U.S. patent number 3,683,376 [Application Number 05/079,791] was granted by the patent office on 1972-08-08 for radar antenna mount.
Invention is credited to Joseph J. O. Pronovost, 48 Birchbank Rd., Ontario, CA.
United States Patent |
3,683,376 |
|
August 8, 1972 |
RADAR ANTENNA MOUNT
Abstract
In a short range radar detection device for burglar and like
intrusion protection, operating on the doppler principle of
detecting a frequency shift caused by a moving object, the mounting
of the antenna provides structural rigidity and at the same time
automatically furnishes the capacitances between the antenna,
ground and an inductor, that are required for tuning the antenna
system.
Inventors: |
Joseph J. O. Pronovost, 48
Birchbank Rd. (Bramalea), Ontario, CA (N/A) |
Family
ID: |
22152832 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/079,791 |
Filed: |
October 12, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
342/28; 343/702;
343/747; 343/805; 343/906 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01S
13/56 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01S
13/56 (20060101); G01S 13/00 (20060101); H03H
2/00 (20060101); G01s 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;343/5R,5PD,743,805,906 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Samuel Feinberg
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Peter Kirby Charles P. Curphey
Norris M. Eades
Claims
1. An antenna mount comprising a. an antenna in the form of at
least one metallic arm, b. a grounded metallic mounting member for
supporting said arm, c. an electrical conductor for capacitive
coupling to said arm, d. and means mechanically connecting said arm
to the mounting member and to the conductor, e. said connecting
means comprising i. a metallic bolt having a head or nut at one end
and a threaded shaft extending therefrom through a hole in said
conductor and then through a hole in said mounting member into a
tapped cavity in said arm, ii. a pair of metallic nuts engaging the
threaded shaft of the bolt, one on each side of the mounting
member, iii. a metallic washer on the bolt between said conductor
and the nut nearer the bolt head, iv. first dielectric insulating
means located between the bolt and the washer on the one hand, and
said conductor on the other hand, to form a first capacitance
between the antenna arm and said conductor, v. second dielectric
insulating means located between the two nuts and the bolt shaft on
the one hand, and the mounting member on the other hand, to form a
second capacitance between the antenna arm and the mounting member,
vi. said first and second dielectric means being so dimensioned
that the
2. An antenna mount as claimed in claim 1, wherein said antenna
comprises a pair of metallic arms arranged to form a half wave
dipole, and wherein each said arm is mounted on said mounting
member by a respective said
3. The combination of an antenna mount according to claim 2, and
radar transmission and receiving means comprising f. a first loop
inductor having two ends each connected to a respective said
electrical conductor, the center of said loop being grounded, g. a
second loop inductor loosely inductively coupled with said first
inductor, said second inductor having two ends, h. a capacitor
connected across the ends of the second inductor to form a tank
circuit therewith, and i. a radar frequency oscillator connected to
said tank circuit, j. the first and second dielectric means
associated with each respective antenna arm being so dimensioned
that said first and second capacitances form with the antenna arms
and with said first inductor a system tuned to
4. The combination of claim 3, further including k. means connected
to said first inductor for detecting a low frequency beat between
said radar frequency and a return frequency received by the antenna
with doppler shift, and l. means connected to said means (k) for
triggering an alarm means upon
5. The combination of claim 4, including timing means for
interrupting said
6. The combination of claim 5, including further alarm means and
delay means connected thereto and to said means (k) whereby to
trigger said further alarm means upon receipt of a signal at said
low frequency sustained for a predetermined time interval.
Description
This invention relates to a manner of mounting an antenna in a
radar device.
More specifically, it relates to a manner of mounting an antenna in
which the structural elements serve simultaneously to provide the
capacitances between the antenna, ground and an inductor that are
required for tuning the antenna system.
In the description that follows, the invention is exemplified as
applied to a short range radar detection device for detecting the
movement of objects in its vicinity. The device operates on the
doppler principle of detecting signals returned by moving objects
at a slightly different frequency from that of the transmitted
signal. Stationary objects are not detected.
