Moveable satellite dish antenna mount

A mounting for a satellite dish antenna may be used in multi-unit or other dwellings in which mounting to exterior surfaces is forbidden. The mount includes a base mountable to a wall or to a balcony railing, an extension arm that pivots about the base and telescopes in length, and an aiming system attached to the end of the extension arm for mounting the antenna. In use, the mounting is attached to a wall or railing, the arm is rotated and telescoped outward, and the aiming system is used to aim the antenna at a satellite. The aiming system and the rotation and extension of the extension arm may be done remotely for convenience and to permit operation by disabled persons.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a moveable satellite dish antenna mount that can 
be used by residents of multi-unit housing, and can be remotely operated. 
The invention further relates to a method for positioning a satellite dish 
antenna outside a multi-unit dwelling for reception of broadcast satellite 
programming. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Condominiums, apartment complexes and other multi-unit dwellings often have 
regulations forbidding the attachment of antennas or satellite dishes to 
the roof or outside walls of the building. Because a satellite dish 
requires line-of-sight reception, such regulations may effectively prevent 
a condominium or apartment dweller from owning such a device. While many 
multi-unit dwellings have balconies providing access to the outdoors, the 
exposure of the balcony is not necessarily in the direction needed to 
receive a broadcast from a satellite. A portable floor platform for 
mounting the antenna is therefore not sufficient in most cases. 
Satellite antennas must be cleaned and maintained occasionally in order to 
keep them in optimum working condition. The antennas must also be aimed 
with reasonable precision at the target satellite. Cleaning and 
maintaining often involves movement of the antenna for access and as a 
result of the cleaning or maintaining operations themselves. A satellite 
dish antenna may also be moved in order to protect the dish from severe 
weather. It is therefore important that a satellite dish antenna may be 
conveniently retracted and returned to the same position and re-aimed with 
relative ease. 
Further, the elderly and disabled must be capable of retracting, extending 
and re-aiming the satellite dish. 
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a satellite dish antenna mount that 
may be used in multi-unit dwellings without attachment to an exterior 
surface of the building, and that may be retracted, extended and re-aimed 
conveniently in order to permit cleaning, maintenance and protection from 
the weather. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to fulfill the needs referred to 
above. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this 
objective is obtained by providing a mount for attaching a satellite dish 
to a building, extending the satellite dish toward and away from the 
building and aligning the satellite dish to a broadcast satellite. The 
mount includes a base for attaching the mount to the building, and an 
elongate extension member having first and second telescoping elements. 
The first telescoping element is pivotably attached to the base for 
rotation about an extension axis, while the second telescoping element is 
slideably mounted to the first telescoping element for relative linear 
movement. The mount also includes a dish aiming system mounted to the end 
of the second telescoping element. The aiming system includes at least one 
aiming pivot for rotation about an aiming axis. Attached to said dish 
aiming system for rotation with the pivot is a satellite dish mount for 
mounting the satellite dish. The satellite dish is displaced toward and 
away from the building by pivoting the extension member about the 
extension axis and by sliding the second telescoping member relative to 
said first telescoping member. The dish is aligned to the broadcast 
satellite by rotating the satellite dish mount about the aiming pivot. 
The base for attaching the mount to a building comprises a plate having 
mounting holes, or may be constructed and arranged for mounting to a 
balcony railing. The first and second telescoping elements may have 
rectangular cross-sections, or cross-sections may be round. 
The extension member may include a motor drive for sliding the second 
telescoping member relative to the first telescoping member. 
Alternatively, a handcrank-operated drive may be used. The mount may 
include a pivot lock to lock the extension member to the base to prevent 
pivoting. The pivot lock may include opposing clamping members biased 
against each other, and may also include means for locking the extension 
member to the base in a predetermined position. The means for locking in a 
predetermined position may be a locking pin fixed to the extension member 
and a locking pin hole in the base, or vise versa. 
A motor drive may be used for pivoting the extension member with respect to 
said base. The extension member may be extendible to a length of between 
about four and seven feet. 
