Elevation adjustment unit

Abstract

To sufficiently support even a large antenna and to use a general-purpose article and general-purpose equipment.SOLUTION: An elevation adjustment unit includes a base member 11 supported by a tripod 2, a holding member 12 rotatably connected to a front end of the base member 11 and holding a portable antenna 1, and a support member 13 slidably and rotatably connected to a rear end of the base member 11 and rotatably connected to an upper end of the holding member 12, and the lower end of the support member 13 is rotatably connected to a slide member 17 provided on the base member 11 so as to be slidable in a longitudinal direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevation angle adjusting unit for adjusting the elevation angle of a portable antenna such as a planar antenna. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, portable antennas such as flat antennas have been transported to disaster sites or event venues, where various parts, components, units, etc. are assembled and the antenna angles (horizontal, polarization angle, elevation angle, azimuth angle, etc.) are adjusted.

[0003] After a portable antenna is assembled and installed on-site, its angles must be adjusted. If the orientation of the antenna can be predicted in advance, the adjustment work can be completed in a short time. However, if the orientation of a temporarily installed antenna is inappropriate, the adjustment work will take a significant amount of time.

[0004] For this reason, a portable antenna that can be stored and deployed without the need to disassemble each part, member, unit, etc. has been developed (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-333234 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the portable antenna described in Patent Document 1 has been designed to be compact as a whole in order to be portable, and therefore has a problem in that only a compact antenna itself can be mounted.

[0007] Generally, the larger the antenna, the higher the gain, so it is desirable to secure a certain size, but when installing a large antenna, the problem is that the antenna support mechanism requires a certain level of support force in addition to the tripod or head, etc. In particular, many elevation adjustment mechanisms / units support the antenna at the central axis of the elevation adjustment, and adjusting and fixing the elevation angle places a great deal of strain on the elevation adjustment mechanism / unit.

[0008] There was also the problem that general-purpose products and equipment could not be used for the parts and materials that support the antenna, such as a tripod or a pan head.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide an elevation angle adjustment unit which is capable of adequately supporting even a relatively large antenna and which allows the use of general-purpose products and equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 comprises a base member supported on a tripod, a holding member rotatably connected to the front end of the base member and holding a portable antenna, and a support member having one end slidably and rotatably connected to the rear end of the base member and the other end rotatably connected to the upper end of the holding member, wherein the one end of the support member is rotatably connected to a slide member that is slidably provided in the fore-and-aft direction of the base member.

[0011] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the elevation angle adjustment unit described in claim 1, the base member is provided with a scale extending in the front-to-rear direction of the base member, and the slide member is provided with a pointer facing the scale.

[0012] The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the elevation angle adjustment unit according to claim 1 or 2, the holding member is provided with a scale for adjusting the polarization angle, and the sliding member is provided with a spirit level.

[0013] The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that, in the elevation angle adjustment unit described in claims 1 to 3, the portable antenna is held by the holding member via a polarization angle adjustment unit having a polarization angle adjustment function, a notch that becomes wider toward the upper end is provided on the holding side surface of the holding member facing the polarization angle adjustment unit, and a fitting member that fits into the notch is provided on the polarization angle adjustment unit. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the invention of claim 1, the elevation angle adjustment unit is a base member whose lower part extends in the fore-and-aft direction, and the lower end of a holding member that holds the antenna is connected to the front end of the base member, one end (lower end) of a support member is connected to the rear end of the base member via a slide member, and the other end (upper end) of the support member is connected to the upper end of the holding member, thereby forming a so-called truss structure, which can support even relatively large antennas.

[0015] In addition, since the mechanism for adjusting the elevation angle is made into a unit with a truss structure, by attaching mounting fixtures, adapters, etc. to this, a tripod head that enables adjustment of the azimuth angle, elevation angle, and polarization angle can be constructed at low cost simply by attaching general-purpose parts and components such as a tripod and a pan head.

