Patent Grant
11456528
The present application is directed generally toward communication antennas, and more particularly to mounting structures for communications 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. Typically, these small cell configurations do not permit mounting of other equipment above the antenna.
In some instances, metrocells may be mounted on existing structures, such as buildings, billboards, kiosks, and the like. See, e.g., U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2017/0324154 and 2020/0411945, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in full. In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide additional monopole arrangements.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a monopole-streetlight assembly. The assembly may include an elongate monopole having lower and upper ends, a module configured for mounting of telecommunications antennas; the module including an upper plate and a central spine having an upper end that extends above the upper plate, an adapter having a lower sleeve that receives the upper end of the spine and a flange that extends radially outwardly from the sleeve, and a luminaire unit having an arm having a base, the base being secured to the adapter flange, and further having a luminaire mounted opposite the base.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a monopole-streetlight assembly. The assembly may include an elongate monopole having lower and upper ends, a module configured for mounting of telecommunications antennas; the module including an upper plate and a central spine having an upper end that extends above the upper plate, an adapter having a lower sleeve that receives the upper end of the spine and a flange that extends radially outwardly from the sleeve, the flange having a plurality of mounting holes, a luminaire unit having an arm having a base, the base being secured to the adapter flange via the mounting holes, and further having a luminaire mounted opposite the base, and at least one power cable routed through the spine and the sleeve into the luminaire arm to provide power to the luminaire.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to an assembly. The assembly may include a module configured for mounting of telecommunications antennas, the module including an upper plate and a central spine having an upper end that extends above the upper plate, and an adapter having a lower sleeve that receives the upper end of the spine and a flange that extends radially outwardly from the sleeve, the flange including a plurality of mounting holes.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to an antenna mount assembly. The assembly may include an antenna module configured for mounting an antenna having a center through-hole and a removable adapter. The antenna module includes a pole top mount plate and a central spine coupled to the pole top mount plate that extends upwardly therefrom. The removable adapter is configured to be secured to an upper end of the central spine and may include a first clamp member including a first partial tubular section and a top plate that extends radially outwardly from the first partial tubular section, the top plate including a plurality of mounting holes, and a second clamp member including a second partial tubular section and a flange, wherein the flange is configured to be secured to the top plate. The first and second partial tubular sections are configured to engage the upper end of the spine to secure the removable adapter to the antenna module.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to an antenna mount assembly. The assembly may include an antenna module configured for mounting an antenna having a center through-hole and a removable adapter. The antenna module includes a pole top mount plate and a central spine coupled to the pole top mount plate and extending upwardly therefrom. The removable adapter is configured to be secured to an upper end of the central spine and may include a first clamp member including a first partial tubular section and a top plate that extends radially outwardly from the first partial tubular section, the top plate including a plurality of mounting holes, a second clamp member including a second partial tubular section and a flange, wherein the flange is configured to be secured to the top plate by a fastener, and a locking mechanism configured to draw the first and second clamp members together to secure the clamp members to the central spine of the antenna module.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to an antenna mount assembly. The assembly may include an antenna module configured for mounting an antenna having a center through-hole and a removable adapter. The antenna module includes a pole top mount plate and a central spine coupled to the pole top mount plate and extending upwardly therefrom. The removable adapter is configured to be secured to an upper end of the central spine and may include a first clamp member including a first clamp section and a top plate that extends radially outwardly from the first clamp section, the top plate including a plurality of mounting holes, and a second clamp member including a second clamp section configured to be secured to the top plate. The first and second clamp sections have corresponding recesses configured to engage the upper end of the spine to secure the removable adapter to the antenna module.
It is noted that aspects of the invention described with respect to one embodiment, may be incorporated in a different embodiment although not specifically described relative thereto. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination. Applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim and/or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to be able to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim or claims although not originally claimed in that manner. These and other objects and/or aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the specification set forth below. Further features, advantages and details of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments that follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.
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, aid/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 “aid/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.
As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. As used herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between about X and about Y”. As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean “from about X to about Y”.
Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.
Pursuant to embodiments of the present invention, antenna mounts are provided that may allow additional structures such as davit pole luminaire arms or other equipment to be mounted above an antenna mounted to the top of a pole (e.g., a monopole). Antenna mount assemblies are also provided herein. Embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed in greater detail below with reference to
Referring now to the drawings, a telecommunications monopole designated at 100 is shown in
In some instances, it may be desirable to provide a metrocell configuration on a monopole that also serves as a streetlight in which the arm and luminaires are mounted above the antenna and radio modules. As an example, zoning or housing codes may recommend or require conformity in streetlights that necessitate mounting of the arm and luminaire above the antenna and radio modules.