The dish aiming system may include two aiming pivots and motor drives for 
rotating the aiming pivot. The motor drives may be remotely operable from 
inside the building. One remotely operable configuration includes a 
wireless receiver attached to the mount, and a remote control for 
communication with the wireless receiver from inside the building. 
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a mount is provided for 
attaching a satellite dish to a building, extending the satellite dish 
toward and away from the building and aligning the satellite dish to a 
broadcast satellite. The mount includes a base for attaching the mount to 
the building, an elongate extension member pivotably attached to the base 
at a proximal end of the extension member for rotation about an extension 
axis, a pivot lock constructed and arranged to lock the extension member 
to the base in a predetermined position to prevent pivoting, a dish aiming 
system mounted to a distal end of the extension member, and a satellite 
dish mount attached to the dish aiming system for mounting the satellite 
dish. The pivot lock may include a locking pin fixed to one of the 
extension member and the base and a locking pin hole in the other of the 
extension member and the base. 
Yet another aspect of the invention is a method of placing a satellite dish 
for reception of broadcast satellite programming. The method includes the 
step of providing a satellite dish mount having a base, a telescoping 
extension arm pivotably attached to the base, and a dish aiming system 
attached to the extension arm for mounting the satellite dish antenna. The 
base is mounted to a non-exterior surface of a building, and the dish 
antenna is mounted on the dish aiming system. The extension arm is rotated 
with respect to the base and the extension arm is extended so the 
satellite dish antenna has line-of-sight access to a broadcast satellite. 
The satellite dish antenna is aimed at the satellite using the dish aiming 
system. The dish aiming system may be remotely operable and the step of 
aiming the satellite dish antenna may be done remotely. Furthermore, the 
extension arm may be remotely rotatable and extendible, and the step of 
extending and rotating the extension arm may be done remotely.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIG. 1, a moveable satellite dish antenna mount, generally 
indicated 10, is shown supporting a satellite dish antenna 11, and is 
mounted to a non-exterior surface 20 of a building. The term "non-exterior 
surface" as used herein shall mean a surface of a building other than the 
root and exterior walls. Examples of non-exterior surfaces include balcony 
ceilings. side walls, back walls and railings, and interior room walls and 
ceilings. While multi-unit dwellings often have rules against the mounting 
of antennae on exterior surfaces of the building, the mounting of antennae 
is often permitted on non-exterior surfaces. The moveable satellite dish 
antenna mount of FIG. 1 is mounted to a balcony side wall 22. 
The antenna mount 10 is generally constructed of lightweight, high 
strength, non-corrosive materials such as aluminum, galvanized, anodized 
or painted steel or reinforced plastic resin. Where certain materials are 
particularly suited for components of the antenna mount, those materials 
will be noted below. 
The moveable satellite dish antenna mount 10 includes a base 30 having a 
mounting plate 31 with screw holes 32 for mounting to a surface such as 
surface 20. Using screws (not shown) in holes 32, the base can be 
surface-mounted to a wall, ceiling or overhang. The base also includes a 
pivot portion 33 protruding from the plate 31 for supporting the remaining 
elements of the antenna mount. 
Pivotably attached to the base at a base pivot 34 for rotation about a base 
axis 29 is an extension arm, generally indicated in FIG. 1 as 60. The 
extension arm may be rectangular in cross section, as shown in FIG. 1. The 
arm may be constructed of tubular aluminum, thin-walled steel or another 
lightweight, rigid construction. Alternatively, the arm may be constructed 
of extruded, reinforced plastic resin such as glass-filled Nylon.RTM.. The 
extension member 60 includes first and second telescoping members 61, 62 
slideably connected for relative linear movement therebetween. In the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, element 61 slides within element 62 and the 
two elements may be locked in place using locking screw 63. In a currently 
preferred embodiment, the extension arm 60 can extend from a retracted 
length of about four feet to an extended length of about seven feet. 
The pivot 34 may be locked in place using support arm 55, which is 
pivotably attached to the base 30 and is attached to the extension arm 
through lockable slide 56. After positioning the extension arm 60 with 
respect to the base 30, locking screw 57 is tightened to form a rigid 
triangle between the base 30, the extension arm 60 and the support arm 55, 
preventing further rotation. 