While the device can be employed for any type of surveillance duty,
the particular purpose for which it has been developed is as an
alarm device for the detection of burglars or other intruders into
the area under surveillance, e.g. a shop, warehouse or private
home.
Devices of this general type are already known, but they suffer
from the disadvantage that they are complex and expensive, and
consequently beyond the financial reach of many persons, especially
private citizens.
An object of the present invention is to provide an antenna mount
that will render a device of this character so simple in
construction that it can be mass produced and sold at a price well
within a range that would willingly be paid by individual house and
apartment dwellers in return for improved security, e.g. a cost of
up to about $100.
A further object of the invention is to achieve a device that can
be made for this low price without sacrifice of efficiency and
reliability of operation.
Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent
from the following description which, together with the
accompanying drawings, illustrates one embodiment of the
invention.
While the antenna mount is herein shown and described in
association with a specific form of radar device, it is to be
understood that the mount may be employed with devices that differ
in other aspects of their circuits and constructions. Thus the
illustrated embodiment is shown by way of example only, and not by
way of limitation of the broad scope of the invention, which latter
is defined in the appended claims.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a small scale, perspective view of a radar device;
FIG. 2 is the electrical circuit of the device of FIG. 1, shown
diagrammatically;
FIG. 3 is a larger scale, broken away side view of an antenna mount
employed in the device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a section on IV--IV in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a further enlarged fragment of FIG. 3; and
FIG 6 is an exploded version of FIG. 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, an oscillator 10, e.g. 400MHZ, drives a tank
circuit L1, C1, the inductor L1 of which is loosely inductively
coupled with another loop inductor L2, the two ends 16, 17 of which
are connected to respective arms 11 of a "rabbit ears," half wave
dipole antenna. The arms 11 are mounted in an antenna mounting
member 12 secured to the top of a casing 13 in which the other
components including a key operated switch 14 are housed. Due to
the simplicity of the device, the casing 13 can be small, e.g.
about 6 inches long, 3 inches deep and 2 inches high, i.e. about
the size of a small radio receiver. It can readily be located in
the area to be surveyed without occupying any appreciate space. The
components are operated from a battery 9, so that the device is
independent of any power supply, although a battery charger can be
included as an extra component. Since the device operates with
radar frequency waves, its signals penetrate wood and most other
materials including thin walls; it can thus be mounted out of sight
in a cupboard or other concealed location.
The center point 15 of the inductor L2 is connected to ground
(casing) and hence to the member 12 which is of metal, preferably
aluminum. The connections of the inductor ends 16, 17 to the
antenna arms 11 are not direct, but through capacitances C2 and C3.
These series capacitances, which, at the frequency employed,
exhibit very low impedances, are not separate electrical
components, but are built into the structure of the antenna mount,
as is described in detail below.
In a similar fashion, the antenna arms 11 are physically mounted so
as to have capacitances to ground represented by C4 and C5, these
shunt capacitances exhibiting relatively high impedances at the
frequency employed. For example, capacitances C2, C3 could each be
about 20 pico farad; and capacitances C4, C5 each about 0.1 pico
farad. The capacitances C2 to C5 together with the inductor L2 form
a network tuned to the oscillator frequency. While the tuning is
not so sharp that the doppler shifted frequencies are eliminated,
this network does serve to filter out extraneous signals of other
frequencies, as may arise from adjacent electrical equipment, e.g.
motors, or from lightning.
Signals at 400MHZ reflected back to the antenna and shifted on
frequency by a moving object, e.g. a shift of the order of 0.1 to
10HZ, will beat with the base frequency to produce the low
difference frequency. This low frequency is recovered by
demodulating the high frequency, using diodes D1 and D2 connected
between points 16, 17 and a point 18, and providing full wave
rectification. Since the tank circuit L1, C1 presents a low
impedance to the beat frequency, the loose coupling between
inductors L1 and L2 is necessary. A capacitor C6 filters out high
frequency signals, the beat frequency entering a low frequency
amplifier 19. The gain of the amplifier 19 can be varied to
determine the range of the device. Typically, with full gain, there
has been found to be no difficulty in obtaining a range radius of
20 feet around the device, using an oscillator of 10 milliwatts at
low gain this radius can be reduced to the order of about 5 feet.
