Patent Publication Number: US-9905905-B1

Title: Antenna enclosure for attachment to a handrail

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a nonprovisional application claiming the priority benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 62/056,044, filed Sep. 26, 2014, hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is generally directed to antenna enclosures and in particular to antenna enclosures for attachment to a handrail or the like in an environment where the utilization of rails (pipe, poles, etc.) as the mounting solution to secure the antenna is necessary. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In locations such as stadiums and arenas and the like, a paramount importance has been placed on providing wireless connectivity to attendees attending the events being conducted in the facilities. The architectural designs of these venues limit the options to mount antennas to provide wireless connectivity to the consumers attending an event. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an antenna enclosure for attachment to a handrail, comprising a first part and a second part, the first and second parts being configured to mate together to form said enclosure; each of the first and second parts including a cavity portion having a base wall, a peripheral external side wall and an inner wall; the external side wall of the first part is configured to mate with the external side wall of the second part; a seal disposed between the external side wall of the first part and the external side wall of the second part; and the first and second parts including respective clamp portions configured to wrap around a post of the handrail when the first and second parts are mated together. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a right side perspective view of an antenna enclosure made in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a left side perspective view of the antenna enclosure shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the left side of the antenna enclosure, with the right side removed. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the right side of the antenna enclosure, with the left side removed. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the left side of the antenna enclosure, with the right side removed, showing an antenna disposed within. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the left side of the antenna enclosure, with the right side removed, showing a sleeve spacer for use for a smaller pipe diameter. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side elevational view of  FIG. 1 , showing the downwardly inclined ribs. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  in  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective of a standard handrail attached to a set of stairs used in a stadium or the like. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective of the left side of the antenna enclosure, with the right side removed, showing attachment to a post of the handrail. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an antenna enclosure  2  comprises a first part  4  and a second part  6  configured to mate together to form the enclosure  2 . The first part  4  and the second part  6  are hollow and each may be made in the form of half shells. The enclosure  2  includes an attachment portion  7  including a vertically disposed opening  8  for receiving a portion of a pipe, such the post portion of a handrail. The enclosure  2  also includes a housing portion  9  for receiving within the antenna. The housing portion  9  includes rounded corners  13  to advantageously prevent inadvertent snagging by the persons using the handrail. The enclosure  2  may be made of any material, such as plastic or metal, that would be suitable for outdoor use. 
     The first part  4  and the second part  6  are mounted on the handrail post in a clamping fashion as the attachment portion  7  fits around the post. 
     The attachment portion  7  is preferably disposed vertically when attached to the post. The housing portion  9  is advantageously disposed inclined upwardly from the attachment portion  7  to divert water that might enter the housing portion  9  away from the antenna. 
     Countersunk holes  10  are provided for attachment screws for attaching the enclosure  2  to the post. The attachment screws  11  advantageously provide anti-rotation to the enclosure  2  and further provide extra strength to handle abuse. Other countersunk holes  12  are provided for attaching the first part  4  to the second part  6 . The holes  10  and  12  are advantageously countersunk to prevent the heads of the attaching screws from snagging the hands or clothing of people using the handrail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 , the first part  4  is shown separated from the second part  6 . The first part  4  includes a cavity  14  bounded by a base wall  16 , an external side wall  18  and an internal side wall  20 . Similarly, the second part  6  includes a cavity  22  bounded by a base wall  24 , an external side walls  26  and an internal side wall  28 . The cavity  22  is preferably a mirror image of the cavity  14 . Similarly, the base wall  24 , the external side wall  26  and the internal side wall  28  are preferably mirror images of the external side wall  18  and internal side wall  20 . The cavities  14  and  22  form the housing portion  9  when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the external side walls  18  and  26  have opposing edges  30  and  31  provided with a groove  32  on the edge  30  and a bead  33  on the edge  31 . A seal  34  is disposed inside the groove  32 . The bead  33  is configured to be received within the groove  32  and compress the seal  34  when the first part  4  is mated to the second part  6 , thereby providing a sealing joint between the opposing edges  30  and  31 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a leading portion  36  of the seal  34  is disposed at an upper portion of the internal side wall  20 . The leading portion  36  is disposed to direct any water that might get inside the sealing joint away from the cavities  14  and  22  and toward the attachment portion  7  where it is then directed to the outside, as will be seen below. 
     The internal side wall  20  of the part  4  includes a slot  38 . The internal side wall  28  of the part  6  similarly has a slot  40 , which is preferably a mirror image of the slot  38 . The slots  38  and  40  form an opening  42  (see  FIG. 8 ) when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. The opening  40  is preferably square to introduce discontinuities at the corners to water flow to divert the water from the cavities  14  and  22 . The opening  40  is sized to accommodate the cables  44  from the antenna  46 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The side walls  20  and  28  are preferably spaced from the post by a distance  47  (see  FIGS. 8 and 12 ), thus keeping the opening  42  spaced from the post to minimize water from the post from entering into the housing portion  9 . 
     The respective cavities  14  and  22  form a chamber in which the antenna  46  is disposed when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. 
     The first part  4  and the second part  6  include antenna mounting posts  48  and  49  extending transversely from the respective base walls  16  and  24 . The posts  48  and  49  are preferably used to position and secure the antenna  46  within the cavities  14  and  22 , preferably in spaced relation from the base walls  16  and  24 . The antenna  46  is advantageously positioned within the cavity  14  at a higher position than the lowest bottom portion  50  of the cavity  14  to advantageously keep the antenna away from any water that might accumulate within the cavity  14 . The posts  48  and  49  are aligned to each other when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. The cables  44  are advantageously positioned through the slots  38  and  40  downwardly at an angle from above to prevent water that might catch on the cables from traveling toward the antenna  46 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first part  4  includes a clamp portion  52 . The second part  6  also includes a clamp portion  54 , which is substantially a mirror image of the clamp portion  52 . The clamp portions  52  and  54  are configured to clamp around the post when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. 
