Antenna on-glass
First Claim
1. A transparent antenna comprising:
- a transparent dielectric substrate;
an electroconductive antenna element positioned along a major surface of said substrate;
an electroconductive patch having selected portion overlaying selected portion of the electroconductive antenna element, the electroconductive patch defined by an opaque outline and having a non-opaque portion within the outline, the electroconductive patch electrically connected to said antenna element, wherein said patch has a visibility coefficient within the range of greater than 0 and less than 1.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a transparent antenna including a transparent dielectric substrate, an electroconductive antenna element positioned along a major surface of the substrate, an electroconductive patch capacitively or directly connected to the antenna element, and a connector secured to the patch to permit transfer of signals generated by the antenna element to an electromagnetic energy transmitting and/or receiving device. The patch, is configured to have a visibility coefficient (i.e. a ratio of the non-opaque area to the total area) between 0 and 1. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the antenna element includes one or more transparent, electroconductive coatings positioned between first and second glass plies of a windshield for a motor vehicle and the electroconductive patch is applied to an exposed major surface of the windshield such that it overlays at least a portion of the antenna element and is capacitively coupled to the antenna element. The patch is may be formed from an opaque electroconductive ceramic IR, UV, thermoplastic or thermoset paint.
98 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A transparent antenna comprising:
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a transparent dielectric substrate;
an electroconductive antenna element positioned along a major surface of said substrate;
an electroconductive patch having selected portion overlaying selected portion of the electroconductive antenna element, the electroconductive patch defined by an opaque outline and having a non-opaque portion within the outline, the electroconductive patch electrically connected to said antenna element, wherein said patch has a visibility coefficient within the range of greater than 0 and less than 1. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A transparent antenna for a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a first glass ply;
a second glass ply secured in overlaying relation to said first glass ply to form a windshield having at least one exposed major surface;
a transparent electroconductive antenna element positioned along a major surface of one of said first and second glass plies; and
an electroconductive patch positioned at least in close proximity to the at least one exposed major surface of said second ply spaced from the antenna, wherein said patch is defined by an outline and having opaque elements within the outline to define discrete spaced areas wherein at least one of the areas is an opaque area and at least one of the areas is a non-opaque area wherein the patch overlays at least a portion of said antenna element to capacitively couple with said antenna element, and has a visibility coefficient within the range of greater than 0 and less than 1. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of making a transparent antenna comprising the steps of:
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positioning an electroconductive antenna element at least in close proximity to a major surface of a rigid transparent dielectric ply, applying an electroconductive patch having an outline and opaque elements within the outline to define spaced discrete areas wherein at least one of the areas is an opaque area and at least two of the areas are non-opaque areas, the patch having a visibility coefficient within the range of greater than 0 and less than 1; and
positioning said patch over the electroconductive element such that said patch is electrically connected to said antenna element. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An electrical connector for a transparent antenna element comprising:
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a plurality of spaced discrete electroconductive members with selected portions and/or members overlaying selected portions of the antenna element, and a conductor electrically connecting selected ones of said members. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification