Patent Application
20240022002
The present disclosure relates to composite materials for use with communications systems.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicles use communications systems to communicate with other vehicles, mobile devices, and external servers. The communications systems include components such as antennas, receivers, and transmitters that use electromagnetic waves at specified frequency ranges dedicated to communications. Stray signals interfere with communications by the communications systems, and material properties of vehicle components to which the communications systems are mounted or attached affect an amount of interference. In particular, when a vehicle roof is made entirely of glass, attaching the communications system to the roof may be difficult, and other vehicle components may contribute to communications interference.
The present disclosure addresses these challenges of integrating communications systems with vehicle structures.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In one form, a composite antenna mount includes a polymer matrix, a plurality of particles dispersed through the polymer matrix, at least some of the particles including a ferromagnetic coating, and a plurality of electrically conductive filaments electrically connecting the ferromagnetic coatings of the particles. The ferromagnetic coating of each coated particle is configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a specified frequency range.
In variations of the composite antenna mount, which may be implemented individually or in combination: the particles are glass spheres; the electrically conductive filaments are carbon nanotubes; the particles are hollow; the specified frequency range includes frequencies used in 5G telecommunication networks; the ferromagnetic coatings are configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a plurality of specified frequency ranges used in 5G telecommunication networks; the electrically conductive filaments are electrically connected to an electrically conductive vehicle component; the electrically conductive vehicle component grounds the electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the ferromagnetic coatings; the ferromagnetic coating is corrosion resistant; the ferromagnetic coating includes nickel ferrite; the electrically conductive filaments are at least 1% by weight of the composite antenna mount; the ferromagnetic coatings are configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in the specified frequency range.
In another form, a vehicle component includes an electrically conductive vehicle structure, a composite antenna mount supported by the vehicle structure, and an antenna module supported by the composite antenna mount. The composite antenna mount includes a polymer matrix, a plurality of particles dispersed through the polymer matrix, at least some of the particles including a ferromagnetic coating, and a plurality of electrically conductive filaments electrically connecting the ferromagnetic coatings of the particles. The ferromagnetic coating of each coated particle is configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a specified frequency range to the electrically conductive vehicle structure.
In variations of the vehicle component, which may be implemented individually or in combination: the electrically conductive vehicle structure is a liftgate; an electrically conductive fastener connects the composite antenna mount to the electrically conductive vehicle structure; the component further includes an outer layer and an inner layer, the outer layer disposed above the composite antenna mount and the inner layer disposed on the electrically conductive vehicle structure; the outer layer and the inner layer enclose the composite antenna mount therebetween; the outer layer and the inner layer comprise a vehicle spoiler; the composite antenna mount is supported by the inner layer; the composite antenna mount is formed with the inner layer as a unitary structure.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference to
The communications system 22, such as an antenna by way of example, is disposed on a vehicle component 24, such as a roof by way of example. To reduce interference from noise near specified frequency ranges (e.g., 5G), the communications system 22 is mounted to an electrically conductive vehicle component 24, such as a vehicle roof that is conventionally made of a metal, such as aluminum by way of example. In the form shown in
With reference to
The composite material 28 includes the polymer matrix 30. The polymer matrix 30 provides the overall structure of the composite material. The polymer matrix 30 supports filler objects that are added to provide specific characteristics to the composite material 28, such as enhanced strength or frequency absorption. The polymer matrix 30 is a liquid that cures or hardens to a moldable solid form. The polymer matrix is a suitable material for specific characteristics of the component to be constructed. In one form, the polymer matrix 30 is a polypropylene resin selected for impact energy absorption properties. In another form, the polymer matrix 30 is a polycarbonate or nylon suitable for specific high temperature constraints. In another form, the polymer matrix 30 is a polyethylene suitable for specific ductility constraints for manufacturing. Structural filler materials (not shown) may be added to the polymer matrix 30 to achieve specific strength and/or deformation characteristics, such as glass bubbles, carbon fiber, hemp, flax, talc, or wollastonite, among others.