[0016] According to the invention of claim 2, by making the scale extend in the front-to-rear direction of the base member, i.e., by making the scale extend in a linear direction, the arc-shaped scale indicating the angle is converted into a scale in a linear direction, so that the intervals between the scales can be made wider, improving visibility and enabling fine adjustment of the elevation angle.

[0017] According to the invention of claim 3, the scales for adjusting the elevation angle of the elevation angle adjustment unit, the scales for adjusting the polarization angle, and the level on the slide member are all concentrated in a position visible from the rear of the base member, thereby improving the visibility of the scales for horizontal, polarization angle, elevation angle, and azimuth angle, speeding up the adjustment work, and improving assembly and operability.

[0018] According to the invention of claim 4, the portable antenna is held by the holding member via a polarization angle adjustment unit having a polarization angle adjustment function, and a notch that becomes wider toward the upper end on the holding side surface of the polarization angle adjustment unit of the holding member is provided, and a fitting member that fits into the notch is provided on the polarization angle adjustment unit.Therefore, the fitting member of the polarization angle adjustment unit can be uniquely positioned in the notch of the holding member, and assembly of the tripod head can be performed simply and easily. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a portable planar antenna mounted on a tripod, seen obliquely from the rear. [Diagram 2] 11 is a perspective view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto, as viewed obliquely from behind. FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a rear perspective view of the elevation angle adjustment unit as seen from a position slightly above that of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a front view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a plan view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a right side view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a rear view of the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the polarization angle adjustment unit alone. [Figure 10] 13 is a rear view showing the elevation angle adjustment unit slightly above the tripod head with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected thereto. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiment. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the longitudinal direction of the base member 11 is defined as the front-rear direction, the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a horizontal plane is defined as the left-right direction, and the direction perpendicular to the plane formed by the front-rear direction and the left-right direction (i.e., the horizontal plane) is defined as the up-down direction.

[0021] Figure 1 is an overall oblique view of a planar antenna 1 (portable antenna) attached to a tripod 2, seen from diagonally behind, Figures 2 to 8 show the elevation angle adjustment unit with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected, Figure 2 is a rear oblique view, Figure 3 is a rear oblique view seen from above closer to Figure 2, Figure 4 is a front view, Figure 5 is a plan view, Figure 6 is a right side view, Figure 7 is a bottom view, Figure 8 is a rear view, Figure 9 is a rear view of the polarization angle adjustment unit alone, and Figure 10 is a rear view showing the elevation angle adjustment unit slightly raised above the tripod head with the polarization angle adjustment unit connected.

[0022] The elevation angle adjustment unit 10 of the present invention is for adjusting the elevation angle of the planar antenna 1, and fulfills one function of the tripod head 4 attached to the pan head 3 provided on the head of the tripod 2. The tripod head 4 is configured to include an azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 and a polarization angle adjustment unit 30 in addition to the above-mentioned elevation angle adjustment unit 10.

[0023] The azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 is a gear head that is rotatable around a vertical axis while maintaining horizontality, and is attached to the pan head 3 of the tripod 2.

[0024] The azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 has a fixed plate 21 attached to the pan head 3 and a rotating plate 22 freely rotatably mounted on the upper surface of the fixed plate 21. Although not shown in the figure, the peripheral surfaces of each of the fixed plate 21 and the rotating plate 22 have a scale formed on one side and a pointer formed on the other side, and the azimuth angle can be adjusted by rotating the rotating plate 22 relative to the fixed plate 21 and aligning the pointer with the scale.

[0025] Furthermore, a locking means (not shown) is provided between the fixed platen 21 and the rotating platen 22, and can prevent the rotating platen 22 from rotating when the desired azimuth angle is adjusted.

[0026] A somewhat wide dovetail groove 23 is formed on the upper surface of the rotating disk 22, and the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 is adapted to be attached thereto.

[0027] The elevation angle adjustment unit 10 is configured as a mechanism with a truss structure, and comprises a base member 11 fixed to the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 and placed horizontally, a holding member 12 having one end (front end) rotatably connected to the front end of the base member 11 and the other end (rear end) obliquely disposed above the one end (front end) to hold the polarization angle adjustment unit 30, and a support member 13 having one end (lower end) slidably and rotatably connected to the rear end of the base member 11 and the other end (upper end) rotatably connected to the upper end of the holding member 12.

