Glass antenna for an automobile
View Patent ↗A defogger is disposed in or on a rear window glass sheet. The rear window glass sheet has an H-oriented antenna conductor for frequency band H higher than frequency band L, an L-oriented antenna conductor for frequency band L, and a feeding point disposed in a blank space thereof above the defogger therein or thereon, the feeding point being connected to the H-oriented antenna conductor and the L-oriented antenna conductor, the H-oriented antenna conductor comprising H-oriented antenna elements, the L-oriented antenna conductor comprising L-oriented antenna elements and a directivity-adjusting antenna element, the directivity-adjusting antenna element being connected to the L-oriented antenna elements, a first H-oriented antenna element and a first L-oriented antenna element being capacitively coupled, and a second H-oriented antenna element and a second L-oriented antenna element being capacitively coupled.
1. A glass antenna for an automobile, comprising:
a plurality of antenna conductors disposed in or on a rear window glass sheet in a blank space which is adjacent to an electric heating defogger having a plurality of heater strips and a plurality of bus bars configured to feed a current to the heater strips, the plurality of antenna conductors comprising:
an H-oriented antenna conductor for a frequency band H higher than a frequency band L, the H-oriented antenna conductor including a first H-oriented antenna element and a second H-oriented antenna element, and
an L-oriented antenna conductor for the frequency band L, the L-oriented antenna conductor including a first L-oriented antenna element, a second L-oriented antenna element, and a directivity-adjusting antenna element;
a feeding point disposed in or on the rear window glass sheet in the blank space, the feeding point being connected to the H-oriented antenna conductor and the L-oriented antenna conductor with both of the first H-oriented antenna element and the second H-oriented antenna element electrically connected to the feeding point and extending in a direction away from a side of the feeding point, and with the first L-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element electrically connected to the directivity-adjusting antenna element and extending from a side of the directivity-adjusting antenna element toward the side of the feeding point;
a first capacitively-coupled portion formed by the first H-oriented antenna element and the first L-oriented antenna element being adjacent to each other and capacitively coupled to each other; and
a second capacitively-coupled portion formed by the second H-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element being adjacent to each other and capacitively coupled to each other.
2. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first H-oriented antenna element, the second H-oriented antenna element, the first L-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element includes a leading portion;
the leading portion of the first H-oriented antenna element is disposed in the first capacitively-coupled portion;
the leading portion of the first L-oriented antenna element is disposed in the first capacitively-coupled portion;
the leading portion of the second H-oriented antenna element is disposed in the second capacitively-coupled portion; and
the leading portion of the second L-oriented antenna element is disposed in the second capacitively-coupled portion.
3. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein:
the first capacitively-coupled portion is disposed at a position closer to a vehicle opening edge for the rear window glass sheet than the second capacitively-coupled portion; and
when a portion of the vehicle opening edge closest to the first capacitively-coupled portion is called a closest vehicle edge portion, the first L-oriented antenna element is disposed at a position closer to the closest vehicle edge portion than the first H-oriented antenna element in the first capacitively-coupled portion.
4. The glass antenna according to claim 3 , wherein the second L-oriented antenna element is disposed at a position closer to the vehicle edge portion than the second H-oriented antenna element in the second capacitively-coupled portion.
5. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein a main portion of the first H-oriented antenna element and a main portion of the first L-oriented antenna element are parallel or substantially parallel to each other; and
a main portion of the second H-oriented antenna element and a main portion of the second L-oriented antenna element are parallel or substantially parallel to each other.
6. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein:
the frequency band H contains a frequency selected from the Japanese FM broadcast band, the US FM broadcast band and a lower band of a television VHF band, and
the first H-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element have an average distance of 10.5 to 19.5 mm therebetween.
7. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein:
the directivity-adjusting antenna element is connected to an H-oriented adjusting antenna element, which is disposed in or on the rear window glass sheet; and
the H-oriented adjusting antenna element is disposed on a side opposite to the first capacitively-coupled portion with respect to the directivity-adjusting antenna element.
8. The glass antenna according to claim 7 , wherein:
the H-oriented adjusting antenna element has an H-oriented adjusting antenna element base portion extended in a transverse direction or a substantially transverse direction, starting at the directivity-adjusting antenna element; and
the H-oriented adjusting antenna element base portion is coupled to an H-oriented adjusting antenna element return portion turned back and further extended along the first portion toward a direction where the H-oriented adjusting antenna element starts at the directivity-adjusting antenna element.
9. The glass antenna according to claim 8 , wherein, the H-oriented adjusting antenna element base portion and the H-oriented adjusting element return portion are parallel or substantially parallel to each other and have a distance of 5 to 15 mm therebetween.
10. The glass antenna according to claim 1 , wherein:
the frequency band L comprises at least one of an AM broadcast band and a long wave broadcast band, and
the frequency band H contains at least one frequency selected from the Japanese FM broadcast band, the US FM broadcast band and a lower band of a television VHF band.
11. A rear window glass sheet for an automobile including at least the H-oriented antenna conductor and the L-oriented antenna conductor defined in claim 1 .
12. The glass antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the L-oriented antenna conductor includes an L-oriented transverse antenna element which is electrically connected to the feeding point, extends in a transverse direction or a substantially transverse direction from the side of the feeding point, and is connected to the directivity-adjusting antenna element, and
the second capacitively-coupled portion is partly or entirely disposed between the first capacitively-coupled portion and the L-oriented transverse antenna element.
13. A glass antenna for an automobile, comprising:
a plurality of antenna conductors disposed in or on a rear window glass sheet in a blank space which is adjacent to an electric heating defogger having a plurality of heater strips and a plurality of bus bars configured to feed a current to the heater strips, the plurality of antenna conductors comprising:
an H-oriented antenna conductor for a frequency band H higher than a frequency band L, the H-oriented antenna conductor including a first H-oriented antenna element and a second H-oriented antenna element, and
an L-oriented antenna conductor for the frequency band L, the L-oriented antenna conductor including a first L-oriented antenna element, a second L-oriented antenna element, and a directivity-adjusting antenna element;
an H-oriented feeding point and an L-oriented feeding point disposed in or on the rear window glass sheet in the blank space with the H-oriented feeding point being connected to the H-oriented antenna conductor and the L-oriented feeding point being connected to the L-oriented antenna conductor, the H-oriented feeding point and the L-oriented feeding point having a shortest distance of 0.1 to 200 mm therebetween, wherein:
both of the first H-oriented antenna element and the second H-oriented antenna element are electrically connected to the H-oriented feeding point and extend in a direction away from a side of the H-oriented feeding point, and
the first L-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element are connected to the directivity-adjusting antenna element, and both of the first L-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element extend from a side of the directivity-adjusting antenna element toward a side of the L-oriented feeding point,
a first capacitively-coupled portion formed by the first H-oriented antenna element and the first L-oriented antenna element being adjacent to each other and capacitively coupled to each other; and
a second capacitively-coupled portion formed by the second H-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element being adjacent to each other and capacitively coupled to each other.
14. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein each of the first H-oriented antenna element, the second H-oriented antenna element, the first L-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element includes a leading portion;
the leading portion of the first H-oriented antenna element is disposed in the first capacitively-coupled portion;
the leading portion of the first L-oriented antenna element is disposed in the first capacitively-coupled portion;
the leading portion of the second H-oriented antenna element is disposed in the second capacitively-coupled portion; and
the leading portion of the second L-oriented antenna element is disposed in the second capacitively-coupled portion.
15. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein:
the first capacitively-coupled portion is disposed at a position closer to a vehicle opening edge for the rear window glass sheet than the second capacitively-coupled portion; and
when a portion of the vehicle opening edge closest to the first capacitively-coupled portion is called a closest vehicle edge portion, the first L-oriented antenna element is disposed at a position closer to the closest vehicle edge portion than the first H-oriented antenna element in the first capacitively-coupled portion.
16. The glass antenna according to claim 15 , wherein the second L-oriented antenna element is disposed at a position closer to the vehicle edge portion than the second H-oriented antenna element in the second capacitively-coupled portion.
17. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein a main portion of the first H-oriented antenna element and a main portion of the first L-oriented antenna element are parallel or substantially parallel to each other; and
a main portion of the second H-oriented antenna element and a main portion of the second L-oriented antenna element are parallel or substantially parallel to each other.
18. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein:
the frequency band H contains a frequency selected from the Japanese FM broadcast band, the US FM broadcast band and a lower band of a television VHF band, and
the first H-oriented antenna element and the second L-oriented antenna element have an average distance of 10.5 to 19.5 mm therebetween.
19. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein:
the directivity-adjusting antenna element is connected to an H-oriented adjusting antenna element, which is disposed in or on the rear window glass sheet; and
the H-oriented adjusting antenna element is disposed on a side opposite to the first capacitively-coupled portion with respect to the directivity-adjusting antenna element.
20. The glass antenna according to claim 19 , wherein: the H-oriented adjusting antenna element has an H-oriented adjusting antenna element base portion extended in a transverse direction or a substantially transverse direction, starting at the directivity-adjusting antenna element; and
the H-oriented adjusting antenna element portion is coupled to an H-oriented adjusting antenna element return portion turned back and further extended along the first portion toward a direction where the H-oriented adjusting antenna element starts at the directivity-adjusting antenna element.
21. The glass antenna according to claim 20 , wherein, the H-oriented adjusting antenna element base portion and the H-oriented adjusting element return portion are parallel or substantially parallel to each other and have a distance of 5 to 15 mm therebetween.
22. The glass antenna according to claim 13 , wherein:
the frequency band L comprises at least one of an AM broadcast band and a long wave broadcast band, and
the frequency band H contains at least one frequency selected from the Japanese FM broadcast band, the US FM broadcast band and a lower band of a television VHF band.
23. A rear window glass sheet for an automobile including at least the H-oriented antenna conductor and the L-oriented antenna conductor defined in claim 13 .
24. The glass antenna device according to claim 13 , wherein:
the L-oriented antenna conductor includes an L-oriented transverse antenna element which is electrically connected to the L-oriented feeding point, extends in a transverse direction or a substantially transverse direction from the side of the L-oriented feeding point, and is connected to the directivity-adjusting antenna element, and
the second capacitively-coupled portion is partly or entirely disposed between the first capacitively-coupled portion and the L-oriented transverse antenna element.