Patent Application
20130069845
The present disclosure generally relates to antennas and more specifically (but not exclusively) to spring contact assemblies and sealed antenna base assemblies with electrical grounding taps and methods of using the same.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Multiband antennas typically include multiple antennas to cover and operate multiple frequency ranges. A printed circuit board (PCB) having a radiating antenna element thereon is a typical component of a multiband antenna assembly. Another typical component of a multiband antenna assembly is an external antenna, such as a whip antenna rod. The multiband antenna assembly may be mounted to an antenna mount, which, in turn, is installed or mounted on a vehicle surface, such as the roof, trunk, or hood of the vehicle. The antenna mount may be interconnected (e.g., via a coaxial cable, etc.) to one or more electronic devices (e.g., a radio device, etc.), such that the multiband antenna is then operable for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals to/from the radio device via the antenna mount.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
According to various aspects, exemplary embodiments are disclosed of contact assemblies and antenna assemblies including the same. For example, an exemplary embodiment includes a contact assembly suitable for providing a solderless connection between a contact of an antenna mount and a printed circuit board of an antenna assembly mountable to the antenna mount. In this example, the contact assembly generally includes a body, a contact member, a fastener for coupling the contact assembly to the printed circuit board, and a biasing member. The biasing member is operable for providing a biasing force for urging the contact member to slide relative to the body in a direction generally away from a closed end portion of the body when the biasing member is compressed between closed end portions of the contact member and body.
Another exemplary embodiment includes an antenna assembly mountable to an antenna mount having a contact. In this example embodiment, the antenna assembly generally includes a printed circuit board and a contact assembly. The contact assembly is configured to provide a solderless connection between at least one antenna element of the printed circuit board and the contact of the antenna mount when the antenna assembly is mounted to the antenna mount.
According to various aspects, exemplary embodiments are disclosed of antenna assemblies having sealed base assemblies with electrical grounding taps. For example, an exemplary embodiment includes an antenna assembly mountable to an antenna mount. In this example, the antenna assembly generally includes a base and a housing configured to be coupled to the base such that an interior enclosure is cooperatively defined by the housing and base. The interior enclosure is configured for receiving a printed circuit board therein and being sealed to thereby inhibit the ingress of water into the interior enclosure. The antenna assembly also includes one or more electrical grounding taps configured for establishing at least a portion of an electrically-conductive grounding pathway from outside of or external to the interior enclosure and which extends into the interior enclosure.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of spring contact assemblies suitable for providing a solderless connection between a printed circuit board (PCB) and a contact. In an exemplary embodiment, a spring contact assembly may be used to provide a solderless connection between a center contact (e.g., pin, etc.) of an external antenna mount and an internal antenna element on a PCB of a multiband antenna assembly. In such exemplary embodiment, the spring contact assembly thus may be used as a connecting device to physically interconnect (without soldering) the center contact from the external antenna mount to the internal antenna element, such that radio frequency (RF) signals, electrical current, and/or modulated RF signals may be transferred (transmitted, or received) via the spring contact assembly between the multiband antenna assembly and a radio device coupled to the antenna mount, such as via a coaxial cable. Additional aspects of the present disclosure also include methods of connecting a center contact from an external antenna mount to an internal antenna element of a printed circuit board without soldering.
In addition to the spring contact assemblies disclosed herein, there are also disclosed exemplary embodiments of sealed antenna base assemblies. The sealed antenna base assemblies may be used individually or in conjunction with a spring contact assembly, or either may be used individually. Accordingly, an antenna assembly may include either or both of a sealed antenna base assembly and/or a spring contact assembly according to aspects of the present disclosure.
