Patent Publication Number: US-2018034146-A1

Title: Antenna Device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 105211494, filed on Jul. 29, 2016. 
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to an antenna device, and more particularly to an antenna device with a removable antenna module. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Recent trends in use of radio frequencies for broadcasting are transitioning from Very High Frequency (VHF) to Ultra High Frequency (UHF). In the interim, a conventional antenna is designed for operating with ultra wideband so as to receive signals in both VHF and UHF bands. However, quality of signal reception in an individual one of the operating bands of the conventional antenna is not as good as that of a single-band antenna, which is designed exclusively for operating in one of the abovementioned bands. The deficiency of performance will become more apparent especially in a future broadcasting environment where UHF antennas are prevailing. However, since replacement of the conventional antenna is expensive and time-consuming, consumers may refrain from upgrading the conventional antenna in the future broadcasting environment. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide an antenna device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art. 
     Accordingly, an antenna device includes a housing unit and an antenna unit. The housing unit includes a primary housing and two secondary housings. The primary housing defines a primary housing space and extends along an axis. The secondary housings are respectively and removably connected to opposite ends of the primary housing along the axis. Each of the secondary housings defines a secondary housing space. The antenna unit includes a primary antenna module and two secondary antenna modules. The primary antenna module is disposed in the primary housing space and includes a circuit board, at least one first coupling portion disposed at an end of the circuit board, and at least one second coupling portion disposed at an opposite end of the circuit board along the axis. Each of the secondary antenna modules is disposed in the secondary housing space of a respective one of the secondary housings, and includes at least one signal contact that is connected electrically and removably to a respective one of the at least one first coupling portion and the at least one second coupling portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a partly exploded perspective view illustrating an embodiment of an antenna device according to the disclosure; and 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a primary housing and a primary antenna module of the embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of an antenna device according to the disclosure is illustrated. The antenna device includes a housing unit  100  and an antenna unit  200 . 
     The housing unit  100  includes a primary housing  110 , two secondary housings  120 , and two isolating spacers  130 . 
     The primary housing  110  defines a primary housing space  310 , extends along an axis (L), and includes a surrounding wall  111  that surrounds the axis (L), and two end covers  112  that are disposed respectively at opposite ends of the primary housing  110  and that are connected respectively at opposite ends of the surrounding wall  111  along the axis (L). The surrounding wall  111  includes a first half segment  114  and a second half segment  115  that are disposed at opposite sides of the axis (L) and that are separately connected together. The end covers  112  cooperate with the first half segment  114  and the second half segment  115  to define the primary housing space  310 . Moreover, each of the end covers  112  has a first connecting portion  113  surrounding the axis (L) and formed on an external surface thereof. It should be noted that the primary housing  110  is not limited to the above-mentioned implementation of this disclosure. The first and second half segments  114 ,  115  may be formed as one piece, and the primary housing  110  may be prismatic in shape. Also, each of the end covers  112  may have two semicircular portions (not shown) that are respectively connected to the first half segment  114  and the second half segment  115 . The primary housing  110  has a relatively simple structure and is easy to assemble. 
     The secondary housings  120  are respectively and removably connected to the opposite ends of the primary housing  110  along the axis (L). Each of the secondary housings  120  has a housing wall  121  defining a secondary housing space  320  (only one is visible in  FIG. 1 ), and has a second connecting portion  122  that is formed on an internal surface of the housing wall  121  and that is connected separably to the first connecting portion  113  of a respective one of the end covers  112 . In this embodiment, the connection between each first connecting portion  113  and a corresponding second connecting portion  122  is implemented by virtue of threaded structure. However, in other embodiments, the connection may be implemented by virtue of, but not be limited to, latch structure or fitted engagement with friction. 
     The isolating spacers  130  are respectively sleeved on the opposite ends of the primary housing  110 . Each of the isolating spacers  130  is located between and tightly pressed by the primary housing  110  and a respective one of the secondary housings  120  for isolating the secondary housing space  320  of the respective one of the secondary housings  120  from the external environment. Therefore, vapor and dust is prevented from entering the secondary housing space  320  of each of the secondary housings  120  and damaging components therein. 