     The clamp portion  52  includes a base wall  56 , which is preferably semi-circular in cross-section. A plurality of rib portions  58  spaced apart from each other extend transversely from the base wall  56 . The rib portions  58  are advantageously oriented downwardly away from the cavity  14  to direct water that might get inside the clamp portion  52  away from the antenna  46 . The rib portions  58  include edges  59  that are preferably shaped to fit around and engage the external surface of the post. For a round post as shown, the edges  59  are preferably semi-circular. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the clamp portion  54  in the second part  6  also includes a base wall  60  and rib portions  62  extending transversely from the base wall  60 . The rib portions  62  include edges  63  that are preferably shaped to fit around and engage the external surface of the post. For a round post as shown, the edges  63  are preferably semi-circular. 
     The rib portions  58  and  62  together form a spiral rib  64  (see  FIG. 9 ) that advantageously drains any water that might get within the clamp portions  52  and  54  through a gap  66  (see  FIG. 8 ) between the opposing edges  67  and  69  of the base walls  56  and  60  of the clamp portions  52  and  54 . The gap  66  also advantageously ensures that a positive clamping force to the pipe is applied when the clamp portions  52  and  54  are tightened around the pipe. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the external side wall  18  includes a top wall  68  and a bottom wall  70 . The top and bottom walls  68  and  70  are preferably parallel to each other and advantageously inclined downwardly toward the post so that any water that might collect within cavity  14  will flow by gravity toward a notch  72  at the bottom corner of the internal side wall  20  and bottom wall  70 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the external side wall  26  includes a top wall portion  74  and a bottom wall  76 . The top and bottom walls  74  and  76  are preferably parallel to each other and advantageously inclined downwardly toward the post so that any water that might collect within cavity  22  will flow by gravity toward a notch  78  at the bottom corner of the internal side wall  28  and the bottom wall  76 . 
     The notches  72  and  78  define a drain hole when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. 
     The top wall walls  68  and  74  are preferably ramped downwardly away from each other along their opposing edges  30  and  31  to advantageously drain water away from the joint between the edges  30   31  when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together. 
     The clamp portions  52  and  54  include top walls  80  and  81  that are advantageously ramped downwardly away from the post to direct any water away from the junction between the post and the attachment portion  7 . The top walls  80  and  81  advantageously meet with the bottom portions of the top walls  68  and  74  in rain gutters  82  and  83  disposed transversely and downwardly from the edges  30  and  31 . 
     The antenna mounting posts  48  and  49  project transversely from the respective base walls  16  and  24  within the respective cavities  14  and  22  to securely attach the antenna  46  within the housing portion  9 . The mounting posts  48  are configured to dispose the antenna  46  at a higher elevation within the cavities  14  and  22  such that the antenna will be protected from any water that might get inside the cavities  14  and  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a spacer sleeve  86  may be used for posts having a smaller outside diameter than the diameter of the opening  8 . The sleeve  86  includes a longitudinal slit  88  to permit placement of the sleeve  86  around the post. An opening  90  is advantageously aligned with the slots  38  and  40  to allow the cables  44  to pass to the inside of the post. The sleeve  86  may be made of flexible material, such as rubber. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the housing portion  9  is preferably tapered from narrow to wide toward the post. The base walls  16  and  24  make a small angle between them when the first part  4  and the second part  6  are mated together to provide the tapered shape of the housing portion  9 . The tapered shape is advantageously configured such that at least the narrow portion  92  of the housing portion  9  is narrower than the outside diameter of the handrail. In this manner, users of the handrail will minimize inadvertent snagging of their clothing or bodies against the housing portion  9 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , the enclosure  2  is shown attached to a handrail  96 , which is used with a set of stairs  100 . The housing portion  9  is advantageously angled to provide clearance between the upper and lower handrail portions  102  and  104 . The enclosure  2  may also be installed to any tubular post of a structure typically used around people attending an event in a stadium or arena. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , the first part  4  is shown being attached to a post  94  of the handrail  96 . An opening  98  is aligned with the slot  38  and the slot  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) to allow the antenna cable  44  to pass into the interior of the post  94  and down below for connection to radio equipment. 
     The antenna enclosure  2  advantageously has a very small form factor, giving it the ability to be placed in smaller handrail configurations and still be able to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. 
     The antenna enclosure  2  provides an aesthetically pleasing method of providing wireless propagation solution in a small form factor design that mounts on the handrails throughout a facility, such as a stadium or arena. The enclosure  2  is configured to fit around the diameter of the handrail post while at least a portion of the thickness of the enclosure  2  is less than the diameter of the rail so that it does not protrude out into the area where the public will be walking. 
     The enclosure  2  can be used within the facility if it has rails where the spacing to place the antenna structure is small such as a P-rail or guard rail. The enclosure  2  is advantageously so compact that is can fit all types of rails within the facilities that are typically used. Further, the use of the spacer sleeve  86  allows mounting of the enclosure  2  over various diameter rails as well. 
     The enclosure  2  is preferably constructed such that it is UV rated to protect it from the sun and not allow it to become discolored. The enclosure  2  furthermore is IP56 rated for outdoor equipment. 
     The antenna enclosure  2  uses an antenna radiating element  46  to propagate the RF signal from the antenna to the client (user device) and to receive a RF signal from the client device. The antenna radiator element  46  connects to the radio that provides the wireless signal via coaxial cables. 
     While this invention has been described as having preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modification, uses and/or adaptations following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.