Artificial tree to camouflage antennas

Abstract: Artificial tree to camouflage antennas (11) comprising a trunk (12) consisting of a pole (15) to support said antennas (11) at least partly covered with an artificial bark, and foliage (13) comprising artificial branches (21) able to hide said antennas (11), wherein at least a segment (T2) of said pole (15) is covered by natural material made from real trees.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns an artificial tree able to be used to camouflage any type of antenna, and the relative support structure, in order to reduce the aesthetic conflict with the environment in which the antenna is installed. Hereafter, the term "antenna" should be taken to mean any device suitable to emit or receive electromagnetic waves, whether it be of the monopole type, panel type, dish type or otherwise. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The problems caused by the installation of antennas, for example for cellular telephone systems, radio bridges and so on, in areas of great natural beauty, or of historic or environmental value, whether in the town or in the country, are well-known. The antennas have to be located at a considerable height from the ground and, while this is not a great problem in industrialized areas, in other areas it causes an extremely negative impact on the environment. This problem is at present a very topical one, because the public networks or particular technological sectors are in continual expansion and therefore require an ever greater number of antennas. To limit this environmental impact, those managing the telephone systems have proposed to use supporting poles shaped like a tree, wherein the foliage, made of synthetic materials, is able to hide the antennas and the relative supports. The type of tree imitated is usually the one most commonly found in, or which is best integrated into, the environment where it is to be installed, and in any case is of the evergreen type such as, for example, a conifer or palm. The state of the art includes for example a pole for antennas equipped on the upper part with attachment means for artificial branches able to reproduce the fronds of a palm tree. The upper part of the pole is covered with shells which partly overlap each other and the rest of the pole is covered with coaxial sleeves made of fibreglass resin and painted with a paint of a similar color to the parts of the palm tree to be imitated. A first disadvantage of this type of artificial palm tree is that, even if paints of a very similar color to the natural colors are used, it is practically impossible to obtain a perfect likeness with a natural palm tree. This difference is visible immediately especially if the artificial palm tree is installed near natural palm trees. Another disadvantage is that the layer of paint applied on the shells and the fibreglass resin sleeves has a limited duration and resistance to external agents. To be more exact, if subjected to scratches or abrasions, the layer of paint shows the natural color of the fibreglass resin, which compromises the aesthetic appearance of the artificial tree. This necessarily requires the damaged shells or sleeves to be replaced, which in artificial palm trees of a conventional type is not always possible, or it is very laborious and requires a long time to carry out. The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain an artificial tree which is as similar as possible to a real tree. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is set forth and characterized in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other innovative characteristics of the invention. One purpose of the invention is to achieve an artificial tree which perfectly resembles natural trees, which offers maximum versatility of use, and is able to be perfectly integrated into most environments. Another purpose of the invention is to provide an artificial tree which is quick and easy to achieve and install and able to camouflage any type of antenna. A further purpose of the invention is to provide embodiments suitable to ensure optimum resistance to atmospheric agents and which in any case allow any damaged parts to be replaced. Like artificial trees of a conventional type, an artificial tree according to the invention comprises a trunk consisting of a supporting pole for the antenna, covered at least partly by artificial bark and foliage consisting of artificial branches able to hide the antennas. According to one characteristic of the invention, the trunk has at least a segment comprising, or made of, natural material made from real trees. This natural material may be made to cover the supporting pole by using various techniques. In one embodiment of the invention, the artificial tree is made to imitate a Japanese palm tree, and the natural material comprises vegetable fibres and pieces of stalk and leaf sheaths made respectively from the trunk and from the leaves of real palm trees. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other characteristics of the invention will become clear from the following description of some preferred forms of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein: Fig. 1 shows an artificial tree according to the invention to camouflage antennas; Fig. 2 shows an enlarged detail of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows another enlarged detail of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows the tree from Fig. 1 without the bark and without some of the branches; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of an enlarged detail of Fig. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Fig. 1, an artificial tree 10 according to the invention is used to camouflage antennas 11 for cellular telephone systems. It is obvious that the invention can also be applied to antennas of other types such as, for example, monopole, panel or dish type antennas. In this case, the artificial tree 10 is able to simulate an ornamental palm tree, such as a Japanese palm; the peculiarity of this tree is that it has a very high, erect trunk equipped in the upper part with evergreen leaves shaped like a fan, extending radially to form a very ample, compact and globular foliage, and therefore suitable to camouflage antennas. Japanese palms are not only widespread throughout almost all the world, but also they can reach very great heights, in the order of tens of metres: they therefore are excellent models to make artificial trees 10 able to camouflage antennas which need to be installed very high up. The artificial tree 10 according to the invention comprises, in its essential parts, a trunk 12 and foliage 13. The trunk 12 consists of a metal pole 15, of the type commonly used to support antennas, covered with materials able to simulate the bark of a Japanese palm tree. The pole 15 is lined along a lower segment T1 with a layer 14 made of polymerizable resins reinforced with high resistance fibres such as, for example, fibre glass, and along an upper segment T2 with a plurality of modular elements 16, also made of reinforced resins, able to be coupled together. In this case, the segments T1 and T2 extend respectively for 1/3 and 2/3 of the overall height' h of the pole 15; however, it is obvious that these values may be varied according to the contingent requirements and/or of the type of palm tree which is to be imitated. The layer 14 may be applied onto the pole 15 using different techniques, according to the type of palm tree which is to be imitated. In the preferential embodiment shown here, the covering layer 14 consists of half-shells, for example made by molding, able to be coupled together and attached to the pole 15, optionally after they have been previously cut to size. The modular elements 16 are also formed by half-shells able to be attached to the pole 15 by different techniques. According to one characteristic of the invention, the modular elements 16 are covered with natural material, in this case vegetable fibres 20, made from real palm trees so as to make the artificial tree 10 extremely realistic. To make the trunk 12 even more realistic, stalks 19 made of plastic material, or according to a variant, made from real palm trees, are also applied onto the modular elements 16. According to the invention, the modular elements 16 can easily be removed from the pole 15 both to be replaced in the event of wear or damage, and also to facilitate the maintenance operations of the antennas 11 or of their supporting structures. This is possible because, according to another characteristic of the invention, the modular elements 16 are able to be coupled with the pole 15 by intervening laterally with respect thereto, and therefore each one of them can be removed without intervening on the other modular elements. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, each modular element 16 comprises two half-shells, respectively 16a and 16b hinged together along a bending line 18 and equipped, in a position diametrically opposite the bending line 18, with coupling elements 29 which can be selectively activated and deactivated. In a first embodiment, the bending line 18 is less thick than the other parts of the modular element 16 so that it functions as a hinge and allows an elastic deformation of the modular element 16 during its lateral coupling with the pole 15. In another embodiment, on the contrary, the two half-shells 16a and 16b are autonomous and coupled in correspondence with the bending line 18 by means of hinges. The term hinge should be taken to mean any element able to allow the rotation of one of the two half-shells 16a or 16b with respect to the other half-shell 16b or 16a. Thus the hinge can consist of an article of hardware or a strip of fabric, or other elastic material, attached to the two coupling edges of the half-shells 16a and 16b or otherwise. With this invention it is possible to achieve artificial trees 10 of any height, simply by varying the number of modular elements 16 to be associated to the pole 15 or by shortening them, simply cutting them to size to adapt them to the size of the pole 15. It is obvious that the modular elements 16 can be used not only to achieve the segment T2 but also to achieve the segment T1; in the embodiment shown here, this has not been done, to prevent the natural materials, located too low down, from being damaged by people or animals. To achieve the layer 14 and the modular elements 16, polymerizable resins are used which are neutral in color and to which pigments have been added; the pigments are natural or artificial in origin and are able to give the modular elements 16 the desired coloring. Using pigmented resins allows to achieve a trunk 12 with a more natural color than what can be obtained by using a surface painting process, and prevents scratches or abrasions from compromising the aesthetic appearance thereof. During the polymerization step, the reinforced resin is subjected to surface processing; for example matrixes or molds made of silicon rubber or similar are applied, able to reproduce on the resin the roughness and circumferential ribbed structure typical of the natural bark of Japanese palm trees. The foliage 13 consists of a plurality