Patent Publication Number: US-9893412-B2

Title: Antenna attachment

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to United States Provisional Application No. 62/022,266, filed on Jul. 9, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to antennas. More specifically, this disclosure relates to antenna attachments for utility meters. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Utility meters such as residential water meters are placed underground in a meter box in some situations. Some meter boxes include metal lids and metal bodies. In other situations the meter is placed in a low point, such as the basement or lower level of a building. Utility meters may include wireless communication capability, such as an internal antenna, to send and receive wireless communications with a remote communication device, enabling remote reading of meters, such as in an automatic meter reading or advanced meter infrastructure (AMR/AMI) system or through cellular communication. 
     SUMMARY 
     Disclosed is an antenna attachment including an attachment body; and at least one wire mounted on the attachment body and electric-field coupleable with an antenna. 
     Various implementations described in the present disclosure may include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which may not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features and components of the following figures are illustrated to emphasize the general principles of the present disclosure. Corresponding features and components throughout the figures may be designated by matching reference characters for the sake of consistency and clarity. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of an antenna attachment connected to an antenna housing with the antenna housing shown in cross-section according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of an antenna attachment connected to an antenna housing with the antenna housing shown in cross-section according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a method of connecting and positioning an antenna attachment on an antenna according to examples of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Wireless transmissions from utility meters with wireless capability may be blocked by the lids and/or bodies of meter boxes, especially metal lids, or by a building itself or some other structure. This makes communication between the meter and a remote communication device difficult. Connecting an additional antenna to the meter to increase the range of the wireless communication can also prove difficult because disassembly of components of the meter may be required. 
     The present disclosure relates to an antenna attachment and associated techniques, including methods, systems, devices, and various apparatus. In one example according to aspects of the present disclosure, an antenna attachment includes an attachment body and at least one electric-field coupling wire attached to the attachment body. 
     In another example, a system includes an antenna housing having a first pole and a second pole, and an antenna attachment connected to the antenna housing, the antenna attachment having a first wire electric-field coupleable with the first pole of the antenna housing and a second wire electric-field coupleable with the second pole of the antenna housing. 
     In yet another example, a method of attaching an antenna attachment to an antenna includes connecting the antenna attachment to the antenna, the antenna having a first pole and a second pole and the antenna attachment having a first wire and a second wire. The method further includes positioning the antenna attachment to align the first wire of the antenna attachment with the first pole of the antenna and the second wire of the antenna attachment with the second pole of the antenna. 
     It would be understood by one of skill in the art that the disclosed antenna attachment and associated techniques are described in but a few embodiments among many. No particular terminology or description should be considered limiting on the disclosure or the scope of any claims issuing therefrom. 
     One embodiment of an antenna attachment  100  is disclosed and described in  FIG. 1 . In particular,  FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of an antenna attachment connected to an antenna housing  200  with the antenna housing  200  shown in cross-section according to examples of the present disclosure. The antenna attachment  100  is attached to an antenna housing  200 . The antenna housing  200  is shown in cross-section showing an interior of the antenna housing  200 . The antenna housing  200  includes an outer surface  202  and an inner surface  204 . The antenna housing  200  is mounted on a meter register  220 . An internal dipole antenna  210  is mounted within the antenna housing  200 , though other types of antennas, such as a monopole antenna, are mounted in the antenna housing  200  in various embodiments and the disclosure of internal dipole antenna  210  should not be considered limiting. 
     The internal dipole antenna  210  includes a first pole  212  and a second pole  214 . The first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are each a curved printed circuit board (“PCB”) in the current embodiment. The first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are attached to the meter register  220 . In various embodiments, the first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are wrapped around the meter register  220 . In various embodiments, the register  220  includes a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) on a PCB (not shown). The first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are each connected to the LCD by soldering the PCBs together in the current embodiment, with the PCB of the first pole  212  soldered to the LCD PCB and the PCB of the second pole  214  to the LCD PCB. 
