Patent Publication Number: US-11664574-B2

Title: Emergency portable hot spot with antennas built into cover

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS 
     Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present application relates to the field of wireless broadband data communication, and more particularly to antenna systems. 
     Description of Related Art 
     It has been desired to protect antennas to elements of the weather for some time. It is a desire that the antennas satisfy an IP67 rating which means the unit can be dropped into a body of water up to a meter deep for 30 min. The existing technology includes three different approaches to satisfy this rating. 
     The first and most common approach is to place a standard commercially available antenna inside the bottom of the case, attached to a router or radio module via coax cables. This limits performance since the antenna gets dielectrically loaded with the additional layer of the plastic while inside the case. The typical radome of a commercial grade antenna is 1.5 mm thick. All commercial antennas are designed with their existing radome in place, not an additional cover which is used in these boxes. The additional layer of plastic is typically 3.5 mm thick, which dielectrically loads the antenna and reduces the performance by making the center frequency shift on the antennas inside the original package. This dielectric load comes from all angles in the top, bottom and sides of the box. Typically, these boxes are loaded with extra cables, batteries and accessories that further interrupt the RF path to the antennas, thus reducing the performance of the antenna as well. 
     The second most common approach is to use screw on antennas directly on the router or radio module while the cover is open or to add the screw on antennas to the side of the case with a wall mount SMA jack that includes cables from the router or radio module to the side jack where the antenna are screwed on outside of the wall of the box or on the side. This approach enables the antenna to get a clean RF path to the antenna except on the side facing the box. Anything made out of metal in the RF path, plus the wall of the box will reduce the signal strength. The common industry complaint is that most of these antennas get broken or lost after repeated use and storage of the box. 
     The third approach is to have these standard commercial antennas arranged in the cover of a plastic Pelican or waterproof style box while in operation. These commercial antennas arranged in the top cover stacked in a vertical position inside the cover. The problem with this approach is the box needs to remain open to work, which defeats the purpose of using an IP67, waterproof rated portable box. The area behind the cover is now dielectrically loaded, thus reducing the performance of the antenna on that side. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present application to improve the performance of antenna elements within a closed cover while maintaining GPS, LTE, Wi-Fi and both versions of 5G. The antenna assembly is configured to minimize interference by locating the antenna against a base plate acting partly as a heat sink. The antenna are able to function while the cover remains closed and maintain a IP67 rating. 
     It is an object of the present application to provide an antenna located on a baseplate that screws into the top cover of the box. This baseplate acts as a heatsink as well as a reflector for the antennas while the cover is closed and in the locked position. The antennas have been designed and optimized to work on the new baseplate and designed to operate with the thick plastic cover of the box. The added benefit is that the antennas are out of harms way and can operate without any other objects in the RF path. All other accessories, routers and batteries are stored below, out of the RF path of the antennas. The cover can now be closed and or locked for a proper IP67, waterproof operating environment. 
     Ultimately the invention may take many embodiments. In these ways, the present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the prior art. The more important features have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and to ensure that the present contribution to the art is appreciated. Additional features will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
     Many objects of the present application will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the various purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The novel features believed characteristic of the application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the application itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of an antenna unit according to an embodiment of the present application. 
         FIGS.  2 - 19    are graphs of the antenna unit of  FIG.  1    operating in different bands of frequencies. 
     
    
    
