This invention relates generally to a multiservice antenna system assembly. The multiservice antenna system assembly may include one antenna that is fastened by means of a support, or at least two antennas that are grouped together by means of a support. The support may, for example, be a plastic packing. This invention is particularly useful when the antenna assembly is located in automobile rear-view mirrors and more particularly in exterior rear-view mirrors, but may also have utility in other applications.
Until recently, the telecommunication services included in an automobile were limited to a few systems, mainly the analogical radio reception (AM/FM bands). The most common solution for these systems is the typical whip antenna mounted on the car roof. The current tendency in the automotive sector is to reduce the aesthetic and aerodynamic impact of such whip antennas by embedding the antenna system in the vehicle structure. Also, a major integration of the several telecommunication services into a single antenna is specially attractive to reduce the manufacturing costs or the damages due to vandalism and car wash systems.
The antenna integration is becoming more and more necessary as we are assisting to a deep cultural change towards the information society. The internet has evoked an information age in which people around the globe expect, demand, and receive information. Car drivers expect to be able to drive safely while handling e-mail and telephone calls and obtaining directions, schedules, and other information accessible on the world wide web (WWW). Telematic devices can be used to automatically notify authorities of an accident and guide rescuers to the car, track stolen vehicles, provide navigation assistance to drivers, call emergency roadside assistance and remote diagnostics of engine functions.
The inclusion of advanced telecom equipments and services in cars an other motor vehicles is very recent, and it was first thought for top-level, luxury cars. However, the fast reduction in both equipment and service costs are bringing telematic products into mid-priced automobiles. The massive introduction of a wide range of such a new systems would generate a proliferation of antennas upon the bodywork of the car, in contradiction with the aesthetic and aerodynamic trends, unless an integrated solution for the antennas is used.
On the other hand
Among other possible definitions a Space-filling curve could be defined as a non-periodic curve composed by a number of connected straight segments smaller than a fraction of the operating free-space wave length, where the segments are arranged in such a way that none of said adjacent and connected segments form another longer straight segment and wherein none of said segments intersect to each other.
For the purposes of this application, the term grid dimension curve is used to describe a curve geometry having a grid dimension that is greater than one (1). The larger the grid dimension, the higher the degree of miniaturization that may be achieved by the grid dimension curve in terms of an antenna operating at a specific frequency or wavelength. In addition, a grid dimension curve may, in some cases, also meet the requirements of a space-filling curve, as defined above. Therefore, for the purposes of this application a space-filling curve is one type of grid dimension curve.
For a more accurate calculation of the grid dimension, the number of square cells may be increased up to a maximum amount. The maximum number of cells in a grid is dependant upon the resolution of the curve. As the number of cells approaches the maximum, the grid dimension calculation becomes more accurate. If a grid having more than the maximum number of cells is selected, however, then the accuracy of the grid dimension calculation begins to decrease. Typically, the maximum number of cells in a grid is one thousand (1000).
For example,
One aspect of the present invention is the box-counting dimension of the curve that forms at least a portion of the antenna. For a given geometry lying on a surface, the box-counting dimension is computed in the following way: First a grid with boxes of size L1 is placed over the geometry, such that the grid completely covers the geometry, and the number of boxes N1 that include at least a point of the geometry are counted; secondly a grid with boxes of size L2 (L2 being smaller than L1) is also placed over the geometry, such that the grid completely covers the geometry, and the number of boxes N2 that include at least a point of the geometry are counted again. The box-counting dimension D is then computed as:
In terms of the present invention, the box-counting dimension is computed by placing the first and second grids inside the minimum rectangular area enclosing the curve of the antenna and applying the above algorithm.
