U.S. patent number 3,615,986 [Application Number 05/009,814] was granted by the patent office on 1971-10-26 for method of making an improved windshield antenna system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Ford Motor Company. Invention is credited to Richard T. Dickason, John A. Richardson.
United States Patent |
3,615,986 |
Dickason , et al. |
October 26, 1971 |
METHOD OF MAKING AN IMPROVED WINDSHIELD ANTENNA SYSTEM
Abstract
A windshield antenna system includes a first sheet of glass, a
second sheet of glass and an interlayer of resinuous material
bonding the two glass sheets together. A pair of antenna wires are
adhered to the interlayer for most of their length. However, the
antenna wires do have free ends projecting outwardly from between
the bonded glass sheets at a cutout portion of the second glass
sheet. A terminal having a first end portion defining a projecting
neck, a main body portion and a second end portion defining a
connector tip is formed from a conductive material. At least the
body portion of the terminal is bonded to the exposed surface of
the second glass sheet with the portion of the terminal defining
the projecting neck extending to a position which is located over
the cutout portion of the second glass sheet. The free ends of the
antenna wires are wrapped around the projecting neck of the
terminal. The wrapped wires and the projecting neck of the terminal
are deformed into the space provided by the cutout portion of the
second glass sheet. An electrical junction of high quality is
formed between the wrapped antenna wires and the terminal by
applying solder thereto. Any extraneous antenna wire is cut off.
The space into which the projecting neck of the terminal and the
wrapped antenna wires are deformed is sealed by a sealing material.
The main body portion of the terminal is also sealed by a sealing
material.
Inventors: |
Dickason; Richard T.
(Birmingham, MI), Richardson; John A. (Harper Woods,
MI) |
Assignee: |
Ford Motor Company (Dearborn,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
21739858 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/009,814 |
Filed: |
February 9, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
156/105; 156/107;
343/873; 439/917; 156/106; 343/712 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q
1/1271 (20130101); B32B 17/10036 (20130101); B32B
17/10376 (20130101); Y10S 439/917 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B32B
17/06 (20060101); B32B 17/10 (20060101); H01Q
1/12 (20060101); C03c 027/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;156/99-107,275,309,267,250 ;343/712,711,713,873,720 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Quarforth; Carl D.
Assistant Examiner: Behrend; Harvey E.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method of terminating free end portions of antenna wires which
are adhered for most of their length to a resinous interlayer
material bonding two glass sheets together to form a windshield,
the free end portions of the wires being exposed in a cutout
portion of one of the glass sheets, which method comprises the
steps of:
bonding said antenna wires to said resinous interlayer material;
forming a pair of glass sheets, one of said glass sheets having a
cutout portion at a central location along a lower edge thereof;
uniting said resinous interlayer material to said glass sheets with
free end portions of said antenna wires extending into and being
exposed in said cutout portion of said one glass sheet;
forming a conductive metal terminal having a first end portion
defining a projecting neck, a main body portion and a second end
portion defining a connector tip;
bonding at least a portion of said body portion of said terminal to
the outer, exposed surface of said one glass sheet with said first
end portion of said terminal defining said projecting neck
extending to a position which is located over said cutout portion
of said one glass sheet;
wrapping at least a portion of each of said free ends of the
antenna wires around said first end portion defining said
projecting neck of said terminal;
deforming said wrapped wires and said projecting neck of said
terminal into the space provided by said cutout portion of said one
glass sheet;
forming an electrical junction between the wrapped antenna wires
and said terminal, and
cutting off any extraneous antenna wire not wrapped around said
projecting neck.
2. The method of terminating the antenna wires of a windshield
antenna as defined in claim 1 further comprising the step of:
sealing the space into which said projecting neck of said terminal
and the wrapped antenna wires are located after being deformed.
3. The method of terminating a windshield antenna as defined in
claim 2 further comprising the step of: sealing and insulating the
main body portion of said terminal which is bonded to the exposed
surface of the one glass sheet.
4. The method of terminating a windshield antenna as defined in
claim 3 further comprising the step of: deforming said second end
of said terminal defining a connector tip away from the plane of
said main body portion of said terminal in a direction away from
the exposed surface of the second glass sheet.
