US2531215A - Portable radio equipment - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1950 W. S. HARMON PORTABLE RADIO EQUIPMENT Fild April 4, 1946 Waler S. Harm on IN V EN TOR.

WW Q fiatentecl Nov. 21

UNITED .S UFFI CE Ihis invention relates tosradio receivingequipment, and particularly to-"an-ten na arrangements for radio receivers o'f the portable type. in equipmentof this "nature the antenna imust be capable of-eflicient periormaincewhen-the set is in use, and yet ibe capable of beingisstowed :in such a way asnot to-interferewith-thla requirements-of transportation when the set is car-r-ied -from place to l-place. in equipment which is roperable from the power supply mains, it is also desirable to provide some wa of :stowing zth'e power cord awhen th-e set iscbeing :carried about. All of these requirements must be .met without in any way detracting from atheappearance of theequipment, or f-rcm its ioperability b :relatively unskilled .persons.

It -is accordingly an object of my invention to provide an antenna structure ;for portable radio sets which is completely contained within the ease or cabinet, but which can be readily moved-into "a configuration Which will allow it to :function 48$ maximum e'fliciency. -An .additionalioh ject is to provide suchastructure which will rgivelrready access to ,a power :cord when the antenna is moved to its operatingposition. -:A still further :object is 1130 provide an antenna which, whenused with agcase,0r;cabinet of:suitable construction, will operate Without :being moved from its enclosed "position, especially in localities Where radio signal strengths are high.

It is also anobiect:ofmy invention to achieve the above results by a construction which, While simple and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is extremely rugged and dependable in operation.

In accordance with a particular form'of the invention, there is comprised :in :portable Llfa'dio equipment 'a case, .a chamber :within that "case pro'viding stowage room for ca power cord, the case being apertured to "provide access to the chamber. A closurepanelis:hingedly connected to the case Itcrmoxtement :between positions in which flit closes the aperture -:'of: the case and to which it extends voutwardly therefrom. The radio' equipment-also comprises a rod -like antenna element pivotally mounted' upon that surface of the closure panelvv-hich faces inwardly of the case when the panel is in aperture-closing position. The pivotal mounting of the rodlike antenna element*is spaced-from thehinge connection between the closure panel and the case and the pivotal axis of the antenna element is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the closure panel.

The above-mentioned and other objects and *4 :Claims. (01. 250-44) advantages of my invention "will 'best be understoodrrom the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment ofjmy invention, refer- .en'ceibeing made to the accompanying drawings, in Which "Figure "'1 is a perspective view of a portable radio. set embodyingmy invention,

the device showniin Figure "1,

Figure 3 is'a fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 'of Figure'.4,'and

flFigure 41's a fragmentary sectional view taken on "the line 4-4 otFig'ure 2.

Referringnow'to Figure '1 of the drawings,"the numeral "re designates "the "case of 'a portable radio receiving set "of the 'kind't'o which my in vention-is particularly applicable, provided with the 'usual 'c'arrying "handle J2. Case lid is here shown as formed of metal, although it maybe made of wood, plastics or'oth'er -suitable materials. The back plate M of the case is provided with anop'eni ng I16 which gives access to "the il'it'erior of "the c'asein which are contained the receiverph'assia and either a power supply cord and its plug 28 'ort'he usual complement of sencontained batteries, :or both. Apanel i8 is "connected to the lower edge of opening it, as by ja 'liinge'EB, and-forms 'a movable closure for said openinggas Well as providing 'a support 'or shelf for certain {parts to'be "described hereinafter. Pairs of :IillkS 2 2 arepivotally connected to case ifs an d"to panel 1,8 to limitits jop'enin'g movement to ninety degrees. is r'finger hole 24 "may be formed 'in panel V8 ftoffac'ilitfie inovingit iironl its closed position, fand {is desirabl covered, :as byia box 'like' giormation 26, to render -the ciae dustproof Whenpanl fl '8 is closed, end to limit the "amount a jfhrger can be inserted throughlthe hole.

As-best snown in fFiguresQanfd 4,"there isise: cured to panel is a support block 32 vv'hichv lp'ivdtallyinounts 'an'antenna of the conventional buggywhip type, designated by numeral 36,- and omp isi a p urality. o te cop n sec n as is :Well knownin the art. .Blofck "32 is channel- 'hape on a sectio (Fi u e 4' a d "t qw r if n en a'ifi i w i en =m i 'e rounds jshownfinjlrigure 3) is piVotaIlysecuretlbetvreen' the legsoitheehannel by a pivot pin 36. In order to provide sufiicient friction at the pivot to maintain antenna 30 in its desired position, the body of block 32 may be bored out as at 38 (Figure 3) and a compression spring 40 and a friction block 42 inserted in the bore, so as to press against the end 3d of the antenna. A clip 44 may be secured to panel 18 at a point spaced from block 32, and is adapted to receive the outer end of antenna 39 when the latter is pivoted from its erect or vertical position to the dashed line position of Figures 1 and 2.

