Patent Application
20130026331
The present invention relates to a mounting bracket for an antenna for securing an onboard antenna onto a carbody panel having a curved surface.
Such a mounting bracket for an antenna is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-23227 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-36315.
As shown in these drawings, in the conventional mounting bracket 100, a plurality of protruding tips 110b, each having a triangular shape, are formed on an upper end of a washer 110a formed into a cylindrical shape of which vertical cross section is in a U-letter shape. A nut 111 is rotatably provided at a bottom portion of the washer 110a. In this structure, a ring-shaped protruding portion is formed on the upper surface of the nut 111 having a hexagonal shape, and this ring-shaped protruding portion is inserted into a through hole 110c from downside of the washer 110a, and then the ring-shaped protruding portion is caulked so as to have a widened diameter. Thus, the ring-shaped protruding portion with the widened diameter is engaged with an inner flange portion formed at the lower surface of the washer 110a, so that the nut 111 is rotatably secured at the bottom portion of the washer 110a.
This mounting bracket 100 is used for securing an onboard antenna, for example, onto a vehicle roof. In this case, a protruding screw is formed on a lower surface of an antenna base provided at a lower portion of the vehicle antenna so as to protrude downward therefrom. On the roof, a mounting hole to which the protruding screw is inserted is formed. The onboard antenna is mounted on the roof, while the protruding screw inserted into the mounting hole. Then, the mounting bracket 100 is threadedly engaged with the protruding screw that is inserted through the mounting hole to protrude inside the vehicle, from the inside of the vehicle. When the nut 111 of the mounting bracket 100 is tightened to the protruding screw, four protruding tips 110b, each having a sharp triangular shape, formed on the upper rim of the washer 110a stick into the inside of the carbody, so that the antenna base of the onboard antenna is securely grounded to the carbody through the mounting bracket 100.
In recent years, an onboard antenna having an outer shape of a shark-fin shape has been mounted on a roof of a vehicle. Such a shark-fin type onboard antenna has a length of about 160 to 220 mm and a height of about 60 to 70 mm. In the case a shark-fin type onboard antenna is mounted by using a conventional mounting bracket 100, a problem in which the antenna tends to wobble in lateral directions relative to an advancing direction of the vehicle, since a washer 110a of the mounting bracket 100 has a comparatively small round shape and therefore the roof is sandwiched between the antenna base and the mounting bracket 100 within a small area. In particular, since the roof has a curved surface, and since the thickness of a vehicle panel has become thinner and thinner in recent years, the wobbling tends to occur more easily.
In view of this problem, the object of the present invention is to provide a mounting bracket for an antenna that is free from wobbling even when an onboard antenna having a shark-fin shape is mounted onto a carbody panel having a curved surface.
A mounting bracket for an antenna in accordance with the present invention is a mounting bracket for an antenna, which is threadedly engaged with a protruding screw of an antenna main body at inside a vehicle panel. Herein, the protruding screw is formed with threads on its outer circumferential face. The mounting bracket is provided with a flat-plate shaped base plate that has a U-letter shape in its cross section, with a plurality of protruding tips, each having a leading end that is sharpened so as to stick into the vehicle panel, formed on an upper end thereof, a washer portion formed at a substantially center portion thereof so as to protrude therefrom, and a plurality of projections, each having a leading end that is sharpened so as to stick into the vehicle panel, formed on an outer edge thereof; and a nut that is rotatably secured at a bottom portion of the washer portion, and threadedly engaged with the threads formed on the outer circumferential surface of the protruding screw. By this structure, when the nut is tightened to the protruding screw, the plurality of protruding tips stick into the vehicle panel, while the plurality of projections stick into the vehicle panel.