Referring now to
The integration adapter 220 includes a weldment 221 with a lower sleeve 222 and a flange 224 that is mounted to the upper end of the lower sleeve 222 and extends radially outwardly therefrom. Mounting holes 226 are present in the flange 224; these may be of any pattern, but in some embodiments may follow one or more of the patterns described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/858,564, filed Jun. 7, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The lower sleeve 222 may also include one or more holes 228 (four are seen in
The weldment 221 is typically formed of a metallic material, such as steel, but other materials may also be suitable.
As can be seen in
Best seen in
Best seen in
Those of skill in this art will appreciate that the monopole 200 may take other forms. For example, either or both of the modules 206, 208 may be omitted, or additional modules may be included below the module 210. In some embodiments, a different style of luminaire arm may be employed (e.g., an “acorn”, “box light”, or “cobra head” style arm and luminaire may be used). As another example, the monopole 200 may be employed to mount additional antennas; this is shown in
Additionally, although the weldment 221 is shown with a cylindrical sleeve 222, in some embodiments the sleeve 222 may take other forms. For example, one edge of the sleeve 222 may extend lower than the opposite edge. As such, the lower edge of the sleeve 222 may provide additional support against forces applied in a particular direction. For example, this arrangement may be suitable for instances in which the luminaire arm extends generally horizontally (as with a gooseneck-style arm); the sleeve 222 may be rotated so that the longer edge of the sleeve 222 is positioned on the same side of the spine 211 that the luminaire arm 202 extends to provide additional support.
In some embodiments, the sleeve 222 and spine 211 may include features (e.g., a key and slot arrangement) that enable the weldment 221 to be precisely aligned with the spine 211 at the proper orientation. Similarly, the flange 222 and luminaire arm 202 may have features that facilitate such alignment.
It is also contemplated that the module 210, with the extended length spine 211, can provide the capability of stacking two or more modules 210 in vertical relationship. The presence of two antenna modules 210 would allow two different antennas to be used in tandem for neutral host applications, in which two different wireless operators could each use its own antenna on the same monopole and create the appearance of a single pole.
As shown in
As shown in
The pole top mount plate 412 is configured to secure the antenna module 410 (and antenna mount assembly 400) to the top of a monopole 100, 200, 300 via a plurality of mounting holes 413. In some embodiments, the pole top mount plate 412 may comprise a plurality of gussets 414 that help provide support to the central spine 411. The pole top mount plate 412 may further comprise one or more cable routing apertures 412a sized and configured to allow power cords/cables (not shown) to be routed to/from the monopole 100, 200, 300 and into the central spine 411 (e.g., through cable passage 411a).
As shown in
Referring to
As shown in
In some embodiments, the top plate 424 further comprises a central aperture 425. The central aperture 425 is configured to align with the central spine 411 such that power cords/cables extending up through the central spine 411 may be routed through the central aperture 425 and into the arm 202 of the luminaire unit 201 to be connected with mating power cords of the luminaire 204. In some embodiments, the top plate 424 may comprise a lip (or shoulder) 429 between the central aperture 425 and the partial tubular section 422. The lip 429 is configured such that the top plate 424 may sit on top of the central spine 411 when the adapter 420 is secured to the antenna module 410.
In some embodiments, the top plate 424 further comprises one or more flanges 423 that extend downwardly from an outer periphery. Similar to the flanges 404a, 404b of the antenna mounting platform 402a and cover retaining member 402b, respectively, the one or more flanges 423 extending from the top plate 424 are configured such that a top concealment cover 240a may be secured to the adapter 420 (i.e., the antenna mount assembly 400) (see, e.g.,
As shown in
As shown in
Providing the adapter 420 in multiple pieces (i.e., first and second weldments 421, 430 (or clamp members) may allow for easier installation of the adapter 420 onto the top of the spine 411, provide for a more secure fit of the adapter 420 to the spine 411, and allow for the adapter 420 to be adjustable to accommodate variances in the diameter of the spine 411.
Alternative removable integration adapters 620, 720, 820, 920 are illustrated in
Referring to
Similar to the second weldment 430 of adapter 420, the second weldment 630 of adapter 620 includes a partial tubular section 632 and a flange 634. The flange 634 may comprise two mounting apertures 635 that are configured to be aligned with corresponding mounting holes 626 in the top plate 624 such that the flange 634 may be secured to the top plate 624 of the first weldment 621 by fasteners 652 (e.g., top bolts). The second weldment 630 differs from the second weldment 430 of adapter 420 in that the second weldment 630 further includes a ramp member 633. In some embodiments, the ramp member 633 may be coupled to the flange 634 and extend radially outwardly from the partial tubular section 632. In some embodiments, the ramp member 633 may be a separate member configured to be secured to the second weldment 630. The ramp member 633 has an angled surface 633a that corresponds to the angled surface 613a of the ramp member 613 of the first weldment 621. The ramp member 633 of the second weldment 630 is configured to slide against the ramp member 613 of the first weldment 621 (i.e., along angled surfaces 613a, 633a).
