Antenna apparatus for use in automobiles

• US 20010033249A1
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Published: 10/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harada Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Harada Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Endo, Hiroshi, Langley, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 6,414,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/713
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93272 in the back of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/032 Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/1271 for mounting on windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3208 characterised by the application wherein the antenna is used
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays

Abstract

An automobile antenna apparatus according to the present invention includes an antenna control section for electronically and variably controlling (beam-steering or beam-scanning) an emitting-beam pattern of each of antennas mounted on an automobile, based on high-precision positional information of the automobile, to optimize a function of using an electric wave for vehicle (for broadcast wave reception, mobile communications, positioning, obstruction detection and the like).

Claims

1. An automobile antenna apparatus comprises an antenna control section including:

a first means for electronically and variably controlling an emitting-beam pattern of each of antennas mounted on an automobile, based on high-precision positional information of the automobile; and

a second means for optimizing a function of using an electric wave for vehicle based on the electrically and variably controlling of the emitting-beam pattern.

2. An automobile antenna apparatus comprises a smart antenna, the smart antenna including:

a slot antenna having a slot space as a main element, the slot space being surrounded with a first region in which a metal film covers a defogger formed on a window of an automobile and a second region formed of a metal portion of a car body including a window frame of the automobile; and

an integrated multiband antenna having a plurality of antenna elements of thin-film conductive pieces which are arranged such that at least some of the antenna elements are inserted into the slot space of the slot antenna.

3. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 2

, further comprises:

a control circuit section provided close to the smart antenna and connected to at least part of the smart antenna; and

an antenna unit which is electronically controlled by the control circuit section to make the smart antenna integrated and intelligent so as to fulfill a receiving function of receiving an AM broadcast wave, an FM broadcast wave, a TV broadcast wave, and a GPS wave and a transmitting/receiving function of transmitting/receiving waves for a car phone and keyless door-lock control, broadcast waves relayed by a broadcast satellite and a communications satellite, and a wave for using an automatic toll collection system.

4. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 3

, wherein the antenna unit is connected to a reception set section and a car computer network, which are both provided inside the automobile, through an optical fiber LAN using an optical fiber as a signal transmission line.

5. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 4

, wherein the antenna unit incorporates tuners separated from receiver main bodies of the reception set section.

6. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 3

, wherein the control circuit section of the antenna unit includes a reception circuit capable of receiving at least one of the FM broadcast wave and the TV broadcast wave in a diversity reception mode.

7. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 3

, wherein the control circuit section of the antenna unit includes an FM reception circuit for receiving the FM broadcast wave and a TV reception circuit for receiving the TV broadcast wave, and at least one of the FM reception circuit and the TV reception circuit is a reception circuit having a beam steering function.

8. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 3

, wherein the control circuit section of the antenna unit includes:

means for adding a beam steering function to at least one of an FM reception circuit for receiving the FM broadcast wave and a TV reception circuit for receiving the TV broadcast wave;

a DGPS engine, which is constituted by forming a normal GPS receiver and a DGPS data link for receiving differential correction data integrally with each other as one unit, for processing signals and data in accordance with predetermined algorithm to output high-precision positioning data; and

means for varying directivity of a beam in a desired direction by both the high-precision positioning data output from the DGPS engine and the beam steering function added by the beam steering function adding means.

11. An automobile antenna apparatus according to

claim 8

, comprising:

an anti-collision EHF radar mounted at least on a front of the automobile and having a beam scanning function capable of emitting a beam within a predetermined angle range;

automobile position detection means for correctly detecting automobile position information by a composite high-precision positioning system of DGPS and dead reckoning navigation; and

means for automatically setting a target detection range by the automobile position information detected by the automobile position detection means and the beam scanning function of the anti-collision EHF radar.

9. An automobile antenna apparatus comprises an anti-collision EHF radar mounted at least on a front of an automobile and having a beam scanning function capable of emitting a beam within a predetermined angle range.

10. An automobile antenna apparatus comprising:

an anti-collision EHF radar mounted at least on a front of an automobile and having a beam scanning function capable of emitting a beam within a predetermined angle range;

automobile position detection means for correctly detecting automobile position information by a composite high-precision positioning system of DGPS and dead reckoning navigation; and

means for automatically setting a target detection range by the automobile position information detected by the automobile position detection means and the beam scanning function of the anti-collision EHF radar.