1 Mounting bracket, 2 Antenna device, 10 Base plate, 10a Washer, 10b Protruding tip, 10c Elongated hole, 10d Projection, 10e Insertion hole, 11 Nut, 11a Hexagonal member, 11b Ring-shaped protruding portion, 11c Through hole, 12 Frame, 13 Roof, 13a Reinforcing member, 14 Antenna base, 14a Protruding screw, 100 Mounting bracket, 110a Washer, 110b Protruding tip, 110c Through hole, 111 Nut
The mounting bracket 1 for an antenna relating to the embodiment of the present invention shown in these drawings is formed by machining a metal plate, and is constituted by a flat-plate shaped base plate 10, a washer portion 10a formed in the base plate 10 and a nut 11 having a hexagonal shape and made of metal, which is freely rotatably anchored to the washer portion 10a.
As shown in these drawings, the base plate 10 is formed into a substantially oblong shape with its shorter side formed into an arc shape, and the washer portion 10a is formed at a substantially center portion of the base plate 10 so as to protrude downward, by a pressing process. The washer portion 10a is formed into a U-letter shape in its cross-section, with a through hole 10e formed therein, and the lower end of the through hole 10e is narrowed so as to form an inner flange having a ring shape with a narrowed inner diameter. Four sharp protruding tips 10b each having a triangular shape are formed on the upper rim of the through hole 10e of the washer portion 10a so as to protrude upward therefrom. These plural protruding tips 10b are formed so as to protrude upward beyond the upper surface of the base plate 10. In this case, the plural protruding tips 10b are formed by cutting out a border portion between the base plate 10 and the washer portion 10a, and the washer portion 10a is supported to the base plate 10 through the border portion except for the cut-out portions. For this reason, the washer portion 10a is integrally formed in the base plate 10 with elasticity derived from the cutting-out process. At two positions on the shorter sides having an arc shape of the base plate 10 respectively adjacent to boundaries with longer sides, paired projections 10d which are sectioned by cutting grooves on both sides thereof from periphery are formed. Each of the plural projections 10d is also formed into a bent shape so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the base plate 10. Moreover, on the base plate 10, two arc-shaped elongated holes 10c are formed virtually in parallel with the shorter sides of the periphery of the washer portion 10a.
Next,
As shown in these drawings, the nut 11 is composed of a hexagonal member 10a having a hexagonal shape on which a through hole 11c is formed, and on the upper surface of the hexagonal member 11a, a ring-shaped protruding portion 11b is formed so as to protrude from the upper rim of the through hole 11c. On the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 11c of the hexagonal member 11a, female threads 11d are formed.
As shown in
In these drawings, only one portion of the roof 13 is shown. Mounting holes, not shown, are formed through the roof 13 of a vehicle. The antenna 2 is provided with a frame 12 having a shark-fin shape, with an antenna assembly being installed inside the frame 12, and an antenna base 14 made of metal is fixed on the lower surface of the frame 12 so as to close the frame 12. A protruding screw 14a is formed on the lower surface of the antenna base 14 so as to protrude downward therefrom. By inserting the protruding screw 14a into the mounting hole formed through the roof 13, the antenna device 2 is disposed on the roof 13. The protruding screw 14a is exposed inside the carbody through the mounting hole. The protruding screw unit 14a protruding into the carbody is inserted into the insertion hole 10a of the mounting bracket 1 and threadedly engaged with the nut 11. By tightening the nut 11 of the mounting bracket 1, the four projections 10d formed on the outer edge of the base plate 10, each having a sharp triangular shape, stick into the inner surface of the roof 13, while the four protruding tips 10b formed on the upper end of the washer portion 10a, each having a sharp triangular shape, stick into the inner surface of the roof 13. With this structure, the antenna base 14 of the antenna device 2 is securely grounded to the carbody through the mounting bracket 1. Moreover, since the major axis of the base plate 10 is disposed laterally relative to the advancing direction of the vehicle, with the roof 13 being sandwiched between the flat-plate shaped base plate 10 and the antenna base 14, it is possible to prevent the antenna mounting bracket from wobbling when a shark-fin shaped antenna device 2 is mounted onto the roof 13.