[0028] The base member 11 is made of a metal material (e.g., an aluminum plate) having a U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (front-to-back direction), is arranged with the upper surface open, and has a mounting fixture 14 on the lower surface near the front end to be attached to the azimuth adjustment unit 20.

[0029] On both the left and right edges of the mounting fixture 14, there are formed tenons 14a that fit into dovetail grooves 23 formed in the turntable 22 of the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20, and the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 is attached to the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 by sliding the tenons 14a into the dovetail grooves 23 of the turntable 22 and fitting them together.

[0030] The azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 is provided with a locking mechanism 24 that expands and contracts the spacing of the dovetail groove 23, and the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 can be fixed to the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 by fitting the tenon 14a of the mounting fixture 14 into the dovetail groove 23 and locking it at a predetermined position, thereby completing the holding of the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 to the elevation angle adjustment unit 10. Also, scales and pointers are provided near the dovetail groove 23 of the turntable 22 and near the tenon 14a of the mounting fixture 14, and the position of the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 relative to the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 can be adjusted.

[0031] A long screw 15 is disposed along the front-to-rear direction inside the base member 11 of the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 at a position rearward from the center. A crown (knob) 15a is provided at the rear end of the long screw 15, and a front portion of the crown 15a is rotatably supported by a receiver 16 fixed to the base member 11.

[0032] A slide member 17 placed on the base member 11 is screwed onto the threaded shaft of the long screw 15, and the slide member 17 is formed with a width slightly smaller than the inner dimension of the base member 11 (the distance between the two side pieces).

[0033] A long hole 11a is formed in the bottom plate of the base member 11 at a portion located below the long screw 15, and a lock screw 17a is screwed into the slide member 17 from the underside of the base member 11 through this long hole 11a.

[0034] As a result, by grasping the crown 15a and rotating the long screw 15, the slide member 17 slides in the front-to-back direction on the bottom plate of the base member 11, and at that time, the slide member 17 slides smoothly with no (or little) rattling.

[0035] A scale 11b is provided on the upper edge of one side piece of the base member 11, and a pointer 17b is provided on the slide member 17. The scale 11b on the base member 11 indicates the elevation angle of the holding member 12 (and thus the elevation angle of the planar antenna 1), as described below.

[0036] A spirit level 18 is provided on the upper part of the slide member 17, and allows the horizontality to be checked with the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 attached to the tripod 2. Note that the spirit level 18 is not an essential component of the present invention, and a spirit level originally provided on, for example, a gear head or panoramic head serving as the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 may be used.

[0037] Although details will be described later, support members 13 are rotatably connected to both sides of slide member 17.

[0038] The holding member 12 that holds the polarization angle adjusting unit 30 is made of a metal material (e.g., an aluminum plate) that has a U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and is disposed so that its rear end is located higher than its front end and its bottom / rear side is open. The width of the holding member 12 is slightly larger than that of the base member 11, and is large enough to hold both side pieces of the base member 11 from the outside with both side pieces.

[0039] The lower end of the holding member 12 is rotatably connected to the front end of the base member 11 while sandwiching the front end of the base member 11 , and the upper end is rotatably connected to the upper end of the support member 13 .

[0040] An approximately V-shaped notch 12a that opens at the upper edge is formed in approximately the upper half of the upper plate of the holding member 12 (i.e., the portion facing the planar antenna 1), and a bridge plate 12b is provided to span between both side pieces of the upper end, and a predetermined gap is provided between the upper plate and the bridge plate 12b in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the holding member 12.

[0041] Further, a locking means 12c for fixing the polarization angle adjusting unit 30 is provided on the transition plate 12b.

[0042] The locking means 12c is a plunger type, and when the gripping portion is pulled axially, the locking pin retracts from the space between the upper plate and the bridge plate 12b, and when the gripping portion is released, the locking pin protrudes into the space between the upper plate and the bridge plate 12b.

