Antenna holder assembly for a cellular phone

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6215445
  • Patent Number
    6,215,445
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, January 27, 1999
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 10, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
An antenna holder assembly includes a mount fixedly fastened to the shell of an antenna, a holder supported on the mount, the holder having a downward mounting rod inserted into the center through hole of the mount, an end cap fastened to the downward mounting rod to secure the holder to the mount, enabling the holder to be rotated on its own axis, and a spring bushing mounted within the center through hole of the mount around the downward mounting rod of the holder.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to an antenna holder assembly for a cellular phone, and more particularly to a simple structure of antenna holder assembly that enables the installed antenna to be smoothly turned to the desired angular position.




A cellular phone may be equipped with an antenna holder assembly for holding an antenna, enabling the antenna to be turned to the desired angular position.

FIG. 1

illustrates an antenna holder assembly for this purpose. This structure of antenna holder assembly comprises a holder


10


, a top cap


16


, a tubular screw member


17


, a shell


18


, and an induction coil


19


. The holder


10


comprises a vertical receiving chamber


21


, and two pivot holes


22


transversely aligned at two opposite sides of the vertical receiving chamber


21


. The antenna


13


has a flat bottom end


14


inserted into the vertical receiving chamber


21


, and pivotably connected between the pivot holes


22


by a pivot


15


. The holder


10


is supported on the induction coil


19


, having a shoulder


100


stopped below an inward top flange


160


of the top cap


16


. Because the induction coil


19


imparts an upward pressure to the holder


10


, a friction force is produced between the shoulder


100


and the top flange


160


when the holder


10


is rotated to adjust the antenna


13


to the desired angle. Therefore, much effort should be applied to the holder


10


when rotating the holder


10


to the desired angle.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention provides an antenna holder assembly which enables the antenna to be smoothly adjusted to the desired angle. According to one aspect of the invention, the antenna holder assembly comprises a mount fixedly fastened to the shell of an antenna, a holder supported on the mount, the holder having a downward mounting rod inserted into the center through hole of the mount, an end cap fastened to the downward mounting rod to secure the holder to the mount, enabling the holder to be rotated on its own axis, and a spring bushing mounted within the center through hole of the mount around the downward mounting rod of the holder. According to another aspect of the present invention, the size of the downward mounting rod of the holder, the springy bushing and the center through hole of the mount can be designed subject to the size of the antenna to be held.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a sectional view of an antenna holder assembly according to the prior art.





FIG. 2

is an elevational view of an antenna holder assembly according to the present invention.





FIG. 3

is an exploded view of the antenna holder assembly shown in FIG.


2


.





FIG. 4

is a sectional view in an enlarged scale of the antenna holder assembly shown in FIG.


2


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIG. 2

, an antenna holder assembly is shown comprised of a holder


20


, a mount


30


, which carries the holder


20


, and a screw cap


40


, which secures the holder


20


to the mount


30


. The holder


20


comprises a vertical receiving chamber


21


, and two pivot holes


22


transversely aligned at two opposite sides of the vertical receiving chamber


21


. An antenna can be mounted in the receiving chamber


21


, and pivoted to the pivot holes


22


.




Referring to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the holder


20


comprises a downward mounting rod


24


perpendicularly raised from the bottom side wall


23


thereof. The downward mounting rod


24


has its bottom end terminating in a screw rod


25


. The mount


30


comprises an upward flange


32


raised from the flat top side wall


33


thereof around the border, a center through hole


31


vertically extended through the center of the flat top side wall


33


. The diameter of the center through hole


31


is greater than the diameter of the downward mounting rod


24


of the holder


20


. The screw cap


40


is a stepped member having a part inserted into the center through hole


31


from the bottom side, and a part stopped outside the bottom side wall of the mount


30


. The screw cap


40


comprises a screw hole


41


threaded onto the screw rod


25


of the downward mounting rod


24


of the holder


20


to secure the holder


20


to the mount


30


, enabling the bottom side wall


23


of the holder


20


to be supported on the upward flange


32


of the mount


30


. Further, a springy bushing


50


is mounted within the center through hole


31


of the mount


30


around the downward mounting rod


24


of the holder


20


. The springy bushing


50


is a cylindrical member made of metal, having a horizontal top ring portion


51


, a horizontal bottom ring portion


52


, and a plurality of longitudinal slots


53


equiangularly spaced around the periphery between the horizontal top ring portion


51


and the horizontal bottom ring portion


52


. The springy bushing


50


supports the downward mounting rod


24


of the holder


20


in the center through hole


31


of the mount


30


, enabling the downward mounting rod


24


to be rotated with the holder


20


in the center through hole


31


.




When an antenna having a different length and diameter is pivoted to the holder


20


, a different pressure is given to the receiving chamber


21


and the pivot holes


22


. The antenna holder assembly can be modified to fit the antenna to be matched. For example, the diameter of the downward mounting rod


24


can be relatively increased, or the diameter of the center through hole


31


can be relatively reduced. On the contrary, when a shorter or lighter antenna is used, the length of the downward mounting rod


24


can be relatively shortened, or the diameter of the center through hole


31


can be relatively increased.




While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.



Claims
  • 1. An antenna holder assembly comprising a mount fastened to the shell of a cellular phone, said mount having a vertical center through hole vertically extended through top and bottom side walls thereof, a holder supported on said mount to hold an antenna, said holder comprising a downward mounting rod perpendicularly raised from a bottom side wall thereof and inserted into the center through hole on said mount, and an end cap fastened to said downward mounting rod of said holder by a screw joint and stopped outside the bottom side wall of said mount to secure said holder to said mount, enabling said holder to be rotated in said center through hole of said mount, and a springy bushing mounted around said downward mounting rod of said holder inside the center through hole of said mount.
  • 2. The antenna holder assembly of claim 1 wherein said springy bushing is a cylindrical member made of metal, having a horizontal top ring portion, a horizontal bottom ring portion, and a plurality of longitudinal slots equiangularly spaced around the periphery thereof between said horizontal top ring portion and said horizontal bottom ring portion.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
5422651 Chang Jun 1995
5436633 Liu Jul 1995
5659889 Cockson Aug 1997
6005523 Rudisill Dec 1999
6052090 Simmons et al. Apr 2000