On the distal end of the extension arm 60 is mounted a dish aiming system, 
generally indicated as 90 in FIG. 1. The dish aiming system may comprise 
die-cast aluminum, stamped steel or reinforced plastic resin housings. The 
dish aiming system includes two aiming pivots 92, 93 that rotate about 
aiming axes 94, 95, respectively. The aiming pivots 92, 93 are rotated to 
aim the satellite dish antenna 11, as described in more detail below. The 
aiming system may contain more or fewer aiming pivots, depending on the 
specific geometry required. A satellite dish mount 91 is attached to the 
dish aiming system 90 so that the dish mount is rotated with respect to 
the extension arm by rotation of the pivots 92, 93. The dish antenna 11 is 
mounted to the satellite dish mount 91 in a manner known in the art. 
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the moveable satellite dish antenna 
mount 10 is fixed to a side wall 22 of a balcony 21. Such a balcony 
arrangement is commonly found in multi-unit dwellings such as condominiums 
and apartment buildings. Regulations of multi-unit dwellings often forbid 
the mounting of antennas to exterior surfaces of the building such as 
roofs and outside walls, which are considered part of the common area of 
the building. Those same regulations, however, often permit the mounting 
of antennas on surfaces such as side wall 22 of the balcony 21. The 
extension member 60 permits such mounting on non-exterior surfaces while 
placing the satellite dish antenna 11 in a position to receive 
line-of-sight reception from a satellite. 
In another mounting example shown in FIG. 2, the moveable satellite dish 
antenna mount 10 is attached to a ceiling surface 23 of the balcony 21. 
The extension arm 60 places the satellite dish antenna 11 beyond the roof 
24, permitting line-of-sight reception from the satellite 12. It can 
therefore be seen that the satellite dish mount of the present invention 
permits a person living in a unit with exposure in a direction opposite 
the direction of a broadcast satellite to achieve line-of-sight reception 
without mounting the satellite dish antenna on the roof or other exterior 
surface. 
In yet another mounting arrangement, the moveable satellite dish antenna 
mount 10 may be attached directly to a balcony railing baluster 26 (FIG. 
3) using a railing clamp 35, which may be constructed of sheet metal. The 
clamp is fixed to the baluster by tightening screws 36. Other means for 
attachment of the moveable satellite dish antenna mount 10 to a 
non-exterior surface of a living unit are possible without deviating from 
the scope and intent of the invention. For example, the base may be 
attached to an interior wall, with the extension arm extending through an 
open window or a balcony or patio door. 
The moveable satellite dish antenna mount 10 of the present invention may 
be displaced to and from its outboard, or broadcast reception, position. 
For example, the satellite dish antenna may be extended for each use and 
retracted when not in use. Alternatively, the dish antenna may be 
retracted only during severe weather or only for routine maintenance or 
repairs. In any case, the satellite dish antenna mount is extended and 
retracted by telescoping of the extension member 60, and/or by rotation of 
the base pivot 34. 
A satellite dish antenna must be accurately aligned with the broadcast 
satellite to operate efficiently. It is therefore desirable to have the 
capability of repeatably positioning the pivot 34 after each displacement 
of the dish antenna from and to the outboard reception position. In a 
preferred embodiment of the invention, the pivot 34 (FIGS. 1 & 4) includes 
a locking pin 36 for locking the pivot 34 in a repeatable position after 
rotating the arm 60 to the outboard position. 
The base pivot 34 is preferably constructed from aluminum or stainless 
steel and comprises a first clamping plate 37 (FIG. 4) and a second 
clamping plate 38 located on either side of the pivot portion 33 of the 
base 30. The clamping plates 37, 38 include bosses 49 that fit closely in 
a base pivot hole 48 in the pivot portion 33 of the base. A bolt 39, 
washer 41 and nut 40 are used to compress and clamp the clamping plates 
onto the pivot portion of the base. preventing relative motion 
therebetween. 