As shown in these drawings, the lower surface of the frame 12 having a shark-fin shape of the antenna device 2 is closed by the antenna base 14, and the protruding screw 14a protrudes downward from a substantially center portion of the lower surface of the antenna base 14. When the protruding screw 14a is inserted through the insertion hole 10e of the mounting bracket 1 and the nut 11 is fastened to the protruding screw 14a with a spanner or the like, the plural protruding tips 10b formed on the washer portion 10a stick into the bottom surface of the roof 13. At the same time, the plural projections 10d, formed on the outer edge of the flat-plate shaped base plate 10 on the mounting bracket 1 whose major axis is disposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the advancing direction of the vehicle, stick into the bottom surface of the roof 13.
In this case, the width of the frame 12 of the antenna device 2 is almost same as the interval between the projections 10d formed on the two sides of the base plate 10, so that the antenna device 2 is mounted onto the roof 13 without wobbling. Moreover, since cutout portions for forming the protruding tips 10b are formed at a plurality of places on the border portion between the washer portion 10a and the base plate 10, the base plate 10 is elastically pressed onto the roof 13 when the nut 11 is fastened to the protruding screw 14a. Furthermore, since the base plate 10 is also elastically deformed by the function of the two elongated holes 10c, the antenna device 2 can be securely mounted onto the roof 13 by the mounting bracket 1, even if the roof 13 is formed into a curved surface.
In addition, in recent years, the thickness of the vehicle panel becomes thinner and thinner, and for this reason, a reinforcing member is installed inside the vehicle panel. Therefore,
As shown in these drawings, a plurality of reinforcing members 13a are provided inside the roof 13 of the antenna device 2, and the mounting bracket 1 is disposed in a bridged manner over the reinforcing members 13a. That is, upon fastening the nut 11 of the mounting bracket 1 onto the protruding screw 14a wity a spanner or the like, the plural protruding tips 10b formed on the washer portion 10a stick into the bottom surface of the roof 13, while the plural projections 10d formed on the outer edge of the base plate 10 are placed on the reinforcing members 13a to stick into the same reinforcing members 13a.
In this case, although the plural projections 10d are placed on the reinforcing members 13a, the base plate 10 is elastically deformed by the function of the two elongated holes 10c, so that the antenna device 2 can be securely mounted onto the roof 13 provided with the reinforcing members 13a by the mounting bracket 1. Moreover, since cutout portions for forming the protruding tips 10b are formed at a plurality of points on the border portion between the washer portion 10a and the base plate 10, the base plate 10 is elastically contact onto the roof 13 when the nut 11 is fastened to the protruding screw 14a. With this arrangement, the antenna device 2 can be mounted onto the roof 13 with the reinforcing members 13a provided thereto, without wobbling.
In the mounting bracket 1 for an antenna in accordance with the present invention as described above, the base plate 10 is formed into an oblong shape; however, this may be formed into a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, or a round shape. In this case, the number of the projections formed on the outer edge of the base plate 10 is not limited to four, but may be three or five or more. Moreover, the number of the protruding tips 10b formed on the upper rim of the washer portion 10a is not limited to four, but may be three or five or more. Furthermore, the number of the elongated holes 10c formed on the base plate 10 is not limited to two, but four or more of these may be formed.
Besides, although the antenna device has a shark-fin shape, the present invention is not limited by this shape, and as long as the antenna device has a frame having a length of about 160 to 220 mm and a height of about 60 to 70 mm, any shape may be used, and such an antenna device can be mounted onto a carbody panel without wobbling.
In accordance with the present invention, the plural projections, each having a sharp leading edge, are formed on an outer edge of the flat-plate shaped base plate, and upon tightening the nut rotatably provided on the bottom portion of the washer to the protruding screw, the plural protruding tips and the plural projections stick into a vehicle panel, so that an antenna having a shark-fin shape can be mounted onto a vehicle panel having a curved surface without wobbling.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-075288 | Mar 2010 | JP | national |
This application is a U.S. continuation application filed under 35 USC 111 (a) claiming benefit under 35 USC 120 and 365 (c) of PCT application JP2011/054703, filed on Mar. 2, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2011/054703 | Mar 2011 | US |
| Child | 13632446 | US |