The first grid should be chosen such that the rectangular area is meshed in an array of at least 5×5 boxes or cells, and the second grid is chosen such that L2=½ L and such that the second grid includes at least 10×10 boxes. By the minimum rectangular area it will be understood such area wherein there is not an entire row or column on the perimeter of the grid that does not contain any piece of the curve. Thus, some of the embodiments of the present invention will feature a box-counting dimension larger than 1.17, and in those applications where the required degree of miniaturization is higher, the designs will feature a box-counting dimension ranging from 1.5 up to 3, inclusive. For some embodiments, a curve having a box-counting dimension of about 2 is preferred. For very small antennas, that fit for example in a rectangle of maximum size equal to one-twentieth of the longest free-space operating wavelength of the antenna, the box-counting dimension will be necessarily computed with a finer grid. In those cases, the first grid will be taken as a mesh of 10×10 equal cells, while the second grid will be taken as a mesh of 20×20 equal cells, and then D is computed according to the equation above. In the case of small packages with of planar designs, i.e., designs where the antenna is arranged in a single layer on a package substrate, it is preferred that the dimension of the curve included in the antenna geometry have a value close to D=2.
In general, for a given resonant frequency of the antenna, the larger the box-counting dimension the higher the degree of miniaturization that will be achieved by the antenna. One way of enhancing the miniaturization capabilities of the antenna according to the present invention is to arrange the several segments of the curve of the antenna pattern in such a way that the curve intersects at least one point of at least 14 boxes of the first grid with 5×5 boxes or cells enclosing the curve. Also, in other embodiments where a high degree of miniaturization is required, the curve crosses at least one of the boxes twice within the 5×5 grid, that is, the curve includes two non-adjacent portions inside at least one of the cells or boxes of the grid.
The placement of a multiservice antenna system in certain position of the vehicle, such as a exterior rearview mirror is advantageous for many reasons. For example, reception and transmission of the signal is improved. In addition the antenna may be delivered to the car manufacturer already mounted meanwhile the antenna remains hidden in order to enhance the aesthetic of the vehicle.
Certain parts of the vehicle must endure difficult mechanical conditions such as vibration, moisture environments and difficult grounding of electrical components. The multiservice antenna system disclosed herein may help to overcome problems associated with placement of a multiservice antenna system assembly in difficult environments either because mounting difficulties and/or extreme physical conditions such as vibration or moisture. For example, the following features may be included in a multiservice antenna system which help to overcome problems associated with mounting the antenna in difficult environments:
One aspect of the invention refers to a multiservice antenna system assembly, which comprises at least one antenna wherein each antenna is supported by a support member.
At least one antenna of the assembly is placed on a face of a printed circuit board which is fixed to said support member. Preferably, said printed circuit board is at least partially embedded within said support member.
At least one antenna of the antenna system assembly is at least partially shaped as a space-filling curve or a grid-dimension curve, which preferably features a box-counting dimension or a grid dimension larger than 1.5, or larger than 1.9.
The multiservice antenna system assembly, provides radio communication services, telephone communication services, GPS positioning service, or any combination of said services. For that purpose, the antenna assembly may comprises a second printed circuit board including a telephone antenna, which is supported on said support member and is placed perpendicularly with respect to said first printed circuit board. Preferably, said telephone antenna is a GSM dual band antenna or a multiband antenna for cellular telephony.
Other aspect of the invention refers to a rear-view mirror assembly for a vehicle, which is conventionally formed by one or two mirrors attached to a protective case. The mirror assembly includes the multiservice antenna system assembly object of the present invention.
To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the invention, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the invention, but just as an example of how the invention can be embodied. The drawings comprise the following figures:
Preferably, the first printed circuit board (1) supports both the space-filling curve (1501-1514) and the related active system (13). It may be found in other cases that these two elements are separated. In the proposed example, the space filling or grid-dimension curve is optimized for FM reception.
The multiservice antenna system assembly further comprises a radio output coaxial cable (2), a radio DC feeding cable (3) to be connected to vehicle radio output, an antenna cable (4) designed for LW and MW reception optimization, a support member (5) consisting in a plastic packaging designed to support the radio antenna PCB inside the mirror and to ensure waterproof protection. This support member (5) is mounted on a plastic or metallic internal bracket (14). Alternatively, the support member (5) could be mounted on other inner part of the mirror assembly, different than the internal bracket (14),
In a preferred embodiment, the support member (5) is provided only with the radio antenna. However, in other embodiment the multiservice antenna system assembly may also incorporates a Sub-assembly Cellular Telephony which comprises a Telephone antenna on a second printed circuit board (6), which is supported by the same molded packaging, that is the support member (5), that support the radio antenna.