The second clamping plate 38 includes an arm pivot shoulder 51 for mounting 
a proximal end 45 of the extension arm 60 through an arm pivot hole 50. 
The proximal end 45 of the arm is retained on the shoulder 51 using 
locking nuts 42, permitting the arm 60 to rotate about the shoulder 51. 
The locking pin 36 is retained on the proximal end 45 of the arm by a pin 
retaining block 46. A spring 47 biases the locking pin 36 into a locking 
pin hole 44 in a peripheral portion 43 of the second clamping member 38. 
To use the pivot 34 of FIGS. 1 & 4, the locking pin 36 is extended into the 
locking pin hole 44 and the nut 40 is loosened on the bolt 39, permitting 
the second locking member to rotate with respect to the base 30. The arm 
is extended to the outboard position so that the satellite dish antenna 
may be aligned with a satellite. The nut 40 is then tightened to fix the 
clamping members 37, 38 to the base 30. The arm may later be rotated to an 
inboard position by removing the locking pin from the locking pin hole and 
rotating the arm 60 with respect to the clamping members 37, 38, which are 
now fixed to the base. The arm may be returned to substantially the same 
outboard position by rotating the arm outward and permitting the locking 
pin to drop into the locking pin hole. 
In another embodiment of the invention, the arm pivot 134 (FIG. 5) is 
motorized. Such an arrangement permits remote extension and retraction of 
the arm, and is especially advantageous where the operator is disabled or 
elderly, or the base of the antenna mount of in an inaccessible location. 
A base 130 includes a mounting plate 131 for mounting to a non-exterior 
surface of the building. The arm 160 is rotatably mounted to a pivot 
portion 133 of the base 130. A ball screw drive 140, including a ball 
screw 135, a motor 136 and a ball nut 137, is attached to the arm 160 at 
pivot 138 and to the base 131 at pivot 139. Extension and retraction of 
the ball screw drive 140 rotates the arm 160. The drive may be remotely 
operated using a wired switch or a wireless connection. Other arrangements 
for remotely pivoting the arm will be apparent to those skilled in the 
art. 
The extension arm 60 (FIG. 6) includes a first extension member 61 
slideably mounted to a second extension member 62 for relative linear 
movement, or "telescoping" movement. The extension members preferably have 
non-circular cross sections such as rectangular cross sections (FIG. 1) in 
order to prevent relative rotation. Other cross sectional shapes such as 
square or elliptical may also be used. A circular cross section may be 
used in conjunction with an anti-rotation device such as a key (not shown) 
to prevent relative rotation of the first and second extension members. 
In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a ball screw assembly 66 is 
used to remotely operate the telescoping movement of the extension member. 
The ball screw assembly includes a motor 69 mounted to one of the first 
and second extension members, and a ball nut 65 mounted to the other of 
the extension members. A ball screw 64 is mounted to the motor 69. As the 
ball screw 64 is rotated by the motor 69, the ball nut 65 is moved 
relative to the ball screw, thereby telescoping the extension member. The 
use of a motor drive to extend the telescoping arm permits disabled and 
elderly persons to perform routine maintenance and cleaning of the 
satellite dish antenna without assistance. 
The arm should be sufficiently long in its extended length to place the 
satellite dish antenna beyond the roof line including the eaves (see FIG. 
2), or around a corner of a building. In its retracted position, the arm 
should be sufficiently short to swing parallel to a wall within a typical 
balcony of a multi-unit dwelling. In a preferred embodiment, the extension 
arm length is about five feet or less in an unextended condition and may 
be extended to about six feet or more in maximum length. In a most 
preferred embodiment, the extension arm is about four feet long unextended 
and about seven feet long fully extended. 
In an alternative embodiment, an extension member 160 (FIG. 7) is extended 
using a hand crank 163 mounted on the proximal end of the second extension 
member 162. The hand crank turns worm gears 168, 169 which, in turn, 
rotate a screw 164. The screw displaces a nut 156 attached to the first 
extension member 161, causing telescoping movement between the two 
elements. 