[0043] The support member 13 has a ladder structure, with a horizontal plate spanning between two opposing side plates in the left-right direction, and the distance between the two side plates is formed to be approximately the same as the distance between both side pieces of the base member 11.

[0044] The upper end of the side piece of the support member 13 is rotatably connected to the side piece of the holding member 12 at a position near the upper end of the holding member 12, and the lower end of the side piece of the support member 13 is rotatably connected to the side portion of the slide member 17.

[0045] As a result, the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 has a truss structure in which the lower end of the holding member 12 is connected to the front end of the base member 11, the rear end of the base member 11 is connected to the lower end of the support member 13 via the slide member 17, and the upper end of the holding member 12 is connected to the upper end of the support member 13.

[0046] The polarization angle adjustment unit 30 is attached to the back of the planar antenna 1 and has a polarization angle adjustment function. It consists of a holding plate 31 that holds the planar antenna 1, a rotating scale plate 32 for adjusting the polarization angle that is rotatably provided at the center of the holding plate 31 on the back side opposite the holding surface, and a held member 34 that is fixed to the rotating scale plate 32 and has a V-shaped plate 33 for attachment to the elevation angle adjustment unit 10.

[0047] The holding plate 31 is roughly rectangular with a slightly bulging width at the center and has mounting screws 35 at its four corners. The holding plate 31 is attached to the planar antenna 1 by screwing these mounting screws 35 into small holes formed on the back surface of the planar antenna 1.

[0048] A relatively large circular flat recess 31a is formed on the rear surface of the central portion of the holding plate 31, and a rotary dial 32 is rotatably supported in this flat recess 31a.

[0049] The rotary dial 32 has a scale 32a formed on its periphery over a central angle range of approximately 270 degrees, and a pointer 31b is formed on the periphery of the flat recess 31a of the holding plate 31.

[0050] A held member 34, which is made up of a flat case body 34a incorporating a rotation lock mechanism 36 for locking the rotation of the rotary scale plate 32 and a V-shaped plate 33 attached to the back surface of the case body 34a, is attached to the rotary scale plate 32 so as not to hide the scale 32a.

[0051] The V-shaped plate 33 is formed to be slightly larger than the V-shaped notch 12a formed in the holding member 12, and a step is formed on the entire peripheral edge on the side that contacts the case body 34a, so that a groove 33a is formed when the plate is attached to the case body 34a.

[0052] This groove 33a is formed to be approximately the same size as the V-shaped notch 12a when viewed from the out-of-plane direction, and the thickness of the peripheral edge forming the groove 33a of the V-shaped plate 33 is formed to be approximately the same as the distance between the upper plate of the holding member 12 and the transition plate 12b.

[0053] Further, a small hole 33b is formed in the center of the V-shaped plate 33 near the edge on the wider side.

[0054] In the polarization angle adjustment unit 30 configured in this manner, the V-shaped plate 33 of the held member 34 is slid between the holding member 12 and the crossing plate 12b of the elevation angle adjustment unit 10, and the groove 33a of the V-shaped plate 33 is fitted into the V-shaped notch 12a. The shape of this groove 33a when viewed from the out-of-plane direction is substantially the same as the V-shaped notch 12a, and it functions as a fitting member that fits into the V-shaped notch 12a.

[0055] At this time, the groove 33a of the V-shaped plate 33 and the V-shaped notch 12a are narrower toward the lower end and have the same shape, so that the positioning is uniquely determined.

[0056] Then, the V-shaped plate 33 is slid to a predetermined position, and when the positioning is completed, the lock pin of the locking means 12c is inserted into the small hole 33b, thereby completing the holding of the polarization angle adjusting unit 30 to the elevation angle adjusting unit 10.

[0057] In this manner, the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 is attached to the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20, and the polarization angle adjustment unit 30 is held by the elevation angle adjustment unit 10, thereby forming the tripod head 4.

[0058] The azimuth angle adjustment is performed by rotating the rotating plate 22 of the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20 relative to the fixed plate 21 and aligning a pointer (not shown) with the scale, and the polarization angle adjustment is performed by rotating the holding plate 31 of the polarization angle adjustment unit 30 relative to the rotating scale plate 32 and aligning the pointer 31b of the holding plate 31 with the scale 32a of the rotating scale plate 32.

