Patent Application
20110101184
With the introduction of direct-to-home satellite broadcast television systems, such as Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) systems, a multitude of television programs, audio channels, and the like previously unknown with terrestrial (“over-the-air”) broadcast systems was made accessible to millions of potential subscribers. One aspect of such systems that allows such wide accessibility is the use of a small (e.g., less than one meter in diameter) and inexpensive satellite antenna, or “dish”. To effectively employ such an antenna, a subscriber merely provides direct line-of-sight between the dish and the satellites of interest, and supplies a stable mounting structure or base to which the antenna is mounted, such as the exterior of the subscriber's home. The latter requirement helps prevent the antenna from becoming misaligned or misdirected as the result of strong winds or other meteorological conditions, which may cause disruption of the satellite signal carrying the programming.
To couple the antenna to a stable mounting structure, and to allow adjustment of the orientation of the dish to align with a transmitting satellite in geosynchronous orbit, the antenna is often coupled with an antenna “mast” or pole having an end connected to the mounting structure, with the antenna being attached near the end of the mast opposite the structure. More specifically, the mast is often attached to a footing that is securely affixed to the structure, with the connection between the mast and footing allowing the mast to pivot in a vertical plane to allow the subscriber or installer to align the end of the mast that is to be coupled to the antenna in a vertical direction. Given this mast orientation, the connection of the antenna with the mast typically facilitates adjustment of both the elevation (i.e., the up-and-down orientation) and azimuth (i.e., the side-to-side orientation) of the antenna. This connection normally constitutes a somewhat substantial hardware subassembly including a number of components, along with several bolts and/or other fasteners, that allow the subscriber or installer to firmly hold the antenna in place once the proper antenna orientation has been determined. Further, the antenna/mast connection often includes an antenna bracket that is directly connected to the antenna and that provides a mechanism to alter the skew (i.e., the rotational side-to-side tilt) of the antenna. Oftentimes, markings on the antenna/mast subassembly allow the installer to set an initial known elevation, azimuth, and skew for the antenna prior to fine-tuning the antenna orientation based on the strength of the signal received from the satellite of interest.
The connection of the antenna with the mast typically allows enough rotation of the antenna about the mast to adjust the elevation and azimuth of the antenna sufficiently. To this end, the mast is often 18 inches or more in length to allow the antenna to be positioned at a sufficient distance from the mounting structure to allow such adjustments to be undertaken without the antenna contacting the mounting structure. A mast of such a length, however, may also create a significant mechanical load or torque on the mounting structure, especially in the presence of winds and other environmental forces that may act upon the antenna. To address such concerns, as well as to allow the use of relatively large antennas, a strut may also be coupled between the mast and the footing or mounting structure to strengthen the overall assembly.
Many aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily depicted to scale, as emphasis is instead placed upon clear illustration of the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also, while several embodiments are described in connection with these drawings, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
The enclosed drawings and the following description depict specific embodiments of the invention to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate variations of these embodiments that fall within the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple embodiments of the invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below, but only by the claims and their equivalents.
In addition, directional references employed below, such as “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, “back”, “front”, “upper”, “lower”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and so on, are provided to relate various aspects of the structures to each other, and are not intended to limit the embodiments disclosed herein to a particular orientation with respect to their surrounding environment.
As discussed in the particular embodiments presented below, the masts are hollow to allow a portion of the apparatus 100 to be inserted therein, although other embodiments are not restricted in such a manner. For example, other versions of the apparatus 100 may be configured to attach to an outside surface of a mast, thus eliminating any requirement for a hollow mast.
As shown in
In this particular implementation, the object-end component 120 is intended to be attached to a satellite television antenna, such as a small dish antenna used in direct-to-home satellite television broadcasting systems. In other implementations, however, the object-end connection 120 may be fashioned to be attached to any object or device of interest.
The mast-end component 110 of the apparatus 100 generally includes a first connection region and a first pivot region. In the specific example of
In other examples, such as masts which are not cylindrical in cross-section, the mating region 112 of the apparatus 100 may be of some other shape, such as rectangular, hexagonal, and the like, to mate or couple with a mast of a corresponding form.
Each of the extensions 116 of the mast-end component 110 includes a hole (not in view in
Similar to the mast-end component 110, the object-end component 120 includes a second connection region and a second pivot region, with the second pivot region including a second set of extensions 126 extending from the second connection region. The second extensions 126 are configured to mesh or interleave with the first extensions 116 of the mast-end component 110, as shown in
Further, like the first extensions 116, each of the second extensions 126 defines a hole 128. As a group, the holes 128 are configured to align along the axis 130 along with the holes 128 of the first extension 116 when the first extensions 116 and the second extensions 126 are properly meshed, as shown in
The mast-end component 110 and the object-end component 120 may take any of a number of angular orientations relative to each other about the axis 130. To maintain or “lock in” a particular orientation, the bolt and nut described above, or another type of fastener, may be tightened to compress the extensions 116, 126 together tightly enough to restrict or prohibit relative movement of the components 110, 120.
To enhance the ability of the fastener to maintain the relative angular orientation of the components 110, 120, the sides of the extensions 116, 126 may possess a roughened surface, such as what may be expected from cast steel components. In another example, the sides of the extensions 116 contacting each other may include specific interlocking features, such as ridges or teeth, to further enhance the friction between the first extensions 116 and the second extensions 126 when the fastener is tightened.
