Patent Publication Number: US-2015084828-A1

Title: Flexible Antenna

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an antenna, and more particularly, to a flexible antenna. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Wireless communications are becoming increasingly popular. Pluralities of electronic devices are provided with wireless communications capabilities. An electronic device with the wireless communication capability has an antenna to communicate with other electronic devices or with a base station having an antenna. For example, the base station can receive a wireless signal from the electronic device or broadcast a wireless signal to the electronic device using the antenna. 
     A mounting position of the antenna on the base station would influence quality for receiving or broadcasting the wireless signals. A conventional antenna is pin-jointed with a case of the base station. Because of the pin jointed structure of the conventional antenna, the conventional antenna can only pivot on the case in one plane. When wireless signals cannot have good communication quality on positions in this one plane, the case of the base station should be moved and repositioned to another place for adjusting the conventional antenna such that the wireless signals can have good communication quality. 
     When the conventional antenna is set outdoors, the position of the antenna may be affected and impacted by winds and rain. The conventional antenna may be shifted to another position or bent toward another direction when it is hit by the wind and cannot be fixed firmly at its original position. The rain may enter the case of the base station, and an electronic circuit of the antenna in the case of the base station may be dampened by the rain. 
     It would therefore be desirable to provide improved antennas to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a flexible antenna that can be bent in any direction, and can be mounted firmly at a desired position after bending. 
     In order to achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention provides a flexible antenna comprising:
         a shell having a front part and a back part;   an antenna having
           a front portion mounted in the front part of the shell;   a signal portion; and   a middle portion connected between the front portion and the signal portion, and mounted in the back part of the shell;   
           a flexible line mounted alongside the middle portion of the antenna and also mounted in the back part of the shell, and having
           a first front end and a first back end; and   
           a hollow unit penetrated by the antenna, and having
           a second front end connected with the back part of the shell; and   a second back end.   
               

     The advantage of the present invention is that the flexible line has ductility and rigidity. The flexible line can be bent in any direction with the middle portion of the antenna such that the wireless signal communication has good quality. After the flexible line is bent, the flexible line can be mounted firmly because of the rigidity of the flexible line. The flexible line will not be forced to another position or direction by winds. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a case and a flexible antenna in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the case and the flexible antenna of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the case and the flexible antenna of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the case and the flexible antenna of  FIG. 1  after bending. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a flexible antenna of the present invention is adapted to a case  60 , and comprises a shell  10 , an antenna  20 , a flexible line  30 , and a hollow unit  40 . 
     The shell  10  includes a front part  11  and a back part  12 . The back part  12  is flexible, and preferably an outer diameter of the back part  12  is tapered off from two ends of the back part  12  toward a middle of the back part  12 . The back part  12  has an outer wall and a plurality of transverse notches  122  formed in the outer wall that allow the shell  10  to be bent more easily. The front part  11  further includes a hollow stopper  112 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the hollow stopper  112  is mounted in the front part  11  and has an inner wall and a first stopping part  113  formed on the inner wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the shell  10  is comprised of two separate elements, i.e. a front shell  111  and a back shell  121 . At least one circular notch  114  is formed in an outer wall of one end of the front shell  111  that is connected with the back shell  121 , and at least one circular rib  124  is formed on an inner wall of one end of the back shell  121  that is connected with the front shell  111  for engaging firmly with the at least one circular notch  114 , or vice versa. In the preferred embodiment, the outer wall of the front shell  111  has three circular notches  114 , and the inner wall of the back shell  121  has three circular ribs  124 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the antenna  20  includes a front portion  21 , a middle portion  22 , and a signal portion  23 . The middle portion  22  of the antenna  20  is between the front portion  21  and the signal portion  23 . The front portion  21  of the antenna  20  is mounted around the hollow stopper  112  and then held in the front part  11  of the shell  10 . The middle portion  22  is mounted in the back part  12  of the shell  10 . The signal portion  23  of the antenna  20  extending through the hollow unit  40  is located in the case  60 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the flexible line  30  is mounted alongside the middle portion  22 , and is also mounted in the back part  12  of the shell  10 . The flexible line  30  has a first front end  31  and a first back end  32 . The first front end  31  is mounted in the hollow stopper  112 , and is limited in position by the first stopping part  113  of the hollow stopper  112 . 
     The flexible line  30  can be bent in any direction with the middle portion  22  of the antenna  20  for receiving wireless signals of good communication quality. After the flexible line  30  is bent, the flexible line  30  can be mounted firmly because of its own rigidity. The flexible line  30  will not be further forced to any other position or direction by winds. In the preferred embodiment, the flexible line  30  is a metal wire, and preferably is a copper wire or an aluminum wire. 
     The hollow unit  40  has a second front end  41  and a second back end  42 . The second front end  41  is connected with the back part  12  of the shell  10  and has an outer wall. A circular notch  421  is formed in the outer wall of the second front end, and a waterproof ring  43  is mounted around the circular notch  421 . The case  60  has a coupling hole  61 . When the second back end  42  is inserted into the coupling hole  61  of the case  60 , the waterproof ring  43  is tightly pressed between an outer wall of the circular notch  421  and an inner wall of the coupling hole  61  for preventing water from entering the case  60 . The hollow unit  40  is penetrated by the signal portion  23  of the antenna  20 . 
     The hollow unit  40  has an inner wall and a second stopping part  44  formed on the inner wall of the hollow unit  40 . The first back end  32  is mounted in the second front end  41 , and is limited in position by the second stopping part  44 . 
     A least one circular notch  123  is formed in an inner wall of one of the ends of the back part  12  that is connected with the second front end  41 , and at least one circular rib  45  is formed on an outer wall of the second front end  41  for engaging firmly with the at least one circular notch  123 , or vice versa. In the preferred embodiment, the inner wall of the back part  12  has three circular notches  123 , and the outer wall of the second front end  41  has three circular ribs  45 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the back part  12  of the shell  10  acts as a bendable segment of the flexible antenna. The back part  12  covers the middle portion  22  and the flexible line  30 . When the flexible antenna is bent, the flexible line  30  can be bent toward a proper direction with the middle portion  22  so that the antenna  20  can receive the wireless signals of good communication quality. Because the outer diameter of the back part  12  is tapered off from the two ends of the back part  12  toward the middle of the back part  12 , and the outer wall of the back part  12  has the transverse notches  122 , the flexible line  30  and the back part  12  of the shell  10  are bent more easily. 
     Even when the flexible antenna is set outdoors, the antenna  10  will not be forcefully moved by winds away from its original position, and the antenna  10  will not be dampened by rain. The flexible line  30  has ductility and rigidity. The flexible line  30  can be bent in any direction with the middle portion  22  so that the antenna  20  can receive the wireless signals of good communication quality. After the flexible line  30  is bent, the flexible line  30  can be mounted firmly because of its own rigidity. The flexible line  30  cannot be moved to another position or direction by the winds. 
     Furthermore, the front shell  111 , the back shell  121 , and the hollow unit  40  are connected with each other tightly, and therefore water cannot enter the shell  10  and the case  60 . The waterproof ring  43  is tightly pressed between the outer wall of the circular notch  421  and the inner wall of the coupling hole  61  for preventing water from entering the case  60 . In the preferred embodiment, the front shell  111 , the back shell  121 , and the hollow unit  40  are formed by injection molding. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.