In some cases, the same PCB may support both the support the space-filling or grid dimension antenna and the related the active system and the telephone antenna PCB.
The sub-assembly Cellular Telephony further comprises a GSM dual band telephone antenna (7) (copper metallic layer and plastic support), or alternatively, a multiband antenna for cellular telephony, and a telephone output coaxial cable (8).
The multiservice antenna system assembly, may be provided with a Sub-assembly GPS, comprising a GPS antenna (9), a GPS metallic support (10) to optimize antenna performance, and a GPS output coaxial cable (11).
All the output coaxial cables should be grounded to a metal part (12) inside the mirror assembly that is connected to the bodywork of a vehicle, for instance a car, to avoid interferences in AM (LW and MW) bands. Preferably, such a metal part (12) will be the internal bracket (14) of the mirror assembly (15).
Preferably, the operations for the antenna mounting inside the mirror and the cable routing are highly controlled in order to avoid any performance degradation. For this and other purposes, a specific plastic part, that is the support member (5) has been designed.
Referring now to
The multiservice system antenna assembly of the present application can advantageously be located in the external rearview mirrors of motor vehicles, especially vans or trucks.
The antenna could be advantageously be integrated in the right mirror for left side driving. It can also be positioned in the left mirror for right-side driving. From mechanical or electrical point of view, the antenna could have been also integrated in the other side mirror. This features a high level of standardization, offering the capacity of antenna installation independently from the car structure: low roof or high roof vans, passenger vans, camping-caravanning vans, special vans (ambulance, police, and fire brigade), etc . . . For all these vehicles, the external mirror is kept the same. In this manner, the car manufacturer does not have worry any more about antenna installation.
Among all the possible embodiments of the invention, several example arrangements include:
Other combinations of services may include:
Other services (DAB, DTB, PCS1900, KPCS, CDMA, WCDMA, TDMA, UMTS, TACS, ETACS, SDARS, WiFi, WiMAX, UWB, Bluetooth, ZigBee) could be also integrated in the same way. Two over-molded shapes for the support member (5) have been design to take into account the two main options. One short support member (5) as shown in
This metallic bracket (14), represented in
In a non limitative way some advantageous arrangements in the design of the FM antenna could be:
The AM reception may be achieved by a specific cable (4) separated from the rest of the radio antenna. The cable physical parameters and routing can be optimized to adapt the multiservice antenna assembly to a mirror, to optimize the reception and minimize the interferences due to the electrical parts of the mirror (electrical engines in particular). It is advantageous that the AM route follows the orientation as represented in
An active system (13) in AM can be introduced in order to match the antenna output impedance with the radio input impedance. Also, the active system (13) can be designed to reduce interferences in AM. The introduction of an active system (13), which is shown in
The second (PCB) printed circuit board (8) or telephone PCB is used for:
Furthermore, the telephone antenna (7) is composed by two elements:
Regarding the placement of the GSM antenna, the following features are preferred that the relative position of the second PCB (6) (telephone PCB) with respect to the first PCB (1) (radio PCB), as shown in
The GPS antenna (9) (
A GND connection in the signal cable should be present in order to avoid interferences due to GND differential voltage levels in LW and MW bands: A ground connector (18) is integrated on the output RF cable (11) to reduce interferences. This connector is gripped on the output coaxial cable and screw to the bracket (14).
Further embodiments of the invention are described in the attached dependent claims.
The invention is obviously not limited to the specific embodiment(s) described herein, but also encompasses any variations that may be considered by any person skilled in the art (for example, as regards the choice of materials, dimensions, components, configuration, etc.), within the general scope of the invention as defined in the claims.
This application claims priority from PCT Application No. PCT/EP2005/006896 filed Jun. 27, 2005, and from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/583,904 filed Jun. 29, 2004, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2005/006896 | 6/27/2005 | WO | 00 | 6/1/2007 |
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WO2006/002849 | 1/12/2006 | WO | A |
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