The composite material 28 includes a plurality of particles 32 dispersed through the polymer matrix 30. For clarity of the drawing, one particle 32 includes reference numbers, and it is understood to be within the scope of the disclosure that the other spherical objects shown in
Each particle 32 has a ferromagnetic coating 38. The ferromagnetic coating 38 absorbs electromagnetic radiation, reducing interference from radiation in 5G frequency ranges. In one form, the ferromagnetic coating 38 of a first sphere absorbs a portion of the electromagnetic radiation and reflects the remaining electromagnetic radiation to a second sphere. The respective ferromagnetic coating 38 of the second sphere absorbs some of the remaining electromagnetic radiation and reflects the unabsorbed electromagnetic radiation to a third sphere. The spherical ferromagnetic coatings 38 thus absorb the electromagnetic radiation in specified frequency ranges, such as 5G telecommunication network ranges. In one form, the ferromagnetic coating 38 is applied to each particle 32 by immersing the particles 32 in a metal salt solution. Using coated particles 32 reduces the amount of ferromagnetic material used in the composite material 28 compared to using ferromagnetic powder alone. The composite material 28 includes a suitable amount of coated particles 32 to absorb the electromagnetic radiation. In one form, the composite material 28 includes about 8 wt. % coated particles 32.
In one form, the ferromagnetic coating 38 is nickel ferrite. Alternatively, in other forms, the ferromagnetic coating is zinc nickel or magnesium ferrite. The ferromagnetic coating 38 provides a specified resistivity (i.e., an electrical resistance of a given length of a material, measured in ohm-meters) through the composite material 28. In one form, the particles 32 with the ferromagnetic coatings 38 have a resistivity of about 100 ohm-cm. The resistivity of the ferromagnetic coatings 38 is selected to absorb the specific frequency ranges. In one form, the ferromagnetic coating 38 is resistant to corrosion by the polymer matrix 30 to improve dissipation throughout the life of the antenna mount 26 formed of the composite material 28.
The composite material 28 further includes a plurality of electrically conductive filaments 34 as shown. For clarity of the drawing one filament 34 is shown to include reference numbers, and it is it is understood to be within the scope of the disclosure that the other straight objects shown in
With reference to
The antenna module 44 is supported by the composite antenna mount 26 and extends out from the outer layer 40 to communicate according to 5G communication protocols. The outer layer 40 and the inner layer 42 connect to enclose the composite antenna mount 26, and the outer layer 40 includes a hole 46 through which the antenna module 44 extends. The antenna module 44 sends and receives signals through the portion of the antenna module 44 extending through the hole 46 above the outer layer 40. The antenna module 44 is mostly hidden from external view other than the portion extending through the hole 46.
The composite antenna mount 26 is formed of the composite material 28 including the particles 32 with the ferromagnetic coatings 38 and the electrically conductive filaments 34 connecting to the ground 36. Stray signals in 5G frequency ranges that could interfere with the antenna module 44 are absorbed by the composite antenna mount 26. The composite material 28 of the composite antenna mount 26 absorbs the stray signals through the ferromagnetically coated particles 32 and electrically conductive filaments 34 to the electrically conductive vehicle structure. The inner layer 42 electrically connects the composite antenna mount 26 to the electrically conductive vehicle structure, dissipating the stray signals from the particles 32 through the inner layer 42 and to the vehicle structure.
With reference to
An electrically conductive fastener 50 connects the composite antenna mount 26 to the electrically conductive vehicle structure 48 through the inner layer 42. The fastener 50 is in one form a metal screw, and any suitable electrically conductive fastener 50 is within the scope of this disclosure. The composite antenna mount 26 absorbs stray 5G signals and conducts the absorbed signals to the electrically conductive fastener 50, which conducts the absorbed signals to the vehicle structure 48. The vehicle structure 48 grounds the signals, dissipating signals that could interfere with the antenna module 44. Thus, the composite antenna mount 26 absorbs the signals to the vehicle structure 48 by the fastener 50.
In the form of
Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice, material, manufacturing, and assembly tolerances, and testing capability.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