One skilled in the art will recognize that other drive mechanisms may be 
used to extend the extension arm. For example, the extension arm may be 
extended using a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, a rack and pinion gear 
mechanism or another linear actuator known in the art. Alternatively, the 
arm may simply consist of the two extension members to be manually 
extended and locked using a locking screw 63 (FIGS. 1 & 8). 
The dish aiming system 90 (FIG. 8) is mounted on a distal end of the first 
extension member 61. The dish aiming system is remotely operable to aim 
the dish antenna 11 after the arm has been extended away from the 
building. An aiming system base 96 of the dish aiming system 90 is 
attached to the first extension member 61 using U-bolts 97 or other 
fastener means. The first aiming pivot 92 is attached to the base and 
includes a fixed portion 101 and a rotary portion 102. A motor 100 rotates 
the rotary portion 102 of the first aiming pivot 92 with respect to the 
fixed portion 101 about the first aiming axis 94. The motor 100 is 
preferably a stepping motor or alternatively another precision motor 
driving a rotary reduction system as is known in the art. 
The second aiming pivot 93 is mounted on the rotary portion 102 of the 
first aiming pivot 92 for rotation therewith. The second aiming pivot 
includes a fixed portion 104 and a rotary portion 105. A motor 103 rotates 
the rotary portion with respect to the fixed portion about the second 
aiming axis 95. The satellite dish mount 91 is attached to the rotary 
portion 105 of the second pivot 93 for rotation therewith. The satellite 
dish antenna 11 is fixed to the dish mount 91 by bolts 106 or in another 
manner known in the art. A short tubular mast (not shown) may be used to 
support the mount. 
The first and second aiming axes 94, 95 are mutually perpendicular for 
aiming the satellite dish in a two-dimensional polar coordinate system. 
Other coordinate geometries may be incorporated into the aiming system 90 
to efficiently find and hold a satellite broadcast signal. Further, a dish 
aiming system utilizing more or fewer pivot axes, and having an 
alternative motor drive system or manual drive system, may be used without 
departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 
The dish aiming system 90 may be controlled using buttons (not shown) 
hard-wired to the motors. Those buttons may be placed in a convenient 
location such as inside the building so that television reception may be 
monitored while adjusting the antenna orientation. Alternatively, the dish 
aiming system, as well as other motorized portions of the satellite dish 
antenna mount such as rotation of the base pivot 34 and telescoping of the 
extension arm 60, may be l0 controlled by a remote control unit 121 (FIG. 
9) linked to the satellite dish antenna mount through a wireless receiver 
120 (FIG. 8), which may be an infrared receiver. 
In a method of placing a satellite dish 11 for reception of broadcast 
satellite programming according to another embodiment of the invention, 
the base 30 of the satellite dish mount 10 is mounted to a non-exterior 
surface 20 of a building, and the dish antenna 11 is mounted on the dish 
mount 91 of the dish aiming system 90 (FIG. 1). The extension arm 60 is 
rotated with respect to the base 30 about the pivot 34, moving the 
satellite dish antenna 11 away from the building. The extension arm 60 is 
also extended by telescoping the first and second telescoping members to 
further displace the dish antenna from the building. In this way, the 
antenna is positioned to have line-of-sight access to a broadcast 
satellite, avoiding the roof, eaves, corners or other parts of the 
building that might otherwise obstruct that line of sight. For example, 
the dish may be extended out beyond the eaves of a north-facing balcony 
roof to access a satellite slightly to the south. The satellite dish 
antenna 11 is then aimed at the satellite 12 using the dish aiming system 
90. 
If the antenna had been previously aligned with a satellite and the arm had 
been retracted for maintenance or other purposes, the base pivot 34 may be 
relocated in substantially the same rotary position by engaging the 
locking pin 36 in the locking pin hole 48. In this way, only fine tuning 
of the satellite dish aiming system 90 is necessary to reestablish optimum 
reception. Remote control of the dish aiming system facilitates this task 
even further. 
The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the 
purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the 
present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the 
preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from 
such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications 
encompassed within the spirit of the following claims.