Antenna Housing Segmentation and Sealing Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-piece antenna housings face challenges in ensuring sealing and waterproof performance while withstanding high wind speeds, particularly for large antennas, as existing designs often require complex assembly and materials that compromise RF matching and structural integrity.
Innovation Solution
A multi-piece antenna housing design featuring a front housing and back housing with engaging edges, utilizing pultrusion and extrusion molding for fiberglass and aluminum components respectively, with integrated sealing members and channels to form a clearance fit and enhance windproof strength, ensuring IP55 waterproofing and resistance to wind speeds up to 241 km/h.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an integrally-molded antenna housing is used, then waterproofing characteristics are excellent, but it is more difficult to insert an antenna assembly and requires a separate metal backframe
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna housing is divided into multiple separable components: a front housing made of RF-transparent material and a back housing made of metal. This segmentation allows the antenna assembly to be easily inserted into the front housing before attaching the back housing, solving the insertion difficulty while maintaining waterproofing through the sealing interface between the two housing parts.
2Reliability
If an integrally-molded antenna housing is used, then waterproofing characteristics are excellent, but a separate metal backframe is required for RF matching
Solution Approach 1:
The back housing is designed to integrate the metal backframe function directly into the housing structure. The back housing itself is made of metal and includes features such as a flange with aperture and grounding contacts, combining the structural support, RF matching, and grounding functions into a single component that attaches to the front housing.
3Ease of operation
If a multi-piece antenna housing is used, then ease of assembly is improved, but sealing and waterproof performance become challenging to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing member is introduced as an intermediary component between the front housing and back housing. This sealing member includes a sealing portion that contacts both housing parts and a channel portion that provides a waterproof pathway, ensuring IP55 waterproof rating while maintaining the multi-piece assembly structure.
4Ease of operation
If a multi-piece antenna housing is used, then ease of assembly is improved, but windproof strength becomes challenging to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member is designed with a channel portion that extends into the back housing and is in fluid communication with the exterior. This preliminary design feature allows water that penetrates the sealing interface to be directed outward through the channel, preventing water accumulation and maintaining structural integrity under wind load, thereby ensuring windproof strength.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an antenna housing, comprising: a front housing having a front housing edge; and a back housing having a back housing edge, the front housing edge and the back housing edge engaging each other to assemble the front housing and the back housing together to form the antenna housing. The front housing edge and the back housing edge cooperate with each other to form a sealing interface, including: a first sealing member provided with a first sealing portion; and a second sealing member provided with a second sealing portion, the first sealing portion abutting against the second sealing portion when the front housing and the back housing are assembled so that a clearance fit is formed between the front housing edge and the back housing edge, wherein the second sealing member is further provided with a channel positioned inside the second sealing portion and extending parallel to the second sealing portion.