Antenna module for a vehicle

Abstract

An antenna module for a vehicle is provided. The module comprises a primary cell antenna, a secondary cell antenna and an AM / FM / DAB antenna. The AM / FM / DAB antenna comprises (i) horizontal metal windings around a horizontal PCB, (ii) vertical metal windings around a vertical PCB and (iii) a metal sheet part. The metal sheet part is arranged parallelly to the horizontal PCB. The secondary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, comprising a vertical part and a horizontal part. The horizontal part is arranged parallelly to the horizontal PCB and partly extends above the metal sheet part of said AM / FM / DAB antenna. The primary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, mechanically and electrically connected to another side of the horizontal PCB.

Description

[0001] 202406781

[0002] 1

[0003] ANTENNA MODULE FOR A VEHICLE

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The invention relates to an antenna module for a vehicle. Many vehicles are provided with antennas for AM / FM / DAB services and for cellular services. These antennas may be provided in one or more modules attached to a roof of a vehicle. The objective of the invention is to provide a single antenna module with these antennas.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] The objective of the invention is met by providing an antenna module according to claim 1 and a vehicle according to claim 9.

[0008] According to a first aspect, an antenna module for a vehicle is provided, comprising:

[0009] - three antennas, comprising a primary cell antenna, a secondary cell antenna and an AM / FM / DAB antenna;

[0010] - a horizontal PCB and a vertical PCB, jointed at a first side of the horizontal PCB and a first side of the vertical PCB, wherein said AM / FM / DAB antenna comprises (i) horizontal metal windings around said horizontal PCB, (ii) vertical metal windings around said vertical PCB and (iii) a metal sheet part, wherein said metal sheet part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and mechanically connected at a second side of said vertical PCB and electrically connected to said vertical metal windings, wherein said primary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, mechanically and electrically connected to a second side of the horizontal PCB, the second side being opposite to said first side of the horizontal PCB, wherein said secondary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, comprising a vertical part and a horizontal part, wherein said horizontal part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and partly extends above said metal sheet part of said AM / FM / DAB 202406781

[0011] 2 antenna and wherein said vertical part is electrically connected to the horizontal PCB.

[0012] The wording vehicle may refer to a car, a motorbike, a van, a truck, a bicycle or a scooter. The antenna module may be arranged for being attached to a vehicle, more specifically to a roof of a vehicle.

[0013] In this document, PCB is an abbreviation of Printed Circuit Board. The horizontal PCB may be arranged substantially parallel to the earth surface when the antenna module is attached to a vehicle. An angle between the vertical PCB and the horizontal PCB may be substantially 90 degrees.

[0014] The metal sheet part of the AM / FM / DAB antenna is arranged parallelly to and above the horizontal PCB. The secondary cell antenna comprises a horizontal metal sheet part that is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and thus to said metal sheet part of the AM / FM / DAB. The horizontal metal sheet part of the secondary cell antenna partly overlaps the metal sheet part of the AM / FM / DAB, with a small gap or distance between them.

[0015] An advantage of the provided antenna module is that the AM / FM / DAB antenna and the secondary cell antenna are capacitively coupled, such that the antenna module may be provided a relatively small module size. This coupling may ensure good operation, even in low frequency range (f<1 GHz).

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the distance between the horizontal part of the secondary cell antenna and the metal sheet part of the AM / FM / DAB antenna is between 1 mm and 2 mm, preferably about 1.5 mm.

[0017] In one or more embodiments, said primary cell antenna comprises two vertical parts and a horizontal part, wherein said horizontal part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and wherein one of said vertical parts is mechanically and electrically connected to said second side of the horizontal PCB. 202406781

[0018] 3

[0019] In one or more embodiments, the antenna module further comprises an antenna module housing for accommodating said three antennas and said PCBs, the housing having a top cover and a bottom cover.

[0020] The antenna housing may substantially have the shape of a rectangular cuboid, preferably with the elongated side oriented on the vehicle in the direction of driving.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, said top cover comprises multiple electrically non-conductive top cover pins extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover, wherein said horizontal PCB comprises multiple holes in which said multiple cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal PCB within said housing. In one or more further embodiments, the horizontal PCB may be fixated on the bottom cover.

[0022] In one or more embodiments, said top cover comprises multiple electrically non-conductive further top cover pins extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover, wherein said metal part sheet of the AM / FM / DAB antenna one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said metal part sheet within said housing; and / or, wherein said horizontal part of said secondary cell antenna comprises one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal part within said housing; and / or, wherein said horizontal part of said primary cell antenna comprises one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal part within said housing.

[0023] In one or more embodiments, the antenna module further comprises on the horizontal PCB one or more of the following:

[0024] - two sealed Quad-Mini FAKRA connectors;

[0025] - a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Service) Dual Band Patch antenna;

[0026] - a SDARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) patch antenna;

[0027] - a further vertical PCB with a V2X (Vehicle-to-X) antenna. 202406781

[0028] 4

[0029] In one or more embodiments, the antenna module further comprises a grounding metal sheet, which is fixed into the horizontal PCB and is arranged for receiving an electrically conducting connection with a vehicle body of a vehicle.

[0030] According to a second aspect of the invention a vehicle with an antenna module according to any of the preceding claims is provided.

[0031] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference in the following description is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0033] Figure 1 shows a schematic overview of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention;

[0034] Figure 2 shows a schematic overview of a part of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention;

[0035] Figure 3a and 3b show a schematic overview of another part of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention;

[0036] Figure 4 shows a schematic overview of the antenna module housing according to one or more embodiments of the invention;

[0037] Figure 5 shows a schematic overview of yet another part of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention; and,

[0038] Figure 6 shows a schematic overview of a vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the invention.

[0039] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Figure 1 shows a schematic overview of the antenna module 1 according to one or more embodiments of the invention. In one or more embodiments, the antenna module may comprise an antenna module housing 2 which comprises a top cover and a bottom cover. The antenna module housing may be made out of a non-conductive material, such as plastic. In the example of figure 1 , the dimensions of the antenna module are 243.85 x 78.35 x 28.34 mm3.

[0041] In figure 1 , the vertical direction is indicated by vector W, while the horizontal direction may be indicated by vector V and / or vector U. 202406781

[0042] 5

[0043] The antenna module 1 comprises a horizontal PCB 10. In one or more embodiments, two sealed Quad-Mini FAKRA Connectors 4, 5 are placed on the horizontal PCB 10. The horizontal PCB 10 may be arranged on a bottom position within the housing 2.

[0044] In one or more embodiments, a primary cell antenna 6 is placed at one side of the horizontal PCB 10, while secondary cell antenna 7 and AM / FM / DAB antenna is placed on the opposite side of the horizontal PCB 10.

[0045] The primary cell antenna 6 is a metal sheet antenna, mechanically and electrically connected to a second side of the horizontal PCB, being opposite to said first side of the horizontal PCB.

[0046] The primary cell antenna 6 may comprise two vertical parts and a horizontal part, wherein said horizontal part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and wherein one of said vertical parts is mechanically and electrically connected to said second side of the horizontal PCB. This one vertical part may have a substantially triangular shape. The primary cell antenna 6 may be electrically connected to horizontal PCB 10 in position, at the top corner of said triangular shape.

[0047] In one or more embodiments, a GNSS Dual Band Patch antenna 9, a SDARS patch antenna 11 and a vertical PCB with V2X antenna 12 may be placed on the horizontal PCB 10, preferably between the primary cell antenna 6 and the secondary cell antenna 7 and the AM / FM / DAB antenna 8.

[0048] A stable and good AM / FM performance may be strongly related to the grounding scheme. The antenna module may therefore comprise grounding metal sheet 3, which is fixed into the horizontal PCB, preferably with two screws. Metal sheet 3 may be arranged for receiving an electrically conducting connection with a vehicle body of a vehicle. Therefore, on the metal ground sheet 3 a nut or screw 31 may be foreseen, which may be connected with vehicle body. 202406781

[0049] 6

[0050] The watertightness of this connection may be improved with a round shaped sealing placed between grounding sheet 3 and a vehicle body. A compression of the sealing may ensure no water ingression into vehicle.

[0051] Figure 2 shows a schematic overview of a part of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The AM / FM / DAB antenna comprises (i) horizontal metal windings 15 around a part 13 of said horizontal PCB 10, (ii) vertical metal windings 16 around a vertical PCB 14 and (iii) a metal sheet part 81. In general, winding may be printed on the top and bottom layer of the respective PCB. The horizontal PCB 10 and the vertical PCB 14 may be jointed at a first side of the horizontal PCB 10 and a first side of the vertical PCB 14.

[0052] The metal sheet part 81 of the AM / FM / DAB antenna is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB 10 and mechanically connected to said vertical PCB 14 and electrically connected to said vertical metal windings 16. The AM / FM and DAB signal may be transferred into circuit in position 17.

[0053] The secondary cell antenna 7 is a metal sheet antenna, comprising a vertical part 71 and a horizontal part 72. The horizontal part 72 is arranged parallelly to the horizontal PCB 10 and partly extends above said metal sheet part 81 of the AM / FM / DAB antenna. The vertical part 71 is electrically connected to the horizontal PCB 10. The vertical part 71 may have a substantially triangular shape. The secondary cell antenna 7 may be electrically connected in position 18, at the top corner of said triangular shape.

[0054] A distance 19 (also referred to as gap) between the AM / FM / DAB metal sheet part 81 and horizontal part 72 of the secondary cell antenna 7 has an important impact on overall performance of the system. The gap 19 is between 1 mm and 2 mm, preferably about 1.5 mm.

[0055] The horizontal part 72 of the secondary cell antenna 7 can be said to be overlapping partly with the metal sheet part 81 of the AM / FM / DAB antenna. In one or more embodiments, the overlapping surface of the secondary cell antenna 7 may be in 202406781

[0056] 7 the range of 5-15% of the horizontal surface of the metal sheet part 81 of the AM / FM / DAB antenna, preferably about 10%.

