Patent Publication Number: US-2022216584-A1

Title: Mounting configuration for small cell antenna assembly

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 16/887,157 filed on May 29, 2020 which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/858,564 filed on Jun. 7, 2019, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed generally toward communication antennas, and more particularly to mounting structures for communication antennas. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As wireless data service demands have grown, a conventional response has been to increase the number and capacity of conventional cellular Base Stations Macro-Cells). The antennas used by such Macro-Cells are typically mounted on antenna towers. A conventional antenna tower has three or four legs on which antennas and supporting remote radio units (RRUs) are mounted. However, in some environments structures known as “monopoles” are used as mounting structures. Monopoles are typically employed when fewer antennas/RRUs are to be mounted, and/or when a structure of less height is required. 
     In addition, Macro-Cell sites are becoming less available, and available spectrum limits how much additional capacity can be derived from a given Macro-Cell. Accordingly, small cell RRU and antenna combinations have been developed to “fill in” underserved or congested areas that would otherwise be within a Macro-Cell site. Deployment of small cells, particularly in urban environments, is expected to continue to grow. Often such small cell configurations (sometimes termed “metrocells”) are mounted on monopoles. 
     In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide additional monopole arrangements, particularly in mounting. 
     SUMMARY 
     As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mounting flange for a monopole. The mounting flange comprises: a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole. The main panel includes a plurality of first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes a plurality of second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance from a center of the central hole, the second distance being greater than the first distance. 
     As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a monopole assembly for mounting antennas comprising: an elongate monopole having an upper end; and a mounting flange attached to the upper end of the monopole. The mounting flange comprises a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole that aligns with an internal lumen of the monopole. The main panel includes a plurality of first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes a plurality of second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance from a center of the central hole, the second distance being greater than the first distance. 
     As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mounting flange for a monopole comprising a generally annular main panel surrounding a central hole. The main panel includes three first mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a first radial distance of between about 5.5 and 6 inches from a center of the central hole. The main panel further includes six second mounting holes that are substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other and at a second radial distance of between about 6 and 6.5 inches from a center of the central hole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a conventional monopole according to embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a slightly enlarged front view of the monopole of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an antenna module and a mounting flange at the top of a monopole of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the mounting flange shown on the monopole of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the mounting flange of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative antenna module that can be employed with the mounting flange of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the mounting plate of the antenna module of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a mounting flange according to alternative embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as haying a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and or groups thereof. As used herein the expression “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. 
     Referring now to the drawings, a telecommunications monopole designated at  100  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the monopole  100 , which is sized as a “metrocell” having a diameter of between about 8 to 20 inches and a height of between about 20 and 40 feet, is styled as a streetlight; an arm  102  that mounts a luminaire  104  (such as an LED streetlight) is also included, but may be absent in other embodiments. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , a mounting flange  110  is attached (typically via welding) at the top of the monopole  100 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the mounting flange  110  is generally annular, with a main panel  111  surrounding a central hole  112  that provides an opening into the lumen of the monopole  100  to permit the routing of cables therethrough. The outer edge  114  of the main panel  111  extends radially beyond the perimeter of the monopole  100 . In some embodiments, the mounting flange  110  is between about 8 and 9 inches in diameter, with a range of 8.1 to 8.5 inches being suitable for certain embodiments. In some embodiments, the central hole  112  is between about 3 and 5 inches in diameter, with a range of 3.75 to 4.25 inches being suitable for certain embodiments. 
     The mounting flange  110  includes three mounting holes  120 . The mounting holes  120  are spaced substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other (i.e., they are located about 120 degrees from each other). In some embodiments, the centers of the mounting holes  120  are located at a radial distance of about 5.5 to 6 inches from the center of the central hole  112 , with a distance of 5⅝ inches being suitable for certain embodiments. The mounting holes  120  are typically between about ⅝ and ⅞ inch in diameter, with ¾ inch mounting holes  120  being employed in some embodiments. 
     The mounting flange  110  also includes six mounting holes  124 . The mounting holes  124  are spaced substantially circumferentially equidistant from each other (i.e., they are located about 60 degrees from each other). In some embodiments, the centers of the mounting holes  124  are located at a radial distance of about 6 to 6.5 inches from the center of the central hole  112 , with a distance of 6¼ inches being suitable for certain embodiments. The mounting holes  124  are typically between about 5/16 and 7/16 inch in diameter, with ⅜ inch mounting holes  124  being employed in some embodiments. Also, in the described embodiment, the mounting holes  124  are tapped with threads, with a 16 UNC thread being suitable for some embodiments. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the mounting flange  110  can be employed to attach an antenna module  150  to the monopole  100 . The antenna module  150  has a mounting plate  152 . with three arcuate slots  154 , each of which is approximately ⅝ inch in width, is positioned radially about 5.5 to 6 inches from the center of the mounting plate  152 , and extends for between about 40 and 90 degrees. The mounting plate  152  also includes three cable access holes  156  that are located between the slots  154 . 
     As can be envisioned from  FIG. 3 , the antenna assembly  150  can be mounted on the mounting flange  110  via three bolts  160  and mating nuts  162 . The bolts  160  are inserted from above through the slots  154  in the mounting plate  152 , then through the mounting holes  120  in the mounting flange  110 . The nuts  162  are threaded onto the bolts  160 . The antenna assembly  150  (which typically includes three antenna arrays oriented 120 degrees from each other) can be rotated relative to the mounting flange  110  to a desired orientation, at which point the nuts  162  can be tightened onto the bolts  160  to secure the antenna assembly  150  in place. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the mounting flange  110  can also be employed to attach an antenna module  170  to the monopole. The antenna module  170  includes a mounting plate  172  (best seen in  FIG. 7 ). The mounting plate  172  includes three arcuate mounting slots  174 , and also includes four mounting slots  176  that are positioned radially outward of the mounting slots  174 . The mounting plate  170  also includes “kidney-shaped” cable access holes  178  between each pair of mounting slots  174 . 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the antenna assembly  170  can be attached to the mounting flange  110  by positioning the mounting plate  172  such that the mounting slots  174  align with the mounting holes  124 . Threaded screws  177  are then inserted through the mounting holes  174  and into the mounting holes  124  to secure the antenna assembly  170  in place. 
     The foregoing demonstrates that the configuration of the mounting flange  110  can enable multiple antenna assemblies (such as the antenna assemblies  150 ,  170 ) to be mounted atop a monopole. This flexibility can reduce manufacturing, labor and inventory costs and time for the monopole. 
     As another option, another mounting flange, designated broadly at  210 , is shown in  FIG. 8 . The mounting flange  210  is similar to the mounting flange  110 , having mounting holes  220 ,  224  that are similarly arranged to the mounting holes  120 ,  124  of the mounting flange  110 , but the mounting flange  210  also includes three cable access holes  226  that are positioned. generally between adjacent mounting holes  224 . 
     The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.