplifier having amplifier RF contacts communicatively connected to the antenna element RF contacts using bonded connections, and having amplifier signal contacts communicatively connected to the signal line.

3. The DUV antenna of claim 2 further comprising one of a signal junction box and a signal converter, connected to the signal line, wherein the RF signal is transmitted optically between the RF amplifier and the signal junction box and/or the signal converter.

4. The DUV amplifier of claim 3 further comprising an energy storage system, and renewable power supply configured to power the RF amplifier.

5. The DUV amplifier of claim 2 comprising RF attenuative housing around the DUV amplifier configured to reduce by at least 3 dB one of:

the RF signal reflected from the interior of the housing, the RF signal reflected from the exterior of the housing, and the RF signal transmitted through the housing.

6. The DUV amplifier of claim 5 comprising a housing having a optically selective outer surface having a ratio of visible absorptivity to infrared emissivity of less than 0.5.

7. The DUV antenna of claim 2 comprising an RF connector bonded to the signal line, wherein the RF connector is the only unbonded connection between the RF element contacts and the RF connector.

8. The DUV antenna of claim 2 wherein the RF amplifier is positioned within a radius of half the length LE of the driven antenna element, from the antenna pointing X axis.

9. The DUV antenna of claim 2, wherein degradation of the RF signal to noise ratio between the DUV amplifier and the signal line connector does not exceed about 3 dB per 31 m (100 ft) of signal line for UHF signals of at least 400 MHz.

10. The DUV antenna of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of driven antennas.

11. The DUV antenna of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of RF amplifiers communicatively connected to the driven antennas wherein multiple amplifier signals are diplexed together to the signal line.

12. The DUV antenna of claim 1, wherein the driven antenna is configured:

for three halves wave resonance in the UHF range between about 470 MHz and 698 MHz; and

for one of one half wave resonance and five eighths wave resonance in the VHF range between about 170 MHz and 233 MHz.

13. The DUV antenna of claim 1, wherein the driven antenna is configured for resonance in the high UHF range from 698 MHz to 801 MHz.

14. The DUV antenna of claim 1 wherein the VHF enhancer comprises one of streamlined elements and tapered elements having an X axis drag less than 85% of the drag of VHF enhancer cylindrical elements of equal length and cross sectional area.

15. The DUV antenna of claim 1 further comprising:

a bonded RF connection between each antenna element RF contact and the signal line; and

an encapsulating material surrounding one of;

the antenna element supports;

the antenna element RF contacts, and said bonded RF connections.

16. The DUV antenna of claim 1 further comprising a dual axis orientable mount and an antenna support, wherein the DUV antenna is mountable with a prescribed orientation about the pointing axis, and a prescribed azimuthal orientation about an antenna support axis perpendicular to the pointing axis.

17. The DUV antenna of claim 1 further comprising a lightning rod electrically isolated from the other antenna components, and conductively connected to an earth ground.

18. A DUV Antenna having a peak antenna gain along a X axis comprising:

two RF antenna elements;

each antenna element having

an RF conductive component

with an outer conductive length and width measured normal to the X axis;

wherein the RF conductive length to height ratio is between 1 to 10 and 10 to 1;

a structural support component comprising

a triality of stiffening bends to withstand wind forces; and

an element support;

an antenna support supporting the two element supports;

an RF signal line RF connected to the two element RF contacts; and

an RF connector RF connected to the RF signal line;

wherein the DUV antenna is configured for enhanced gain with digital signals in a prescribed RF frequency range.

19. The DUV antenna of claim 18 wherein the RF antenna element comprises three stiffening bends between RF conductive components, oriented from near the antenna element mount to an outer portion of the antenna element.

20. The DUV antenna of claim 19 wherein the dipole element support comprises a plurality of DUV element portions folded together.

21. The DUV antenna of claim 19 wherein the RF contact is positioned on a surface of the antenna element mount.

22. The DUV antenna of claim 18 further comprising a radio frequency amplifier RF with RF contacts communicatively connected to the antenna element RF contacts, and with signal contacts communicatively connected to a signal line, wherein the amplifier is located within a radius of the antenna element length to the element RF contacts.

23. The DUV antenna of claim 22 comprising a supporting housing, wherein the element RF contacts, element structural supports, and amplifier contacts are environmentally sealed within the supporting housing.

24. The DUV antenna of claim 18 wherein the DUV element comprises at least three conductive elements extending outwards from the RF contact.

25. The DUV antenna element of claim 18, wherein the length to height ratio of each DUV element is between 0.20 and 3.0.

26. The DUV antenna of claim 18 further comprising a plurality of perforations in the DUV antenna element, wherein the remaining element material comprises between 20% and 80% of the DUV element area when projected onto a vertical surface parallel to the DUV element.

27. The DUV antenna of claim 18 wherein the structural support component has a folded height to flat height ratio of less than 0.75.

28. The DUV antenna of claim 18 wherein the antenna element has a outer portion cutback greater than 10% of the element length.

29. A method of configuring a DUV antenna having a pointing axis, a driven antenna, multiple passive RF enhancement components selected from a reflector element positioned across the axis behind the driven antenna;

a reflective booster element positioned off the pointing axis near the driven antenna; and

a directive element positioned across the axis in front of the driven antenna; and

an RF connector, the method comprising;

configuring the driven antenna for;

a first odd/even rational wavelength resonance near a UHF frequency in the range of 300 MHz to 810 MHz; and

a second odd/even rational wavelength resonance near a VHF frequency in the range of 100 MHz to 270 MHz;

configuring the lengths and positions of the multiple passive RF enhancement components; and

communicating an RF signal between the driven antenna and an RF connector;

wherein providing enhanced RF performance between the driven antenna and the RF connector in the prescribed UHF range and in the prescribed VHF range.

30. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further comprising

forming the reflective booster element shorter than the driven antenna length, and

positioning the reflective booster element away from the X axis by between three eighths and five eighths the driven antenna length.

31. The antenna configuring method of claim 30 further comprising configuring the reflective booster element and the UHF reflector element with about equal lengths.

32. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further configuring the driven antenna for about five eighths wave resonance near the VHF frequency and for about three halves resonance near the UHF frequency.

33. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further configuring the driven antenna for about one half wave resonance within or near the VHF frequency and for about three halves resonance near the UHF frequency.

34. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 wherein the antenna comprises an amplifier, the method further comprising amplifying the RF signal, electrically communicating the RF signal with the driven antenna, converting between an electrical RF signal and an optical RF signal, and optically communicating the RF signal with the RF connector.

35. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 comprising protecting the RF communication link between driven antenna and the RF connector from one of corrosive action and mechanical fatigue.

36. The antenna configuring method of claim 29, wherein the DUV antenna comprises multiple driven antennas;

the method further comprising configuring each driven antenna and the multiple RF enhancement components for enhanced RF performance in a respective prescribed UHF range and VHF range; and

communicating the respective RF signal between each driven antenna and the RF connector.

37. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further comprising positioning the VHF reflector element behind the driven antenna by a distance between about 30% to 55% of the length of the VHF reflector element.

38. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further comprising positioning the UHF reflector element behind the driven antenna by a distance between about 12.5% and 37.5% of the length of the UHF reflector element.

39. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 comprising supporting multiple reflective booster elements on a booster boom, and orienting the booster boom at an angle to the X axis between about fifty degrees and seventy degrees.

40. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 comprising configuring a curved booster boom about like a compound parabolic collector surface positioned with the driven antenna about in the plane through the parabola'"'"'s focus perpendicular to the X axis;

configuring the booster'"'"'s parabolic axis at an angle between about ten degrees and fifty degrees with the X axis; and

positioning multiple reflective booster elements along the curved booster boom and transverse to the boom.

41. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 further comprising one of:

vertically positioning the driven antenna to within 75% and 125% of a local RF signal maxima; and

orienting the driven antenna about the pointing axis to within 75% and 125% of the local RF polarization.

42. The antenna configuring method of claim 29 wherein the antenna comprises one or more reflective screens, the method further comprising separating by between about 33% and 100% of the driven antenna length LD one of:

the reflective screen and the driven antenna, and multiple reflective screens.