     The interior of the antenna housing  200  is filled with resin (not shown) in various embodiments to hold first pole  212 , the second pole  214 , and the meter register  220  in place and protect the first pole  212 , the second pole  214 , and the meter register  220  from exposure to moisture and air. In various embodiments, resin is not present. The first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are spaced a small distance from the inner surface  204  of the antenna housing  200 , but in various embodiments the first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are placed against the inner surface  204 . 
     The antenna attachment  100  is a clip in the current embodiment having a clip body  110 . The antenna attachment  100  also includes a coaxial cable  120  extending from the clip body  110  to an external antenna (not shown). The clip body  110  is plastic and has a C-shaped cross-section in the current embodiment, though the clip body  110  is formed from various materials and is formed in various shapes in various embodiments. The clip body  110  includes a first half  112  and a second half  114 . The coaxial cable  120  extends into the clip body  110  and connects to a first wire (not shown) and a second wire (not shown) embedded in the clip body  110 . The first wire is embedded in the first half  112  of the clip body  110  and the second wire is embedded in the second half  114  of the clip body  110  in the current embodiment. 
     The antenna attachment  100  is attached to the antenna housing  200  in the current embodiment by placing the clip body  110  around the antenna housing  200 . The clip body  110  is snapped around the antenna housing  200  and is held in place by the C-shape of the clip body  110  matching the outer surface  202  of the antenna housing  200 . The clip body  110  is shown spaced slightly apart from the antenna housing  200  in  FIG. 1  to distinguish between the clip body  110  and the antenna housing  200  but would be in contact with the outer surface  202  of the antenna housing  200  to firmly connect the clip body  110  to the antenna housing  200 . 
     The clip body  110  is positioned around the antenna housing  200  such that the first half  112  of the clip body  110  is positioned proximate the first pole  212  of the internal dipole antenna  210  and the second half  114  of the clip body  110  is positioned proximate the second pole  214  of the internal dipole antenna  210 . This position places the first wire adjacent to the first pole  212  of the internal dipole antenna  210  and places the second wire adjacent to the second pole  214  of the internal dipole antenna  210 . 
     When the first wire is positioned adjacent to the first pole  212  and the second wire is positioned adjacent to the second pole  214 , the first wire and the second wire, and thereby the external antenna, become electric-field coupled by inductive coupling to the internal dipole antenna  210 . The external antenna thereby broadcasts the signal from the internal dipole antenna  210 , extending the range of the signal from the internal dipole antenna  210 . The external antenna can thereafter be positioned into an optimal position, such as outside of a meter pit or into a higher position relative to the meter, to communicate with a remote communication device (not shown). In various embodiments, the first wire and the second wire may be electric-field coupled by capacitive coupling to the antenna  210 . In various embodiments, the first wire and the second wire may be replaced by plates embedded in the clip body  110 . 
     In the current embodiment, the external antenna does not require an external power amplifier to boost the signal from the first wire and second wire to the external antenna and the strength of the signal from the internal dipole antenna  210  is sufficient. In various embodiments, such as where the coaxial cable  120  must extend a long distance to place the external antenna in an ideal location, an external power amplifier may be supplied. 
     In various embodiments, the antenna attachment  100  takes any number of arrangements, including but not limited to a cap or sheath to place over the antenna housing  200 , a tightenable band to wrap around antenna housing  200 , or any other arrangement that that electric-field couples the external antenna to the internal dipole antenna  210 . The disclosure of a clip body  110  should not be considered limiting. The antenna attachment  100  may be attached to the antenna housing  200  by any number of attachment mechanisms in various embodiments, such as threading, fasteners such as nuts and bolts, gluing, welding, snap fits, or various fits such as a cap or sheath sized to fit over the antenna housing  200  or a band adjustable to tighten around the antenna housing  200 . 
     Another embodiment of an antenna attachment  100  is disclosed and described in  FIG. 2 . In particular,  FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of an antenna attachment  100  connected to the antenna housing  200  with the antenna housing  200  shown in cross-section according to examples of the present disclosure. As in  FIG. 1 , in the example of  FIG. 2 , the antenna attachment  100  is connected to the antenna housing  200 . The antenna housing  200  includes an outer surface  202  and an inner surface  204 . In examples, the antenna housing  200  is mounted on a meter register  220 . An internal dipole antenna  210  is mounted within the antenna housing  200 , though other types of antennas, such as a monopole antenna, are mounted in the antenna housing  200  in various examples and the disclosure of internal dipole antenna  210  should not be considered limiting. 