5. The method of terminating a windshield antenna as defined in
claim 1 wherein said bonding step is carried out by: positioning a
piece of polyvinyl butyral between the body portion of said
terminal and said second glass sheet, clamping said terminal to
said glass sheet, and autoclaving said clamped terminal and the
second glass sheet whereby heat and pressure are applied to said
terminal and the glass sheet.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the recent past, windshield antenna systems have been introduced
for use in conjunction with the radio receivers mounted within
automotive vehicles. More particularly, the antenna for a radio is
placed in a resinous interlayer which laminates together the sheets
of glass utilized for forming the windshield of the vehicle. In
general, the antenna system is formed by a pair of fine wires which
are positioned for a portion of their length in a central portion
of the glass. The wires extend from the base of the windshield
upwardly to a point near the top of the windshield. The wires then
extend outwardly along two diverging legs to termination points
near the top side edges of the windshield. The antenna wires, in
order not to impair visibility through the windshield and detract
from the appearance of the vehicle, are formed from wire of a very
fine diameter. Since the fine diameter wire is used for the antenna
system, the manner in which the antenna wire is terminated to an
electrical lead which may be connected, in turn, to the radio
receiver is of great importance. The termination is important so
that during the installation and utilization of the windshield
antenna, substantial stress loads are not applied to the
termination point of the antenna wires. Since these wires are of a
fine diameter, any substantial load applied to their junction point
would cause a rupture of the termination and thus, an interruption
in the use of the antenna system.
The method disclosed in this application has been designed for use
in terminating fine antenna wires thereby to form a windshield
antenna system. The method has been designed to eliminate some of
the problems of the prior art in rapidly and efficiently forming a
termination structure of high quality. More particularly, the
termination structure formed in accordance with the method of this
invention is one wherein substantial stress loads are not applied
to the termination of the fine antenna wires to a conductive
terminal, but rather are applied by the conductive terminal to the
glass sheet upon which the terminal is mounted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of making an antenna windshield
system, and more particularly, to the method by which an antenna
windshield is terminated so that the antenna is connectable to the
radio receiver of an automotive vehicle. In general, an antenna
windshield system is formed from the following elements: a first
sheet of glass, a second sheet of glass having a cutout portion
overlying the first sheet of glass, an interlayer of resinous
material bonding the two sheets of glass together in an assembled
condition, and a pair of antenna wires adhered to the interlayer
between the glass sheets. The antenna wires extend upwardly in the
central portion of the windshield from the lower edge thereof and
then outwardly along diverging leg portions which extend in
opposite directions across the top of the windshield. The antenna
wires, at their free or lower ends, extend outwardly from between
the two glass sheets at the cutout portion of the second glass
sheet.
In accordance with the method of this invention for forming the
windshield antenna system, a conductive terminal is formed so as to
have a body portion, a first end portion defining a projecting neck
and a second end portion defining a connector tip. Once the
terminal is formed, at least the body portion of the terminal is
bonded to the exposed surface of the second glass sheet in such a
manner that the first end portion of the terminal defining the
projecting neck extends to a position which is located over the
cutout portion of the second glass sheet. The free ends of the
antenna wires are wrapped about the first end portion of the
terminal. The wrapped wires and the projecting neck of the terminal
are deformed into the space provided by the cutout portion of the
second glass sheet. An electrical junction of high quality is
formed between the wrapped antenna wires and the terminals by
soldering the junction therebetween. Any extraneous antenna wire
remaining is cut off and discarded.
In greater detail, the space into which the projecting neck of the
terminal and the wrapped antenna wires are located after being
deformed is sealed by a sealing material. Similarly, the main body
portion of the terminal may be sealed by a sealing material if
desired. Also, the second end of the terminal defining the
connector tip is bent away from the plane of the main body portion
of the terminal in a direction away from the exposed surface of the
second glass sheet to facilitate the terminal's connection by
proper electrical leads to the radio receiver of the automotive
vehicle.