[0059] The elevation angle can be adjusted by rotating the long screw 15 of the elevation angle adjustment unit 10, which adjusts the length (distance between the connection points) of one side of the truss structure (base member 11), displacing the angles of the other two sides (holding member 12 and support member 13).The angle of one side (holding member 12) is the elevation angle, and the elevation angle can be adjusted.

[0060] Specifically, when the long screw 15 is rotated, the slide member 17 moves back and forth, so that the angle between the holding member 12 and the support member 13 changes, and the inclination of the holding member 12, that is, the elevation angle, is adjusted.

[0061] The elevation angle scale 11b of the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 in this embodiment is a scale extending in a linear direction provided on the base member 11, thereby converting the arc-shaped scale indicating the angle into a scale in a linear direction, which allows the intervals between the scales to be wider, improving visibility and enabling fine adjustment of the elevation angle.

[0062] In addition, because the angle scale is converted to a linear scale, the intervals of the scale are not constant, and the smaller the elevation angle, the larger the intervals of the scale 11b become. Therefore, in areas with a small elevation angle (closer to horizontal), the intervals of the scale become larger, allowing for finer adjustments.

[0063] As described above, the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 in this embodiment has a truss structure consisting of the base member 11, the holding member 12, and the support member 13, so that it can hold even a relatively heavy and large planar antenna, and can support the planar antenna even when a large wind pressure is applied thereto due to bad weather, and can also accommodate larger planar antennas.

[0064] Since the elevation angle adjustment unit 10 and the polarization angle adjustment unit 30 are held by fitting the V-shaped plate 33 into the V-shaped notch 12a, the positions of both units 10, 30 can be determined uniquely, making assembly simple and easy.

[0065] Since the elevation angle adjustment unit 10, the azimuth angle adjustment unit 20, and the polarization angle adjustment unit 30 are each unitized, they can be separated to improve portability, and since they can be separated and assembled without losing the adjustment within each unit, they can be easily used.

[0066] Since the scales 11b, 32a for checking the angle adjustment of each unit 10, 30 and the level 18 are arranged so as to be visible from one direction, the visibility of these scales can be improved, and the ease of assembly and operability can be improved.

[0067] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiment, and the present invention includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the means for sliding the slide member is a screw threadedly engaging a long screw with a nut member, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various slide mechanisms such as a rack and pinion, a ball screw, etc. can be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1. Planar antenna (portable antenna) 2. Tripod 10 Elevation adjustment unit 11 Base material 11a long hole 11b Scale (elevation angle) 12 Retaining member 12a V-shaped notch (notch) 13 Support member 17 Slide member 17b Pointer (elevation angle) 18 Level 20 Azimuth adjustment unit 30 Polarization angle adjustment unit 33a Groove (fitting member)

Claims

1. a base member supported by a tripod; a holding member rotatably connected to a front end of the base member and holding a portable antenna; and a support member having one end slidably and rotatably connected to a rear end of the base member and the other end rotatably connected to an upper end of the holding member, The one end of the support member is rotatably connected to a slide member that is slidably provided in the front-rear direction of the base member. An elevation angle adjustment unit.

2. A scale extending in a front-rear direction of the base member is provided on the base member, and a pointer facing the scale is provided on the slide member.

2. The elevation angle adjustment unit according to claim 1 .

3. The holding member is provided with a scale for adjusting a polarization angle, and the sliding member is provided with a level.

3. The elevation angle adjustment unit according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the portable antenna is held by the holding member via a polarization angle adjustment unit having a polarization angle adjustment function, a notch that becomes wider toward an upper end on a surface of the holding member that holds the polarization angle adjustment unit, The polarization angle adjustment unit is provided with a fitting member that fits into the notch.

4. An elevation angle adjustment unit according to claim 1, wherein the elevation angle adjustment unit is a unit for adjusting an elevation angle of the vehicle.

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