[0057] Figures 3a, 3b show a schematic overview of other parts of the antenna module according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The horizontal PCB 10 may be held in place by a fixation in bottom cover 25 and additionally fixed with multiple electrically non-conductive top cover pins 20 extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover. The horizontal PCB 10 may comprise multiple holes 21 in which said multiple cover pins 20 are received for fixating said horizontal PCB within said housing, as can been seen in figure 5.

[0058] The three metal sheet antennas (AM / FM / DAB radiator, primary cell antenna and secondary cell antenna) may be inserted into the top cover 26 with multiple electrically non-conductive further top cover pins 23 extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover.

[0059] The metal part sheet of the AM / FM / DAB antenna may comprise one or more holes in which one or more of the multiple further cover pins 23 are received for fixating this metal part sheet within the housing. The horizontal part of the secondary cell antenna may comprise one or more holes in which one or more of the multiple further cover pins 23 are received for fixating this horizontal part within said housing. Furthermore, the horizontal part of said primary cell antenna may comprise one or more holes in which one or more of the multiple further cover pins 23 are received for fixating this horizontal part within said housing.

[0060] Each pin-hole combination may comprise a round fixation in metal 22 and 24. Each of the three antennas may have enough round fixation to ensure stable and correct placement of the antennas.

[0061] Figure 4 shows a schematic overview of the antenna module housing 2 according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The antenna module housing is arranged for accommodating said three antennas and said PCBs. The housing has a top cover 26 and a bottom cover 25, which are merged and fixed with glue 27 202406781

[0062] 8 around the contour of the two covers. The glue 27 ensures watertightness of the module.

[0063] Figure 6 shows a schematic overview of a vehicle 60 according to one or more embodiments of the invention. Vehicle 60 may comprise an antenna module 1 according to any of the embodiments described in this document.

[0064] Those of skill will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those of skill in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0065] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0066] The benefits and advantages that may be provided by the present invention have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. These benefits and advantages, and any elements or limitations that may cause them to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features of any or all of the claims. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variations thereof, are intended to be interpreted as 202406781

[0067] 9 non-exclusively including the elements or limitations which follow those terms. Accordingly, a system, method, or other embodiment that comprises a set of elements is not limited to only those elements and may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to the claimed embodiment.

[0068] While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements to the embodiments described above are possible. It is contemplated that these variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the invention as detailed within the following claims.

Claims

20240678110CLAIMS1 . Antenna module for a vehicle, comprising:- three antennas, comprising a primary cell antenna, a secondary cell antenna and an AM / FM / DAB antenna;- a horizontal PCB and a vertical PCB, jointed at a first side of the horizontal PCB and a first side of the vertical PCB, wherein said AM / FM / DAB antenna comprises (i) horizontal metal windings around said horizontal PCB, (ii) vertical metal windings around said vertical PCB and (iii) a metal sheet part, wherein said metal sheet part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and mechanically connected to at a second side of said vertical PCB and electrically connected to said vertical metal windings, wherein said primary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, mechanically and electrically connected to a second side of the horizontal PCB, the second side being opposite to said first side of the horizontal PCB, wherein said secondary cell antenna is a metal sheet antenna, comprising a vertical part and a horizontal part, wherein said horizontal part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and partly extends above said metal sheet part of said AM / FM / DAB antenna and wherein said vertical part is electrically connected to the horizontal PCB.

2. Antenna module according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the horizontal part of the secondary cell antenna and the metal sheet part of the AM / FM / DAB antenna is between 1 mm and 2 mm, preferably about 1.5 mm.

3. Antenna module according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said primary cell antenna comprises two vertical parts and a horizontal part, wherein said horizontal part is arranged parallelly to said horizontal PCB and wherein one of said20240678111 vertical parts is mechanically and electrically connected to said second side of the horizontal PCB.

4. Antenna module according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an antenna module housing for accommodating said three antennas and said PCBs, the housing having a top cover and a bottom cover.

5. Antenna module according to claim 4, wherein said top cover comprises multiple electrically non-conductive top cover pins extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover; wherein said horizontal PCB comprises multiple holes in which said multiple cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal PCB within said housing.

6. Antenna module according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said top cover comprises multiple electrically non-conductive further top cover pins extending vertically from the top cover toward the bottom cover, wherein said metal part sheet of the AM / FM / DAB antenna one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said metal part sheet within said housing; and / or, wherein said horizontal part of said secondary cell antenna comprises one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal part within said housing; and / or, wherein said horizontal part of said primary cell antenna comprises one or more holes in which one or more of said multiple further cover pins are received for fixating said horizontal part within said housing.

7. Antenna module according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising on the horizontal PCB one or more of the following:- two sealed Quad-Mini FAKRA connectors;- a GNSS Dual Band Patch antenna;- a SDARS patch antenna;- a further vertical PCB with a V2X antenna.202406781128. Antenna module according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a grounding metal sheet, which is fixed into the horizontal PCB and is arranged for receiving an electrically conducting connection with a vehicle body of a vehicle.

9. Vehicle with an antenna module according to any of the preceding claims.

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