Multiband antenna structures commonly include PCBs, which require electrical ground sources. Typically, the ground sources are fed at deferent locations at the base of the PCB. Conventionally, grounding sources have been made available but the inventors hereof have recognized that such convention methods breached the base of the antenna sacrificing the moisture and water seals. Accordingly, the inventors hereof have disclosed antenna base assemblies that provide the ground sources for the PCB while also maintaining a sealed base (e.g., a moisture, water, and/or dust sealed base, etc.). In an exemplary embodiment, there is an internal radiating element sealed foundation inside an antenna structure, which functions as an adaptor to mate an external antenna mount into the feeding point of a radiating element. This exemplary embodiment provides satisfactory multiple electrical grounding sources while preserving the sealing features. Additional aspects of the present disclosure also include methods of providing multiple electrical grounding sources for a printed circuit board without breaching the seal(s) of an antenna base assembly, thereby preserving the sealed interior of the antenna base assembly in which the printed circuit board is housed.
With reference now to the figures,
As shown in
When the holes 130, 142 are aligned, the rivet 120 may be positioned through the aligned holes 128, 130 to thereby connect or lock the spring contact assembly 100 to the substrate, board or body of the PCB 124 as shown in
With the spring contact assembly 100 coupled to the PCB 124 via the rivet 120, the other end of the spring contact assembly 100 may by used to physically interconnect or electrically connect with a contact, such as a center contact of an external radio antenna mount (e.g., center contact 397 of antenna mount 396 shown in
With continued reference to
The spring 108 in this example embodiment is a helical metal compression coil spring made from a stainless steel alloy material. In operation, the spring 108 is operable for biasing or pressure loading the housing 112 and its end portion 113 into good electrical contact with a center contact of an external antenna mount. While this illustrated embodiment includes a coil spring, other suitable biasing members besides coil springs made from stainless steel alloy may be used in other embodiments.
The housing 112 includes a closed end portion 113 and open end portion 114 for receiving the spring 108 therein as shown in
While this illustrated embodiment includes a cup-shaped cold drawn housing 112 from brass sheet metal plated with gold, other embodiments may include housings with a different configuration, such as housings formed from other materials and/or other manufacturing processes.
Also in this illustrated embodiment, the ring or annular member 116 is a bearing that is inserted into the body 104 so as to provide a bearing surface for rotary and linear movement of the housing 112 relative to the bearing 116 and body 104. The annular member 116 also prevents or at least inhibits the housing 112 from being slid completely out of the body 104. The bearing 116 may be coupled to the inner walls of the body 104 via mechanical compression, interference/friction fit, or other suitable method. As shown in
In this example, the rivet 120 is used as a mechanical fastener that couples the spring contact assembly 100 to the PCB 124. The rivet 120 is a permanent or fixed mechanical fastener in this example that it not removable from the holes of the PCB 124 and body 104 after installation. Before being installed, the rivet 120 includes a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head 121 on one end (
Regarding the PCB 124, it may include a substrate or board body made of FR4 or other suitable material. The PCB 124 includes one or more antenna radiating elements (e.g., electrically-conductive traces, etc.) configured to be operable and resonant in one or more frequency ranges or bands, such as a very high frequency (VHF) band from 136 Megahertz (MHz) to 174 MHz, an ultra high frequency (UHF) band from 380 MHz to 520 MHz, and/or a 700/800 MHz band from 760 MHz to 870 MHz. These frequency bands are examples only as other exemplary embodiments may include a PCB with one or more antenna radiating elements configured to be operable and resonant at other frequencies and/or frequency bands.
In operation, the PCB 124 is operable for transmitting and receiving electrical current through a contact port physically attached to an edge of the PCB 124. Also in this illustrated embodiment, the PCB 124 is configured with a specific or predetermined shape to accommodate the installation of the spring contact assembly 100. As shown in
With continued reference to
The antenna base assembly 250 may be used in conjunction with a spring contact assembly, such as the spring contact assembly 100 shown in
As shown in
With continued reference to
In this illustrated example of
The fasteners 262, 266 may be screws made from solderable material, such as brass, nickel-plated metal, gold-plated metal, tin-plated metal, etc. As shown by
The fasteners 262 are also deployed as electrical grounding taps for the PCB 224 in this example. The fasteners 262 are configured for establishing at least a portion of an electrically-conductive grounding pathway from outside of or external to the interior enclosure of the antenna base assembly 250 and which extends into the interior enclosure. As shown by
The fasteners 262 may be soldered directly to one or more electrically-conductive portions on the PCB 224 and/or by extending wire leads from the PCB 224 and soldering the wire leads to the ground taps/fasteners 262. In either case, an electrically-conductive grounding pathway is thus established from the PCB 224 through the fasteners 262 to the bushing 254 and then to the threaded portion of the antenna mount on which the bushing 254 is mounted.