The height of the space effectively covered by the radar field will
be typically about half the range.
The output of the amplifier 19 energizes a trigger and timer
circuit 20 which causes continuous operation of a horn 21 or other
alarm mechanism for a predetermined period, e.g. 2 minutes,
whereupon the circuit resets itself. When the device is turned on
by the owner using his key in switch 14, his own subsequent
movement away from the device will actuate the trigger and timer
circuit 20 to sound the horn 21 for 2 minutes. This action will
provide a test that the device is functioning properly. After the 2
minutes have elapsed, the device will again become silent, when the
trigger and timer circuit 20 resets itself, assuming that the owner
has by now moved out of range and that no other moving objects are
within range to reenergize the amplifier 19.
When an intruder or other moving object appears, the horn will
sound for 2 minutes, which may in itself be sufficient time to
achieve the desired result, i.e. to scare away the intruder and/or
to alert the householder, superintendent or night watchman. By
switching off its horn after 2 minutes, the device again becomes
ready to detect a new intrusion. Of course, if any moving intrusion
persists, the horn will continue, the 2 minutes duration of the
horn being timed not from its initial actuation but from the last
energization of the circuit 20 by the amplifier 19.
If desired, as an optional feature, one or more other alarm
mechanisms may be connected to the device, e.g. a siren or bell
external to the premises, floodlights, or a police switchboard
indicator. This other alarm mechanism has been shown
diagrammatically in FIG. 2 at 22 and can be actuated by a trigger
23 energized through a delay device 24 from the amplifier 19. A
short delay, e.g. 30 seconds or perhaps 1 minute, furnished by the
device 24 will enable the owner to approach the alarm device to
turn it on and off. Under these conditions he will operate the horn
21, but he will not trigger the other alarm mechanism 22. In the
case of turning off, the key switch 14 will be opened, before the
delay period has expired; in the case of turning on, the owner will
have moved beyond range, so that the amplifier 19 will no longer be
ready to energize the trigger 23 when the delay period expires.
The manner of securing each of the antenna arms 11 in the mounting
member 12 to achieve simultaneously the necessary structural and
electrical characteristics, is best seen from FIGS. 5 and 6. A
metal bolt 30 extends through a number of parts and finally into a
tapped cavity 31 in the end of the arm 11. In sequence, starting at
its head, the threaded shaft of the bolt 30 passes through a
dielectric insulating washer 32, having a boss portion 33; a
metallic conductor in the form of a lug 34 mounted on an end of the
inductor L2 and having a hole 35 sized to receive the boss portion
33; a dielectric insulating washer 36; a metallic washer 37; a nut
38; a dielectric insulating washer 39; the wall of the member 12; a
further dielectric insulating washer 40; a second nut 41; and
finally the arm 11. The sides of the washers 39, 40 facing the
member 12 are recessed to form boss portions 42, 43 that enter the
hole in the member 12 and establish a firm structural connection
therewith.
The first or series capacitances C2, C3 are each formed between the
lug 34 on the one hand, and the bolt 30 and metallic washer 37 on
the other hand, these latter parts being in direct metallic
connection with the arm 11. These capacitances are comparatively
large by virtue of the thinness of the dimension A of the
dielectric washer 36, e.g. 4 thousandths of an inch, and the
thinness of the radial dimension B of the boss 33 of the dielectric
washer 32, also about 4 thousandths.
The second or shunt capacitances C4, C5 are each formed between the
nuts 38, 41 and bolt 30 on the one hand, and the grounded mounting
member 12 on the other hand. These capacitances are comparatively
small by virtue of the much greater values chosen for the
dimensions C and D.
An important attribute of the system as described is an absence of
elements in the tuning circuits that are dependent on temperature
and other variables such as humidity. This feature contributes
significantly to the operating stability of the system.
As an alternative to using a bolt 30 with a head, a head-less bolt
can be used, threaded at least at both ends. The head will then be
replaced by a nut that can be screwed onto one end of the bolt, the
other end entering the tapped cavity 31.
* * * * *