of branches 21 each comprising a stalk 22 made of reinforced resin and leaves consisting of flexible strips 23 made of thermo-plastic material and arranged in a fan. The strips 23 can be of one color or, according to a variant, they can be dark green on their upper surface and light green on their lower surface, like the leaves of real palm trees. According to the invention the strips 23 are able to be coupled to the stalk 22 in such a manner as to be easily removed to be replaced in the event of damage. In this case, every stalk 22 is equipped at the end with a male element 24 able to be selectively coupled with any one of a plurality of female elements 25 distributed on the outer surface of a sleeve 26 which can be coupled with the upper end 115 of the pole 15. The male elements 24 and female elements 25 allow to remove at any moment the individual branches 21 to facilitate, for example, replacement or maintenance of the antennas 11. As shown in Fig. 4, the female elements 25 are arranged, and the male elements are inclined, and possibly the individual stalks 22 are curved, in such a manner that the branches 21 are arranged radially with respect to the sleeve 26 so as to define a thick and globular foliage 13 typical of Japanese palm trees. According to a variant, the male elements 24 and the female elements 25 are provided with particular joints or are able to cooperate with attachment elements which prevent the branches 21 from accidentally coming off the sleeve 26, due to strong wind or a heavy load of snow or ice. The sleeve 26 is closed at the upper part by a flange 28 to which a rod 30, equipped with conventional attachment elements for the antennas 11, is able to be coupled. It is obvious that modifications and additions may be made to the invention, but these shall remain within the field and scope thereof. For example, the male elements 24 may be provided on the sleeve 26 and the female elements 25 at the end of the stalks 22. Or the materials used to achieve the individual components of the artificial tree 10 can be different from those cited here. It is also obvious that, although the description refers to a specific example, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms able to reproduce a Japanese palm tree or another type of tree, but these too shall remain within the field and scope of the invention.

Claims: Artificial tree to camouflage antennas (11) comprising a trunk (12) consisting of a pole (15) to support said antennas (11) at least partly covered with an artificial bark, and foliage (13) comprising artificial branches (21) able to hide said antennas (11), the tree being characterized in that at least a segment (T2) of said pole (15) is covered by natural material made from real trees. Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that said natural material is positioned to cover said artificial bark. Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that said artificial bark comprises an inner layer of polymerizable resin onto which a surface layer of said natural material is added by means of adhesives or glue when said resin is polymerized. Artificial tree as in Claim 3, characterized in that said polymerizable resin is reinforced with high resistance fibres. Artificial tree as in Claims 3 or 4, characterized in that coloring pigments are added to said polymerizable resin. Artificial tree as in Claim 1, able to simulate a Japanese palm tree and characterized in that said natural material comprises vegetable fibres (20) made from the trunk of a real Japanese palm tree. Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that an upper end (115) of said pole (15) is equipped with constraining means (27) for a sleeve (26) to which said branches (21) are able to be removably coupled. Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that said branches (21) comprise a stalk (22) made of reinforced polymerizable resin, to which flexible strips (23), made of thermo-plastic material, are removably coupled, arranged substantially in a fan shape. Artificial tree as in Claim 8, characterized in that constraining means are able to removably couple said flexible strips (23) to said stalk (22). Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that said artificial bark has a modular structure defined by two or more shells (16) able to be coupled to said pole (15) by acting laterally with respect thereto. Artificial tree as in Claim 10, characterized in that each of said shells (16) comprises at least two half-shells (16a-16b) able to be coupled together. Artificial tree as in Claim 11, characterized in that said half-shells (16a-16b) are hinged together in correspondence with a bending line (18) so that said shell (16) can be temporarily opened during the coupling step to said pole (15). Artificial tree as in Claim 12, characterized in that coupling means (29), which can be selectively activated, are provided in a position diametrically opposite said bending line (18). Artificial tree as in Claim 1, characterized in that said at least one segment (T2) is provided in correspondence with the upper part of said pole (15) and is preceded by a second lower segment (T1) lacking said natural material. Artificial tree as in Claim 14, characterized in that said second lower segment (T1) extends for about 1/3 of the height (h) of said pole (15) and in that said at least one segment (T2) extends for the remaining 2/3 of said height (h).

Inventors: CALZAVARA MARCO, SACHER LUCIANO, CALZAVARA, MARCO, SACHER, LUCIANO
Applicants: CALZAVARA SPA
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H01Q1
IPC codes: H01Q1, A41G1