Folding Antenna Mount for Low-Height Mobile Tower Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing temporary cellular towers require multiple trucks for transportation and assembly, which is cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly due to the need for separate vehicles to haul antennae, cranes, and personnel, and existing masts exceed height limits during transport.
Innovation Solution
A hinged antenna mount system that allows antennae to be pre-assembled and stowed horizontally on an extendable mast, reducing the overall height for transportation, and can be manually deployed at the site without additional equipment, using a single vehicle to carry all components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If antennae are pre-assembled and attached to an extendable mast, then deployment time and labor are reduced, but the overall height during transport exceeds practical height limits
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna mounts are designed to be movable between a horizontal stowed position during transport and a vertical deployed position at the installation site. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the system to adapt its height profile based on operational requirements, fitting within height limits during transport while maintaining full deployment capability at the destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna mounts are oriented horizontally during transport rather than vertically, changing the spatial dimension in which the antenna length is expressed. This dimensional reorientation allows the antenna assembly to fit within vertical height restrictions while preserving the full horizontal deployment capability when installed.
2Length of moving object
If traditional masting techniques are used with nested tubes, then the mast fits within height limits during transport, but multiple trucks are required to haul antennae, cranes, and personnel separately
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna mounts with attached antennae are integrated directly onto the extendable mast as a unified assembly. This merging of components that were previously transported separately (mast, antennae, mounting hardware) into a single integrated unit eliminates the need for multiple trucks and separate assembly operations, while the mast's extendable design maintains compliance with height restrictions during transport.
3Ease of manufacture
If antennae are pre-assembled to the mast, then on-site assembly is simplified, but the transport vehicle must accommodate the extended configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna mounts incorporate a movable mechanism that allows transition between horizontal and vertical orientations. During transport, the mounts are positioned horizontally to maintain a low profile; at the installation site, they are rotated to the vertical deployed position. This dynamic adjustment resolves the conflict between pre-assembly benefits and transport height constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the orientation parameter of the antenna mounts from vertical to horizontal during transport, and reverses this change at the deployment location. This parameter transformation allows the same physical structure to satisfy different spatial requirements at different stages of the deployment process.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile cellular tower system includes an upwardly extendable mast mounted on a vehicle, a support platform connected to a top portion of the mast, a first pivot module connected to the support platform, and a first antenna mount connected to the first pivot module. The first pivot module is configured to pivot the first antenna mount between a stowed position and a deployed position.