As shown in
Referring now to
The first and second weldments 721, 730 are similar to weldments 621, 630 in that they include partial tubular sections 722, 732, ramp members 713, 733, and a top plate 724 and flange 734, respectively. As shown in
When the adapter 720 is installed onto the antenna module 410, 610, the link 715 is be positioned at an appropriate angle to the horizontal such that, when the fasteners 752 (e.g., top bolts) are tightened (i.e., drawn together), ramp member 733 is pulled up with the flange 734 causing the link 715 to pivot on the retaining pins 715a. As the link 715 pivots, the ramp member 733 (and the partial tubular section 732) is pushed toward the central spine 411, thereby locking the central spine 411 between the partial tubular sections 732, 722. In some embodiments, tension in the fasteners 752 lock the partial tubular sections 722, 732 to the spine 411 before the gap G between the flange 734 and the top plate 724 is closed completely. In some embodiments, one or more through bolts 450 may be used to lock both weldments 721, 730 of the adapter 720 radially through the central spine 411 of the antenna module 210, 410.
Referring now to
Adapter 820 is also similar to adapter 420 described herein (see, e.g.,
In some embodiments, the first weldment 821 may include a threaded mounting block 813 coupled to the top plate 824. The threaded mounting block 813 includes one or more apertures 813a configured to receive the radial bolt(s) 815. After the first and second weldments 821, 830 are secured together by fasteners 852 (i.e., the flange 834 of the second weldment 830 is secured to the top plate 824 of the first weldment), the radial bolt 815 is used to clamp the partial tubular sections 822, 832 to the central spine 411. In some embodiments, the second weldment 830 may include a block (not shown) for the radial bolt 815 to push against (i.e., instead of pushing against the surface of the partial tubular section 832). In some embodiments, one or more through bolts 450 may be used to lock both weldments 821, 830 of the adapter 820 radially through the central spine 411 of the antenna module 210, 410.
Referring now to
Adapter 920 is similar to adapters 420, 820 described herein (see, e.g.,
In some embodiments, the cam assembly 915 is coupled to the top plate 924 of the first weldment 921 using pivot pins 915a. In some embodiments, the cam assembly 915 may look and function in a similar manner to the locking mechanism (e.g., link assembly 715, 715a) of adapter 720 described herein (see, e.g.,
Referring now to
As shown in
The sides of the clamp section 1022 may be bent slightly inwardly to form a recess 1029 configured to engage the outer surface of the central spine 411 of the antenna module 410 (i.e., matches and locates to the outer diameter of the spine 411). Similarly, the second weldment 1030 comprises a clamp section 1032 having sides bent slightly inwardly to form a corresponding recess 1035 configured to engage the opposing outer surface of the central spine 411. As shown in
In some embodiments, the second weldment 1030 comprises a flange 1034 extending from the clamp section 1032. The flange 1034 has an aperture 1034a configured to receive a fastener 1052 such that the second weldment 1030 may be secured to the top plate 1024 of the first weldment 1021. In some embodiments, the clamp section 1022 of the first weldment 1021 may also comprise a flange 1027 having an aperture 1027a configured to receive a fastener 1052 that secures the clamp section 1022 of the first weldment 1021 to the top plate 1024.
In some embodiments, the top plate 1024 of the first weldment 1021 further comprises a central aperture 1025. The central aperture 1025 is configured to align with the central spine 411 such that power cords/cables extending up through the central spine 411 may be routed through the central aperture 1025 and into the arm 202 of the luminaire unit 201 to be connected with mating power cords of the luminaire 204. In some embodiments, the top plate 1024 may comprise a lip (or shoulder) 1029 between the central aperture 1025 and the clamp section 1022. The lip 1029 is configured such that the top plate 1024 may sit on top of the central spine 411 when the adapter 1020 is secured to the antenna module 410. In some embodiments, the top plate 1024 may further comprise one or more flanges 1023 extending from the top plate 1024 that are configured such that a top concealment cover 240a may be secured to the adapter 1020 (see, e.g.,
After the recesses 1029, 1035 of the clamp sections 1022, 1032 are positioned against (engaged with) the outer diameter of the central spine 411, vertically oriented fasteners (e.g., top bolts) 452 may be used to secure the second weldment 1030 to the first weldment 1021 (see, e.g., 21A-21B and
The antenna mount assemblies described herein may be configured to accommodate different configurations.
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 Nos. 63/012,967, filed Apr. 21, 2020, and 63/050,249, filed Jul. 10, 2020, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in full.
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