The base 258 may be formed from various dielectric materials. By way of example, the base 258 may be an injection molded plastic part configured (e.g., shaped, sized, etc.) to accept the mating of the bushing 254 and the PCB 224. As shown in
The upper or top portion of the base 258 is shaped to mate with the PCB 224 aligned vertically. When the PCB 224 is positioned on the base 258 as shown in
The PCB 224 also includes clearances or cutout areas 233 to accommodate and provide sufficient space for the heads of the fasteners 262 as shown in
In addition, the PCB 224 also includes holes or openings 230 and notches or cutout areas 232. These PCB holes 230 and notches 232 may be used similar to that described above for the PCB 124 and spring contact assembly 100. Accordingly, the spring contact assembly 200 shown in
With continued reference to
In addition to the sealing function in this example, positioning the end portion 246 of the spring contact assembly 200 through the opening 271 also allows it to electrically connect with a center contact or pin (e.g., center contact 397 shown in
In addition to the seal 273 formed between the contact pin 246 and base 258, the antenna base assembly 250 also includes the sealing member or seal 270. In this example, the seal 270 is an elastomeric (e.g., rubber, silicone, foam, etc.) O-ring, gasket, or washer configured so as to seal an interface between the housing 274 and base 258. As shown by
The antenna housing 274 may be coupled to the base 258 by various suitable means, such as mechanical fasteners (e.g., screws, other fastening devices, etc.), a snap-fit connection, ultrasonic welding, solvent welding, heat staking, adhesives, latching, bayonet connections, hook connections, integrated fastening features, etc. within the scope of the present disclosure. When the housing 274 is coupled to the base 258, the seals 270 and 273 may thus help protect components against ingress of contaminants (e.g., dust, moisture, etc.) into an interior enclosure defined between the housing or cover 274 and the base 258. In this illustrated example, the antenna housing 274 is a generally bell shaped or dome shaped plastic housing. Alternative embodiments may include a differently configured housing having a different shape (e.g., aerodynamic configuration, etc.), formed from different materials, etc.
The antenna base assembly 250 may be threadedly coupled via the threaded portion of the bushing 254 to an external antenna mount. In turn, the external antenna mount may be mounted to a surface of an automobile such as the roof, trunk, hood, etc. In the illustrated example, there is shown a sealing member 278 (e.g., a weather resistant rubber or foam gasket, etc.) on the bottom of the antenna assembly 250. In some embodiment, the sealing member 278 may be adhesively attached, etc. to the bottom of the base 258 and/or housing 274.
When the antenna base assembly 250 is mounted the antenna mount, the sealing member 278 is disposed between the mounting surface and the bottom of the antenna base assembly 250. The sealing member 278 may help prevent damage to the vehicle roof (or other mounting surface). The sealing member 278 also provides further sealing features by helping to seal the mounting area against the ingress or migration of moisture, water, dust, etc. In other embodiments, the housing 274 and/or base seat 254 may be mounted to the antenna mount and/or mounting surface without any gasket 278 between the mounting surface and the antenna base assembly.
The multiband antenna assembly 390 may be configured to be operable and resonant in various frequency ranges or bands, including a very high frequency (VHF) band from 136 MHz to 174 MHz, an ultra high frequency (UHF) band from 380 MHz to 520 MHz, a cell/LTE 700/800 MHz band from 764 MHz to 870 MHz. These frequency bands are examples only as other exemplary embodiments of an antenna assembly that includes a spring contact assembly 100 and/or antenna base assembly 250 may be configured to be operable and resonant at other frequencies and/or frequency bands.
