Patent Application
20200388902
The present invention is directed generally toward communication antennas, and more particularly to mounting structures for communication antennas.
As wireless data service demands have grown, a conventional response has been to increase the number and capacity of conventional cellular Base Stations (Macro-Cells). The antennas used by such Macro-Cells are typically mounted on antenna towers. A conventional antenna tower has three or four legs on which antennas and supporting remote radio units (RRUs) are mounted. However, in some environments structures known as “monopoles” are used as mounting structures. Monopoles are typically employed when fewer antennas/RRUs are to be mounted, and/or when a structure of less height is required.
In addition, Macro-Cell sites are becoming less available, and available spectrum limits how much additional capacity can be derived from a given Macro-Cell. Accordingly, small cell RRU and antenna combinations have been developed to “fill in” underserved or congested areas that would otherwise be within a Macro-Cell site. Deployment of small cells, particularly in urban environments, is expected to continue to grow. Often such small cell configurations (sometimes termed “metrocells”) are mounted on monopoles.
In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide additional monopole arrangements, particularly in mounting.
As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mounting flange for a monopole. The mounting flange comprises: a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole. The main panel includes a plurality of first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes a plurality of second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance from a center of the central hole, the second distance being greater than the first distance.
As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a monopole assembly for mounting antennas comprising: an elongate monopole having an upper end; and a mounting flange attached to the upper end of the monopole. The mounting flange comprises a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole that aligns with an internal lumen of the monopole. The main panel includes a plurality of first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes a plurality of second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance from a center of the central hole, the second distance being greater than the first distance.
As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mounting flange for a monopole comprising a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole. The main panel includes three first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance of between about 5.5 and 6 inches from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes six second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance of between about 6 and 6.5 inches from a center of the central hole.
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein the expression “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.
Referring now to the drawings, a telecommunications monopole designated at 100 is shown in
As can be seen in
The mounting flange 110 includes three mounting holes 120. The mounting holes 120 are spaced substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other (i.e., they are located about 120 degrees from each other). In some embodiments, the centers of the mounting holes 120 are located at a radial distance of about 5.5 to 6 inches from the center of the central hole 112, with a distance of 5 ⅝ inches being suitable for certain embodiments. The mounting holes 120 are typically between about ⅝ and ⅞ inch in diameter, with ¾ inch mounting holes 120 being employed in some embodiments.
The mounting flange 110 also includes six mounting holes 124. The mounting holes 124 are spaced substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other (i.e., they are located about 60 degrees from each other). In some embodiments, the centers of the mounting holes 124 are located at a radial distance of about 6 to 6.5 inches from the center of the central hole 112, with a distance of 6 ¼ inches being suitable for certain embodiments. The mounting holes 124 are typically between about 5/16 and 7/16 inch in diameter, with ⅜ inch mounting holes 124 being employed in some embodiments. Also, in the described embodiment, the mounting holes 124 are tapped with threads, with a 16 UNC thread being suitable for some embodiments.
As can be seen in
As can be envisioned from
Referring to
As can be seen from
The foregoing demonstrates that the configuration of the mounting flange 110 can enable multiple antenna assemblies (such as the antenna assemblies 150, 170) to be mounted atop a monopole. This flexibility can reduce manufacturing, labor and inventory costs and time for the monopole.
As another option, another mounting flange, designated broadly at 210, is shown in
The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.
The present application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/858,564 was filed on Jun. 7, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62858564 | Jun 2019 | US |