     While the embodiments and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Illustrative embodiments of a preferred embodiment are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present application, the devices, members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as the embodiments described herein may be oriented in any desired direction. 
     The system and method in accordance with the present invention overcomes one or more of the above-discussed problems commonly associated with traditional antenna systems. In particular, the system of the present invention is an antenna system having one or more types of antenna selectively located on a baseplate within an enclosure/case having an operational cover that is selectively opened and closed. The case allows for mobility and maintains high performance. The antennas are rugged and built into the cover. The case is protective, portable, tamperproof, and IP67 rated. These case antennas are ideal for mobile network in a box deployment, emergency communications, wireless internet backup and failover applications. These and other unique features of the system are discussed below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     The system and method will be understood, both as to its structure and operation, from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system may be presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless otherwise described. As used herein, “system” and “assembly” are used interchangeably. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Dimensions provided herein provide for an exemplary embodiment, however, alternate embodiments having scaled and proportional dimensions of the presented exemplary embodiment are also considered. Additional features and functions are illustrated and discussed below. 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements in form and function throughout the several views.  FIG.  1    is a perspective view of antenna unit  101  including antenna assembly  103  and antenna case  105 . Unit  101  is configured to locate assembly  103  within the cover or lid  107  of case  105  optionally separate from other components within the antenna unit  101 , such as a router or power supply. Unit  101  is configured to minimize interference to enable increased performance of one or more antennas therein, all while the lid  107  of case  105  remains closed. 
     Case  105  includes a lid  107  and a base  109 . As seen in  FIG.  1   , a perspective view of case  105  is shown. The one or more antennas are shown within the lid  107 . Lid  107  is partially removed so as to permit visual inspection therein. Base  109  is selectively larger in volume than lid  107  and is configured to contain an internal volume for the storage of one or more antenna components, such as router  111  or power supply  113  for example. Case  105  is purposefully designed to separate the location of the antennas from the other antenna components in a manner to remove interference. An optional barrier  115  is laid within the interior of base  109  to act as a divider and separator from the lid  107 . 
     It is understood that case  105  is configured to be IP67 compliant/rated, meaning it is waterproof. Case  105  may be made from any known materials and is typically hardened and durable to act as a protection to assembly  103  and other components therein. Cover/lid  107  is configured to pivot in an operable manner to act between an open and closed position. Hinges  117  are one suitable manner in which this may occur. It is understood that all that is necessary is that lid  107  is at least partially separable from base  109  to allow selective access internally. 
     Antenna assembly  103  is shown as having one or more antennas. The antennas may be of different shapes, operational ranges or frequencies, and sizes. As seen in  FIG.  1   , antenna  119   a  may be a dual band monopole antenna that has a configuration that, when used in conjunction with high order electromagnetic modes generated or received by a transceiver and/or receiver (as is typically performed for PIFA antennae), permit the antenna to have an operating frequency range of 600 MHz to 6.0 GHz. Furthermore, antenna  119   b  may be an antenna that has an operating range from 28-36 GHz. The use of one or more antennas allows for broad ranges of frequencies. A PCB  120  (printed circuit board) may also be included therein. 
     Unit  101  is configured ideally to act as an emergency portable hot spot and serve as a complete portable network in a singular box/case. It is used for emergency situations where a portable network is required. The main function is to route local Wi-Fi 5 or 6 (LAN) signals to WAN signals, which is typically 4G/5G LTE based. In the present application, unit  101  is configured for CAT 4 to CAT 18 LTE and may also include 5G NR(New Radio) which goes from 600 MHz to 6.0 Ghz for wide area cellular networks backhaul and 5G millimeter wave which uses 24, 28 and 39 GHz bands. Unit  101  is also for Local cellular short haul (150 ft ultra high speed to LTE). Unit  101  imbeds GPS, LTE and Wi-Fi antennas in the lid  107  of the case  105 . Unit  101  also includes GPS, LTE, Wi-Fi and both version of 5G all in one case  105 , working at the same time for maximum throughput, upload and download speeds for portable internet access. 
     The antennas  119   a / 119   b  are secured to a baseplate  121  that screws into the top cover  107  of the case  105 . This baseplate  121  acts as a heatsink as well as a reflector for the antennas  119   a / 119   b  while the cover  107  is closed and in the locked position. The antennas  119   a / 119   b  have been designed and optimized to work on the new baseplate  121  and are designed to operate within lid  107  so as to transmit and receive data. An added benefit is that the antennas  119   a / 119   b  are out of harms way and can operate without any other objects in the RF path. All other accessories, routers and batteries are stored below, under barrier  115 , out of the RF path of the antennas. The cover can now be closed and or locked for a proper IP67, waterproof operating environment. 
     Referring now also to  FIGS.  2 - 19    in the drawings, assorted graphs of various frequencies are shown for Ports  5  and  8  within LTE Elevation Low Band, Mid Band, and High Band ranges. In particular,  FIGS.  2 - 4    illustrate Port  5  within the LTE.  FIGS.  5 - 7    illustrate Port  5  in the Mid Band.  FIGS.  8 - 10    illustrate Port  5  in the High Band. This is similarly organized for Port  8  in the Low Band ( FIGS.  11 - 13   ), Mid Band ( FIGS.  14 - 16   ), and High Band ( FIGS.  17 - 19   ). These are representative only but act to illustrate a level of performance possible as a unit  101 . It is understood that other performance data is possible for Ports  10 ,  21 , or others. 
     The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the application may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. It is apparent that an application with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.