Patent Application
20100141544
The present invention relates generally to the field of antennas, and in particular to a new and useful digital TV antenna that is made of two conductive surfaces that are separated by a nonconductive substrate.
A wide variety of TV antennas are known but all are complicated, often power structures, or are large elongated structures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital TV antenna that is small, passive (i.e. unpowered) and simple, while being very efficient at picking up digital TV signals that are typically in the frequency range of 470 to 860 MHz.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital TV antenna that has a first conductive member with a substantially continuous digital signal receiving surface with two minimum orthogonal dimensions, a second conductive member with a substantially continuous digital signal receiving surface with two minimum orthogonal dimensions, a first conductive wire having a first end electrically connected to the first conducive member and an opposite end, a second conductive wire having a first end electrically connected to the second conductive member and an opposite end, a plug connected to the opposite ends of the first and second conductive wires for being plugged to an input of a digital TV, and a nonconductive substrate connected to the surfaces of each of the first and second conductive members for supporting the conductive members at a spaced location from each other by a selected spacing. At least one of the two minimum orthogonal dimensions for each conductive member is at least about eight inches but may advantageously be about eight to about eighteen inches with a spacing between the conductive members being preferable 1/64th to ½ inch, whether they are face to face on opposite sides of the nonconductive substrate, or side by side on the same side if the nonconductive substrate. Large spacing will also work however.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.
In the drawings:
Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements,
The orthogonal dimensions and, preferably, the size and shape of the first and second conductive members are substantially the same, although they may be slightly different from each other.
The antenna includes a first conductive wire 16 that has a first end electrically connected to the first conducive member 12, and an opposite end forming or connected as the center conductive (e.g. copper) core of a coaxial cable 20, and acting as the center contact of an F type or RG6 or other coaxial TV plug 22. A second conductive wire 18 having a first end electrically connected to the second conductive member 14, also has an opposite end connected to the shielding conductive braiding 24 of the cable 22 and electrically connected to the screw cap for the plug 22.
The plug 22 is for connection to an input of a digital TV and the first and second conductive member 12 and 14 are preferably made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, or they can alternatively be made of copper. Since it is not possible to solder to aluminum, to electrically connect the first ends of the wires 16 and 18 to the conductive members 12 and 14, is the members are not copper, then a copper pad 26 is electrically and mechanically connected to the surface of each conductive member, e.g. by being mechanically fastened to the member or by being deposited on the surface, e.g. by vapor or other deposition. The ends of the wires can therefore by soldered at 28 to each pad.
The antenna also includes a nonconductive substrate 30 connected, e.g. by two-sided tape, adhesives, fusing, ultrasonic welding or other means, to the surfaces of each of the first and second conductive members 12 and 14, for supporting the conductive members at a spaced location from each other by a selected spacing and in a manner that insulates the conductive members from each other.
At least one of the two minimum orthogonal dimensions X and Y for each conductive member has been found to advantageously be at least about eight (8) inches for best digital TV reception but can be up to eighteen (18) inches. Large sizes yield no better reception but become awkward and unwieldy.
Although shown to be rectangular in
As illustrated in
For the purpose of this disclosure the word rectangular is meant to include both square, where the maximum, orthogonal dimensions are equal to each other, and non-square rectangles where the maximum, orthogonal dimensions are not equal to each other, and the word ovoid is meant to include both circular, where the maximum, orthogonal dimensions (i.e. the diameter in the X and Y directions) are equal to each other, and oval where the maximum, orthogonal dimensions (i.e. the major and minor axial dimensions in the X and Y directions) are not equal to each other, as well as semi-circular and semi-oval as in the embodiment of
A shown in
Two-sided tape, adhesives, fusing, ultrasonic welding or other means are used to connect the members 12 and 14 to the surface of substrate 30.
In this side by side orientation, that is also illustrated in the embodiments of
A shown the embodiments of
As shown in
Other flat and non-flat substrate and conductive shapes, spacing, orientation and relationships also work as an antenna.
The major shift from conventional TV antennas represented by the present invention is that while elongated conductive members, from single telescoping sticks, to rabbit eyes, to complex multi-part antenna arrays was considered the proper TV antenna shape, the inventor has discovered that two broad conductive surface areas work better for receiving digital TV signals.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.