     As in  FIG. 1 , the internal dipole antenna  210  of the antenna housing  200  of  FIG. 2  includes a first pole  212  and a second pole  214 . The first pole  212  and the second pole  214  are electric-field coupleable with the antenna attachment  110 . In particular, the antenna attachment  100  includes a first wire  122  and a second wire  124 . The first wire  122  is electric-field coupleable with the first pole  212  of the antenna housing  200  and the second wire  124  is electric-field coupleable with the second pole  124  of the antenna housing  200 . The first wire  122  and the second wire  124  are connected to the coaxial cable  120 . For example, the coaxial cable  120  extends into the clip body  110  and connects to the first wire  122  and to the second wire  124  embedded in the clip body  110  of the antenna attachment  110 . The first wire  122  is embedded in the first half  112  of the clip body  110  and the second wire  124  is embedded in the second half  114  of the clip body  110  in the current embodiment. In examples, the coaxial cable  120  connects to an external antenna. In this way, the first wire  122  and the second wire  124  are connected to the external antenna via the coaxial cable  120 . 
     The clip body  110  is positioned around the antenna housing  200  such that the first half  112  of the clip body  110  is positioned proximate the first pole  212  of the internal dipole antenna  210  and the second half  114  of the clip body  110  is positioned proximate the second pole  214  of the internal dipole antenna  210 . This position places the first wire  122  adjacent to the first pole  212  of the internal dipole antenna  210  and places the second wire  124  adjacent to the second pole  214  of the internal dipole antenna  210 . 
     When the first wire  122  is positioned adjacent to the first pole  212  and the second wire  124  is positioned adjacent to the second pole  214 , the first wire  122  and the second wire  124 , and thereby the external antenna, become electric-field coupled by inductive coupling to the internal dipole antenna  210 . This configuration results in a dipole antenna (the first pole  212  and the second pole  214 ) being coupled to another dipole antenna (the first wire  122  and the second wire  124 ). The external antenna thereby broadcasts the signal from the internal dipole antenna  210 , extending the range of the signal from the internal dipole antenna  210 . The external antenna can thereafter be positioned into an optimal position, such as outside of a meter pit or into a higher position relative to the meter, to communicate with a remote communication device (not shown). In various embodiments, the first wire  122  and the second wire  124  may be electric-field coupled by capacitive coupling to the antenna  210 . In various embodiments, the first wire  122  and the second wire  124  may be replaced by plates embedded in the clip body  110 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a method  300  of connecting and positioning an antenna attachment on an antenna according to examples of the present disclosure. At block  302 , the method  300  begins and continues to block  304 . At block  304 , the method  300  includes connecting an antenna attachment to an antenna. In examples, the antenna includes a first pole and a second pole and the antenna attachment includes a first wire and a second wire. The antenna attachment may define a shape matching an outer surface of a housing that houses the antenna, and the shape may be a C-shape. The method  300  continues to block  306 . 
     At block  306 , the method  300  includes positioning the antenna attachment to align with the antenna. For example, positioning the antenna to align with the antenna may include positioning the antenna attachment to align the first wire of the antenna attachment with the first pole of the antenna and the second wire of the antenna attachment with the second pole. In examples, the positioning causes the first wire and the second wire of the antenna attachment to be electric-field coupled to the respective first pole and the second pole of the antenna. The method  300  continues to block  308  and terminates. 
     Additional processes also may be included. For example, the method  300  may include mounting the antenna housing on a meter register. The method  300  may also include connecting an external antenna to the antenna attachment. It should be understood that the processes depicted in  FIG. 3  represent illustrations, and that other processes may be added or existing processes may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. 
     One should note that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular embodiments or that one or more particular embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Any process descriptions or blocks in flow diagrams should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations are included in which functions may not be included or executed at all, may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. Further, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any and all combinations and sub-combinations of all elements, features, and aspects discussed above. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure.