US2872680A - Antenna - Google Patents

Description

J. L. STEWART Feb. 3, 1959 ANTENNA Filed April 5, 1956 INVENTOR. jf SW and y fly ANTENNA Jack L. Stewart, Ashtabula, Ohio, assignor to The Antenna Specialists Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 5, 1956, Serial No. 576,281

2 Claims. (Cl. 343-805) This invention relates in general to antenna constructions, and relates more particularly to television antenna constructions, particularly of the indoor type associated with a receiving set.

An object of this invention is to provide an antenna construction which may be stored in an out of sight position in relationship to a receiver cabinet, and may be extended to an operation position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mounting bracket positionable on the back of a receiving set cabinet, and an antenna swivelably mounted by said bracket for movement between a storage position extending downwardly behind such cabinet and a service position extending upwardly above such cabinet.

A still further object of this invention is to provide the swivelably mounted antenna with a composite base wherein each component of the base carries a separate antenna member and is independently rotatable, and the entire base is swivelably carried by the bracket to determine the rotatable position of the antenna.

And a further object of this invention is to provide a split ball base of two parts independently rotatable with respect to one another about a common axis, each with an antenna rod, and the ball base swivelably mounted by a bracket member, for universal selective positioning of the antenna rods in signal receiving positions or in storage.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the antenna as employed with a television re ceiver, the mounting bracket being in side elevation; and,

Figure 2 is an elevational view taken at 90 degrees with respect to Figure 1, showing the back of the swivel mounting bracket.

The type of television antenna iliustrated in the drawing is the preferred embodiment of the invention. Although applicable to radio antennas, this invention finds its greatest usefulness in connection with television receiver sets. The illustrated type of antenna is generally referred to as a rabbit ear type of antenna. Originally such rabbit ear antennas were free standing and were placed on the top of the television receiver cabinet. Such antennas have been employed in good reception areas where outdoor antennas are not required, However, the free standing antenna has not found favor among users because of its consumption of cabinet top space. Although such antenna devices are not particularly unattractive, they are not necessarily an added attractiveness to the cabinet, and thus another factor is involved in the reluctance to accept such a free standing antenna device.

At least one effort has been made to overcome the objections of the cabinet associated antenna by providing a well within the cabinet having an opening from the top of the cabinet and having a carriage carrying the antenna members between a recessed hidden position within the atent well and an active position extended therefrom. However, such a built-in device requires every set to be equipped with the facilities for providing this storage type of antenna and therefore increases costs to the manufacturer by reason of providing each and every receiving set with facilities which may be used only in certain areas. Furthermore, an individual owner cannot install such a built-in devi e in a set he now owns.

The present invention provides an antenna device having first and second diverging antenna rods carried by a base member with means mounting the antenna rods on the base member and a mount swivelably mounting the base member on the back of a receiver cabinet. The first and second diverging antenna rods are independently rotatable about a common axis with respect to one another and the common axis is universally swivelable in order to position the antenna rotation planes in any desired location. Thus, the antenna rods may be extended upwardly and then spread apart with respect to one another for service use, and then may be swivelled to a downward position behind the receiver cabinet for storage completely out of sight. In some instances it is possible to use the antenna with the rods extending downwardly behind the receiving set.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention is intended primarily for television use and therefore comprises an antenna member 10 composed generally of a composite base and antenna rods carried thereby. The composite base consists of a half ball member 11 and a half ball member 12. The half ball members 11 and 12 are keyed together for rotation about a common axis and with a common interface. The two half ball members therefore jointly define a common sphere wherein one half of the sphere is independently rotatable with respect to the other half but about a common axis.

The half ball members 11 and 12 are keyed together by means of an axial pin. The pin can be very short and quite large in diameter, and accordingly have the appearance of a disc or washer, or the pin may be more conventional wherein it has a longer axial dimension than the diameter. In either event, however, it is in fact a pin about which the two halves 11 and 12 may rotate in keyed relationship,

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention both a washer and a longitudinal pin are employed. The reason for both devices is more than a composite keying or an effort to show both possibilities. For convenience of manufacture the half ball members 11 and 12 are molded in two-part molds. It is convenient in such molding to create antenna whip sockets by provision of a protrusion surface on the face of one part of such mated mold. Therefore, assembly of an antenna whip into the half mold section may take place by simply laying the base of the antenna laterally into such socket. In this pre ferred embodiment of the invention, a circular recess is provided in the face of each half ball member and the holding sockets are recessed from the bottom of such circular recessed surfaces. Accordingly, the antenna device may be provided with mechanically held antennas. The illustrated embodiment of the invention employs telescoping type of antenna rods 14- and 15. In assembly, a rod is positioned with the base thereof in the socket of a half ball member and held in position by light friction therebetween. When a rod is placed in each of the provided sockets, a non-conducting washer 13 is placed between the two half ball members and the two half ball members closed together into a composite ball construction. Thus, the antenna rods 14 and 15 are held into base holding sockets within the half ball members as long as the two half ball members are held together into a composite spherical form. The washer 13 serves as a guide and track to hold the half ball members mutually revolvable about a common axis, and also serve the purpose of holding both of the antenna rods 14 and within their respective sockets in the half ball members 11 and 12 but without causing an electrical short.

However, as previously suggested, whenever the holding and guiding pin is of such a short length and great diameter that it may be referred to as a disc or washer, then there is danger of the pin being misplaced from between the half ball members. For example, if the operator should place a lateral force upon the antenna rods 14 and 15, the half ball members could be forced apart and the washer 13 allowed to fall from between the half ball members. Accordingly, it is preferable to have a longitudinal pin whether or not the insulating washer 13 is employed to hold the antenna rods 14 and 15, or whether these antenna rods are securely mounted in drilled sockets or other types of holding means. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, together with the insulating washer 13, there is shown the. preferable type of pivot pin 16 which extends axially through the mated half ball sections and forms the axis upon which the half ball members may rotate with respect to one another. Such a longitudinal pivot pin 16 is not dislodged by a tendency of the half ball members 11 and 12 to pull away from their mutual interface.

The assembly includes a bracket for holding the composite half ball members in such a manner that they may be universally swivelled in the mounting bracket. The bracket is indicated generally by the reference character 20. Preferably, as illustrated, bracket 20 is composed of a main leaf 21 which has a cupped end 22 serving as a gripping and bearing surface for the composite ball base of the antenna member. The opposite end of the main leaf 21 is formed as a mounting end 23 to abut the back side of a cabinet. A cabinet is indicated by the phantom outline 17. Suitable screw holes 24 are provided to physically attach the main leaf 21 to such cabinet. The main leaf 21 is indicated as extending in an upright position. Such upright position somewhat limits the vertical storage of the rods 14 and 15 when they are extended downwardly behind the cabinet, although complete concealment of the rods is obtained. Accordingly, if desired, the bracket 20 may be extended laterally by positioning the main leaf 21 in a horizontal position. Generally, however, the upright position illustrated is to be preferred.

The bracket 20 also employs a pivoted leaf 25 which is physically attached to the main leaf 21 by means of a tab 18 of the leaf 25 extending into a receiving notch 19 through the sloping portion of the main leaf 21. The pivoted leaf 25 is also provided with a cupped end 26.

The main leaf 21 and the pivoted leaf 25 are caused to clamp upon the composite base formed by the two half ball members by means of a bolt 27 and a wing nut 28. As will readily be appreciated, a reasonably snug grip of the bracket device 20 upon the composite ball base of the antenna member will thereby provide sufficient frictional resistance to movement to allow the composite base to be swivelled in any desired position not blocked by the actual physical construction of the bracket. The antenna rods 14 and 15 may also be rotated with respect to one .4 another about the axis pin 16 while clampingly held by the bracket 20-.

Although the antenna is illustrated only in the upright position in the drawing, the independent positioning of rods 14 and 15 with respect to one another and the ability to completely swivel the two rods into a downwardly extending storage position will be readily understood without further illustration.

To make a complete and workable device, of course, a lead cable 29 of conventional construction employed for television sets may be connected to the individual rods 14 and 15. Such cable 29 embodies two accurately spaced lead wires 30 and 31 which may be independent- 15 led through the half ball members 11 and 12 and connected by a suitable socket connection to the ends of the antenna rods 1 and 15.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details'of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A television antenna comprising, a composite spherical base composed of first and second spherical sections, each said first and second section having a crosssection flat face, said fiat faces abutted as mutual hearing surfaces, means interlocking said sections for relative rotation with respect to one another around a common axis, first and second antenna rods carried by said first and second sections respectively, and a mount, said mount comprising frictional grip members with means applying said grip members upon the exterior surfaces of the first and second sections respectively in a direction to urge the said mutual bearing surfaces together, said mount frictionally engagingwith sufficient force to hold the composite base in any selected pivotal position.

2. A television antenna comprising, a composite spherical base composed of first and second spherical sections, each said first and second section having a crosssection flat face, said flat faces abutted as mutual bearing surfaces, means interlocking said sections for relative rotation with respect to one another around a common axis,

- first and second antenna rods carried by said first and second sections respectively, and a mount, said mount comprising first and second grip members having smooth bearing surfaces seated upon the spherical surfaces of the first and second sections respectively over opposite ends of the said common axis of rotation, and means to urge said first and second grip members against said composite base with a slippable gripping force.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,259,628 Fener et al Oct. 21, 1941 2,565,661 Lidz Aug. 28, 1951 2,604,593 Trowbridge July 22, 1952 2,753,557 Middlemark July 3, 1956

Images