     The antenna unit  200  includes a primary antenna module  210  and two secondary antenna modules  220 . 
     The primary antenna module  210  is disposed in the primary housing space  310  between the first half segment  114  and the second half segment  115 . In this embodiment, the primary antenna module  210  includes a circuit board  211  extending along the axis (L). The circuit board  200  has two corners at an end thereof, and two corners at an opposite end thereof along the axis (L). The primary antenna module  210  further includes two first coupling portions  212  formed respectively at the two corners of the end of the circuit board  200  and spaced apart from each other, and two second coupling portions  212 ′ formed respectively at the two corners of the opposite end of the circuit board  200  along the axis (L) and spaced apart from each other. 
     It should be noted that in this embodiment, the first coupling portions  212  extend through one of the end covers  112 , and the second coupling portions  212 ′ extend through the other one of the end covers  112 . In addition, each of the secondary antenna modules  220  is disposed in the secondary housing space  320  of a respective one of the secondary housings  120 , and includes two antenna rods  221  extending parallel to the axis (L), and two signal contacts  222 . Each of the signal contacts  222  of one of the secondary antenna modules  220  is formed at an end of a respective one of the antenna rods  221  of the one of the secondary antenna modules  220 , and is connected electrically and removably to a respective one of the first coupling portions  212 . Each of the signal contacts  222  of the other one of the secondary antenna modules  220  is formed at an end of a respective one of the antenna rods  221  of the other one of the secondary antenna modules  220 , and is connected electrically and removably to a respective one of the second coupling portions  212 ′. The antenna rods  221  are made of metal. By connecting the primary antenna module  210  and the secondary antenna modules  220 , bandwidth of the antenna device is broadened. It is worth noting that the implementation of the secondary antenna modules  220  is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. In other embodiments, the secondary antenna modules  220  may be implemented by a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC), or by a telescopic antenna. Depending on different implementations of the secondary antenna modules  220 , the implementation of the signal contacts  222  would accordingly vary. Since the implementation of the signal contacts  222  is already known to a skilled person in the art, details thereof will be omitted for the sake of brevity. Additionally, while in this embodiment, each of the secondary antenna modules  220  includes two antenna rods  221 , the number of the antenna rods  221  may vary (e.g., one or three antenna rods  221 ) in other embodiments. Depending on the number of the antenna rods  221 , the number of the first and second coupling portions  212 ,  212 ′ would accordingly vary so as to be respectively connected to the antenna rods  221 . 
     Based on the antenna theory, for each of the secondary antenna modules  220 , the antenna rods  221  are parallel to the axis (L) and are spaced apart from each other to result in a substantially ideal radiation field. 
     According to the disclosure, without being connected with the secondary antenna modules  220 , the primary antenna module  210  is operable with radio frequencies in the range between 400 MHz and 800 MHz, which corresponds to the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band that would be prevailingly utilized by digital televisions in the future. Comparatively, a combination of the primary antenna module  210  and the secondary antenna module  220  is operable with radio frequencies in the range between 150 MHz and 800 MHz, which covers the Very High Frequency (VHF) band and the UHF band and is widely utilized by current digital televisions. 
     In summary, the antenna device according to the disclosure has the following advantages. First, the combination of the primary antenna module  210  and the secondary antenna module  220  is operable in the VHF band and the UHF band, which meets requirements of the current broadcasting environment. In the future, when using the UHF band becomes the mainstream, a user could use the primary antenna module  210  alone with the secondary antenna module  220  being removed. Therefore, the user does not have to buy a new antenna to replace an existing antenna. Moreover, reuse of the antenna device is beneficial to environmental protection. Second, since the secondary housings  120  and the antenna rods  221  can be separated from the primary housing  110 , the volume of the antenna device can be reduced. Therefore, efficiency of packaging, stacking, storage and transportation of the antenna device is thereby improved. Consequently, cost of the antenna device is reduced. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.