Exemplary spring contact assemblies disclosed herein were developed by the inventors in an effort to an effective pressure electrical/mechanical connection point that deploys a minimal (or at least reduced) surface area variation, ease of manufacturing, electrical stability, and/or better (or at least satisfactory) structural strength as compared to some conventional contact assemblies. The inventors hereof recognized that some conventional contact assemblies were associated with one or more of the following drawbacks, such as an inability to handle high electrical current and power requirements, non-uniform contact area and path produced instable repeatability for electrical current flow, operator skill dependent, insufficient structural strength, production reproducibility issues eliminated the fixed tune options on higher frequency antenna models, time consuming assembly process, and/or very difficult to automate at a mass production level.
Accordingly, the inventors have disclosed exemplary embodiments of spring contact assemblies that may provide one or more (but not necessarily any) of the following advantages. For example, an exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may provide good electrical contact via a rivet, may provide a strong connection to the PCB board material (e.g., FR4, etc.) without concern for cracking of non-existent solder, and/or may provide good repeatability in manufacture and a fixed tune design such that the antenna assemblies do not need to be tuned on the assembly floor during manufacture. By way of further example, an exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may have a fixed shape that minimizes or reduces electrical RF current flow through the body of the conductive spring contact assembly and surface current flow variation/transformation when repeated in mass production levels. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may provide a solderless interconnection that helps eliminate (or at least reduce) workmanship related variations. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may have a stronger structure to minimize or reduce the possibility of disengagement from the PCB. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may provide a two sided sandwich lock to minimize or reduce copper trace peeling effects due to vibrations. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may be configured with a rivet fastened lock that constrains the structure to a stronger FR4 material of the board of the PCB and not to the copper trace. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may be configured with a spring contact feature that can handle up to five hundred percent more impact and loading forces than a convention soldered type pushpin. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may contain a heavier section of materials allowing higher electrical current to run through, which, in turn would allow higher power handling. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may not require any additional mechanical support from the hull body of the containing unit. An exemplary embodiment of the inventors' spring contact assembly may allow for a faster assembly and easier automation possibilities. It should be noted that the advantages disclosed herein are exemplary only and not limiting, as exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may achieve all, some, or none of the advantages disclosed herein.
The inventors hereof have also recognized conventional antenna base assemblies provide electrical grounding but suffered many problems associated with poor seals and/or breached seals, which made the antenna prone to failure. For example, some conventional antenna base assemblies are associated with a shorter life span on shelf or in the field, a degraded performance by time caused by internal component corrosion, an open antenna hull allowing moisture condensation inside the antenna associated with temperature variation, imminent failure if mounted high or poorly, allow water migration from rain hydro pressure to seep into the antenna, imminent failure if the base gasket fails, and/or allowed only one grounding tap to feed the PCB.
Accordingly, the inventors have disclosed exemplary embodiments of sealed antenna base assemblies that may provide one or more (but not necessarily any) of the following advantages. For example, an exemplary embodiment of the inventors' sealed antenna base assembly may provide more than one grounding tap, may maintain long term performance with minimized (or at least reduced) corrosion of internal components of an antenna unit, may provide a stronger uphold against moisture and water migration into the inside the antenna unit, may minimize or reduce moisture condensation due to thermal variation, may significantly reduce the chance for failures if mounted high or poorly, may double the sealing defense to insure no failures if the base gasket fails, may significantly increase storage shelf life and infield life span, and/or enabled the antenna structure to meet higher standards such as Ingress Protection ratings. It should be noted that the advantages disclosed herein are exemplary only and not limiting, as exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may achieve all, some, or none of the advantages disclosed herein.
Numerical dimensions and values are provided herein for illustrative purposes only. The particular dimensions and values provided are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “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. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore 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. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The disclosure herein of particular values and particular ranges of values for given parameters are not exclusive of other values and ranges of values that may be useful in one or more of the examples disclosed herein. Moreover, it is envisioned that any two particular values for a specific parameter stated herein may define the endpoints of a range of values that may be suitable for the given parameter. The disclosure of a first value and a second value for a given parameter can be interpreted as disclosing that any value between the first and second values could also be employed for the given parameter. Similarly, it is envisioned that disclosure of two or more ranges of values for a parameter (whether such ranges are nested, overlapping or distinct) subsume all possible combination of ranges for the value that might be claimed using endpoints of the disclosed ranges.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