As mentioned earlier, the second connection region of the object-end component 120, as shown in
The mast 210 is hollow to accept the cylindrical mating region 112, and defines a number of slots 212 that are configured to align with the holes 117 of the mating region 112 of the apparatus 100 when the mating region 112 is inserted into the end of the mast 210 until the end of the mast 210 makes contact with the contact region 114.
Once the mating region 112 is inserted fully into the mast 210, the apparatus 100 may be rotated until a desired angular orientation between the apparatus 100 and the mast 210 is achieved. At that point, the orientation may be fixed by securely affixing the mating region 112 to the mast 210. In the case of
In another implementation, the slots 212 may instead be circular holes that allow only one or a few discrete orientations between the mating region 112 and the mast 210, thus reducing the number of degrees of freedom of adjustment therebetween while possibly adding stability or rigidity to the subassembly 200.
To adjust the elevation of the interfacing plate 125 of the apparatus 100, and thus of the antenna to be coupled thereto, a bolt 229 and corresponding nut may be used to compress the extensions 116, 126 of the connection mechanism 100 enough to maintain a particular angular orientation between the two pivot regions of the apparatus 100 while allowing some movement therebetween for adjustment purposes. Once the desired orientation between the pivot regions, or between the antenna bracket 202 and the mast 210, is achieved, the nut and bolt 229 may be tightened further to secure the connection apparatus 100 at the desired orientation.
To aid in setting the initial orientation between the antenna bracket 202 and the mast 210, an edge of one of the second extensions 126 may be aligned with one of a set of alignment marks 119 located on an adjacent one of the first extensions 116 to determine a desired elevation for the antenna bracket 202. In another example, one of the second extensions 126 may include alignment marks to be compared with an edge or other feature of one of the first extensions 116.
The antenna bracket 202 may be attached to the interfacing plate 125 by way of bolts and nuts (not depicted in
The bracket 202 may be attached to a dish antenna by way of one or more holes or openings 206 to facilitate attachment of the antenna to the bracket 202 by way of screws, bolts, nuts, and the like. Thereafter, fine adjustment of azimuth, elevation, and skew may be performing using measurement of the signals being received at the antenna from the desired orbiting satellite. In one example, the antenna is oriented at the point at which the received signals are at their maximum or peak amplitude.
Although the discussion of the attachment of the various portions of the subassembly 200 of
An example of a connection mechanism 300 according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Coupled with the first mast-end component 310 is the second mast-end component 320, which includes a second cylindrical mating region 322 defining holes 327. The second mast-end component 320 also includes a second contact region 324 and second extensions 326. The second extensions 326 are configured to mesh with the first extensions 316. Also, as is the case with the mechanism 100 of
Further, the number of second extensions 326 may be greater than or equal to the number of first extensions 316 in some arrangements. In
In the particular example of the mechanism 300 of
As depicted in
Correspondingly, the second mast 406 is affixed to the connection mechanism 300. More specifically, the second mast 406 is slid onto the second mating region 322 until the end of the second mast 406 makes contact with the second contact region 324, thus allowing at least one of the holes 327 to be accessed through a slot 407. A bolt or other fastener may then be inserted into each of the holes 327 through the one or more slots 407 and tightened.
In another example, the slots 405, 407 may be round holes, thus allowing one or only a few specific orientations between the connection mechanism 300 and the first mast 404 and/or the second mast 406, thereby restricting the number of degrees of freedom of adjustment between the apparatus 300 and the masts 404, 406 and possibly adding rigidity or strength to the subassembly 400 as a result.
To solidify the connection of the first mast 404 and the second mast 406, a fastener 429, such as a bolt-nut combination, extending through the holes 328 of the extensions 316, 326 of the connection mechanism 300 may then be tightened to maintain a desired orientation between the mast-end components 310, 320. As a result, the entire subassembly 400 takes on a rigidity that may be desirable for a number of uses, such as the mounting of a satellite antenna to a stable structure.
In one embodiment, the subassembly 400 is to be adjusted so that the upper end of the second mast 406 is to be vertically-oriented, such as to receive the communication mechanism 100 and antenna bracket 202 of the subassembly 200 of
While the method 500 is depicted in
Various embodiments as described herein may provide a number of benefits. Generally, the connection mechanisms and methods disclosed above provide a strong, yet relatively lightweight, device for connection of an object to a mast so that the object maintains its position and orientation in the presence of a number of environmental conditions, such as gravity and high winds. The use of a mating region in some embodiments to insert into the end of a hollow mast further facilitates fine adjustment of the orientation of the object in one direction, such as an azimuth or elevation of the object, without undue “sagging” or maladjustment of the orientation of the object in another direction. In the embodiment of
While several embodiments of the invention have been discussed herein, other embodiments encompassed by the scope of the invention are possible. For example, while various embodiments have been described primarily within the context of satellite and terrestrial antenna systems and similar equipment, any object requiring a stable platform, including signage, lighting, and so on, may benefit from the implementation of the principles described herein, with respect to both outdoor and indoor applications. More specifically, those devices which are often mounted to a wall, stand, or other structure and intended to be set at a desired orientation, such as television flat-panel displays or computer monitors, may be displayed using connection mechanisms as described herein. In addition, aspects of one embodiment disclosed herein may be combined with those of alternative embodiments to create further implementations of the present invention. Thus, while the present invention has been described in the context of specific embodiments, such descriptions are provided for illustration and not limitation. Accordingly, the proper scope of the present invention is delimited only by the following claims and their equivalents.