It will be understood that suitable connection is provided from antenna 30 or block 32 to the receiver contained in case l6. Hence, all that is necessary to put the antenna in operation is to open the closure panel [3, swing antenna 39 to its vertical position as in Figure 1, and, if desired, extend one or more of its collapsible sections. The location of block 32 on panel 18 assures that the antenna is adequately spaced from the case iii to prevent shorting the antenna circuit if case i0 is of metal. In the event that panel 18 is also of metal, block 32 and clip 44 are preferably insulated therefrom, as by insulation 48 and 46 respectively. The reason for insulating clip 48 from panel 18, even though antenna 38 is disengaged from the clip in its normal position of use, is to permit operation of the set with the antenna in its folded position, where sufficient signal strength is available. As a matter of fact, I have found that it is often possible to receive signals with the antenna folded and the shelf 18 in its closed position, and particularly where the case and panel are of an insulating material and the set is used in a region of high signal strength.

In order to facilitate the use of an auxiliary or external antenna where desired, I have provided a connector, such as the spring clip 50, which is mounted on panel l8 adjacent block 32 but insulated from the panel by the same layer of insulation 48 which supports the block 32. Clip 50 is connected to block 32 through a small condenser 52 whose function is to achieve a more desirable match between a relativel lengthy external antenna and the antenna circuit of the set.

By the above construction I have provided a compact and convenient arrangement of the antenna as well as the power cord (where the set is of the power line operated variety), in that access to both is provided by the single operation of opening closure panel l8. Hence, the effort to gain access to either automatically calls attention to the other, which is a considerable advantage when the set is to be operated by those unfamiliar with the equipment. Moreover, the construction is rugged, reliable and efficient, yet relatively simple and economical to manufacture, and in general satisfies the objects set out at the beginning of this specification.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, but I wish it to be understood that the specific terms used and the details disclosed are exemplary only, and that many changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In portable radio equipment, a case, an aperture in said case, a metallic closure panel hingedly mounted on said case along an edge of said aperture, a rod-like antenna pivotally mounted on the inner side of said closure panel at a point spaced from the hinge axis thereof, and arranged to pivot about an axis substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis of said panel, a spring clip on said closure panel spaced from the pivot axis of said antenna for releasably retaining said antenna in a position parallel to said panel, and means insulating said antenna and said clip from said panel.

2. In portable radio equipment, a case, a chamber within said case providing stowage room for a power cord, said case being apertured to provide access to said chamber, a closure panel hingedly connected to said case for movement between positions in which it closes the aperture of said case and in which it extends outwardly therefrom, and a rod-like antenna element pivotally mounted upon that surface of said closure panel which faces inwardly of said case when panel is in aperture-closing position, the pivotal mounting of said rod-like antenna element being spaced from the hinge connection between said closure panel and said case, the pivotal axis of said antenna element being substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis of said closure panel.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2, in which said antenna element is pivotally mounted adjacent one end of said closure panel.

4. In a portable radio equipment, a case, an aperture in said case, a closure panel hingedly mounted on said case along a lower edge of said aperture, means for rigidly holding said closure panel in a substantially horizontal open position, a telescoping rod-like antenna pivotally mounted on the/inner side of said closure panel at a point spaced from the hinge thereof, and arranged to pivot about an axis substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis of said panel, said mounting means being so located that when said closure panel is in the open position and said antenna is in a vertical position the antenna is a substantial distance from said case, a spring clip on said closure panel spaced from the pivot axis of said antenna for releasably retaining said antenna in a position parallel to said panel, and means insulating said antenna and said clip from said panel whereby said antenna is electrically operative when held by said clip and said closure panel is in the closed position.

WALTER S. HARMON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,626,803 Fishback May 5, 1927 1,763,382 Van Dyck June 10, 1930 1,826,437 Shapiro et a1 Oct. 6, 1931 2,292,163 Shea Aug. 4, 1942 2,295,191 Adams Sept. 8, 1942 2,315,315 Cairnes Mar. 30, 1943 2,378,663 Striker June 19, 1945 2,388,567 Patterson Nov. 6, 1945 2,396,121 Patino Mar. 5, 1946 2,460,492 Cutler Oct. 30, 1946 V FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date 269,349 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1927

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