In still greater detail, the bonding of the terminal to the glass
sheet having the cutout portion is accomplished in the following
manner. A piece of the material utilized to form the resinous
interlayer between the two glass sheets is fitted between the glass
sheet having the cutout portion and the main body portion of the
terminal. The terminal is clamped to the glass sheets and,
thereafter, the glass sheets and the terminal are subjected to an
autoclaving operation wherein the heat and pressure are applied to
bond the terminal to the glass sheets. This autoclaving step may be
carried out simultaneously with the autoclaving step utilized to
laminate the first and second glass sheets together.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a portion of the windshield antenna
system manufactured by the improved method of this invention. FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing greater details of the
structure of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is another cross-sectional view showing
the antenna system manufactured by the improved method of this
invention installed in an automotive vehicle. FIG. 4 is an
isometric view of a conductive terminal which may be utilized in
constructing the windshield antenna system. FIG. 5 is a schematic
view of a windshield having an antenna system located therein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a windshield
antenna system and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing
a windshield antenna system which has an improved termination
structure for the fine wires utilized as the antenna in such a
system. The windshield antenna system is shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 and
is generally designated by the numeral 10.
The following basic parts are first assembled by the proper
methodology in order to form the windshield antenna system 10. A
first sheet of glass 12 and a second sheet of glass 14 are
laminated together by utilization of a resinous material such as a
polyvinyl butyral interlayer 16 in a normal laminating operation
(best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3). The normal laminating operation
consists of positioning the interlayer between the two glass
sheets, thereafter applying pressure to the two glass sheets to
temporarily bind them to the vinyl interlayer, and finally,
autoclaving the two glass sheets with the interposed vinyl
interlayer. In the autoclaving step, the windshields are immersed
in a hot oil bath and the bath is heated and pressure applied
thereto. During this autoclaving step, the vinyl interlayer cures
and bonds the two glass sheets together in order to form a
windshield assembly.
The second glass sheet has a cutout portion 18 formed therein at
the central portion of its lower edge for the purpose of exposing
the ends of a pair of fine antenna wires 20--20. These fine antenna
wires, for example, may have a diameter of approximately
0.0054-0.0056 inch and be formed of copper having a resistance of
approximately 415 ohms per 1,000 feet. The cutout portion 18 may,
if desired, be a drill hole through the glass.
As may be best seen in FIG. 5, the antenna wires 20 extend upwardly
from the cutout portion 18 of the second glass sheet 14 to a point
at which the ends of the wires, laminated between the glass sheets
12 and 14, extend parallel to the base of the glass sheets. The
length dimension of the antenna wires in the direction parallel to
the base of the glass sheets is one of the principal controlling
factors in the reception characteristics of the antenna. As
indicated in FIG. 5, the outwardly turned ends of the antenna wires
20--20 are generally laid in a portion of the windshield wherein
the gradient band 22 (indicated by dashed lines at its lower end)
is positioned. The gradient band is dark in color and it reduces
the amount of light energy which passes through the upper portion
of the windshield. Also, because the gradient band is the darkest
portion of the windshield, the extending legs of the antenna are
not easily seen from either side of the windshield.
The antenna wires 20--20 are preferably adhered to the resinous
interlayer 16 in an initial processing operation. Such adherance
may be accomplished by laying the antenna wires out in a prescribed
pattern on the interlayer and thereafter ironing the wires to heat
them sufficiently so that they become bonded to the interlayer.
Thereafter, the interlayer containing the wires is placed between
the first glass sheet 12 and the second glass sheet 14 and heat and
pressure are applied thereto so that the two glass sheets are
laminated into the windshield. Prior to such laminating operation,
the free ends of the antenna wires, which extend out beyond the
cutout portion 18 of the second glass sheet 14 are bent up and laid
over the second glass sheet so that the free ends thereof do not
become adhered to the resinous material during the autoclaving step
of the laminating operation.
In accordance with the teachings of the method of this invention, a
conductive terminal 24, best seen in FIG. 4, is utilized in
terminating the antenna wires 20 so that the antenna wires may be
connected to the radio receiver of the automotive vehicle. In
greater detail, the preferred conductive terminal 24 is formed from
a brass plate, the plate thereafter having a coat of tin placed
thereover.
In accordance with the method of this invention, the conducive
terminal 24 is formed so as to have a first end portion 26 in the
shape of a projecting neck and a second end portion 28 in the shape
of a connector tip. Between the first end portion and the second
end portion, there is formed a main body portion 30 of the
conductive terminal.
As best seen in FIG. 2, the conductive terminal 24 is bonded to the
exposed surface of the second glass sheet 14 by utilization of a
bonding material 32 between the main body portion 30 of the
terminal and the surface of the glass sheet. The terminal is bonded
to the glass in such a manner that the main body portion thereof
extends away from the cutout portion 18 of the second glass sheet
in a direction paralleling the direction in which the antenna wires
20--20 extend away from the same cutout portion. By bonding the
conductive terminal to the glass sheet, any forces applied to the
conductive terminal are transferred to the glass sheet rather than
to the junction which is formed between the terminal's end portion
or projecting neck 26 and the free ends of the fine antenna wires.
The bonding material utilized to bind the terminal to the glass may
be any material such as an adhesive or other suitable bonding
agent.
In a preferred way of bonding the terminal 24 to the exposed
surface of the second glass sheet 14, polyvinyl butyral material is
utilized as the bonding agent. This material is the same material
which is preferred for utilization as the laminating interlayer
between the glass sheets. A small strip of polyvinyl butyral is
placed between the body portion 30 of the terminal 24 and the
exposed surface of the second glass sheet. Thereafter a clip or
other suitable clamping device is placed over the terminal and the
glass sheets so that the terminal is held against the bonding
material and the glass sheets. The terminal and bonding material
may then be subjected to heat and pressure in an autoclaving
operation in order to form the final bond between the terminal and
the glass. In a preferred method, the autoclaving step to bond the
terminal to the glass sheets may be carried out at the same time as
the glass sheets are autoclaved in order to cure the interlayer
disposed therebetween and cause the lamination of the two glass
sheets.
Once the conductive terminal 24 has been bonded to the exposed
surface of the second glass sheet 14, the free ends of the antenna
wires 20--20 projecting outwardly into the cutout portion 18 of the
second glass sheet, can be terminated to the first end portion 26
of the terminal. The termination is accomplished by taking an
individual free end of one of the antenna wires 20 and wrapping it
at least one turn about the projecting neck of the first end
portion of the terminal. If the antenna wire has a coating of paint
or other material thereon for the purpose of protecting the same,
it is necessary to remove the paint or other material to obtain a
proper termination of the antenna wires to the conductive terminal.
The removal of such material may be accomplished by applying fine
sandpaper to the free ends of the wires.
Once both of the antenna wires 20--20 have been connected to the
first end portion 26 of the terminal 24, the terminal's first end
portion is deformed into the space left vacant by the cutout
portion 18 of the second glass sheet 14. A small amount of solder
33 (FIG. 2) is applied to the antenna wires and the projecting neck
for the purpose of insuring a proper quality electrical junction
being formed therebetween. Any excess antenna wire remaining after
a portion of the antenna wire has been soldered may be clipped
off.
Upon completion of the soldering operation, a sealing compound 34,
such as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is flowed into the space left
vacant by the cutout portion 18 of the glass sheet 14. The sealing
material or compound is flowed by any suitable means, for example,
through a pressurized nozzle arrangement to fill the space as
aforedescribed. A suitable compound may be formed from a material
such as silicone rubber base adhesive. This type of sealing
material dries fairly rapidly and once it is dried, the material
forms a barrier which is impervious to moisture and other types of
detrimental material which could ruin the electrical
characteristics of the antenna wire junction.
As best understood by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the second end
portion or connector tip 28 of the conductive terminal 24 is bent
away from the plane of the body portion 30 of the terminal in a
direction away from the exposed surface of the second glass sheet
14. This portion of the conductive terminal is formed so as to be
matable with a female electrical connector 36 of standard
construction, as best seen in FIG. 3. The female electrical
connector is both supported by various body panels 38-40 of an
automotive vehicle and connected to the radio (not shown) carried
within the vehicle.
As may best be understood by reference to FIG. 2, the main body
portion 30 of the conductive terminal 24 can be protected, if
desired, by placing a sealing and protecting material 42 thereover.
The material 42 is shown only in FIG. 2 and may be a material such
as an electrical insulating tape. This insulating tape is optional,
but its use is preferred so as to protect the electrical terminal
over the greatest extent of its body portion from being attacked by
elements which would either ruin or destroy the same.
Thus, there has been described herein a preferred method for
manufacturing a windshield antenna system in which any pulling
force applied to the electrical connector which connects the
antenna wires of the system to the radio receiver of the vehicle is
dissipated as a force applied to the glass by the terminal. By
applying the force in such a manner rather than directly to the
junction formed between the terminal and the fine wires, the
junction is protected from damage.
* * * * *