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Last month, in the original article titled The Continuing Woes Of Olympus, I discussed the turmoil at the company following revelations about massive cover ups of losses associated with questionable acquisitions. This article is an update to that story, to let you know where things stand now.
I'm going to present the details that have emerged since the first article chronologically to give you an idea of how things have developed.
November 16th
UK Serious Fraud Office announces it will investigate Olympus for evidence of financial wrongdoing.
November 17th
Woodford meets US FBI and Department of Justice officials to discuss the case.
November 21st
Olympus announces, with remarkable haste, that the independent panel it set up to investigate its actions has found no evidence of Yakuza links.
November 22nd
Former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford tells Amateur Photographer his vision for Olympus' camera business. Woodford indicates that he would keep the camera business going, but talks about the difficulties in the consumer electronics market. He reiterates his desire to return as CEO.
My personal interpretation on Woodford's view of the camera division is that he would preserve it as long as it was profitable, but would very likely jettison it if it began to make losses. I don't get the impression that he sees cameras as a core part of the Olympus business, or that he knows how to build a successful camera business. It is difficult to work out if he knows why the PEN series of cameras have been so popular, or if he just thinks it was a lucky break.
Woodford also questions the independence of the panel Olympus set up. The speed with which they have denied the presence of organized crime lacks credibility given the time required for forensic accounting, he states.
November 23rd
Woodford arrives in Tokyo to meet authorities and for board meeting.
November 24th
After meeting Japanese officials, Woodford says he is more confident of a thorough investigation than he was before.
2 Olympus board members (Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and Hisashi Mori) quit, together with the Company Auditor (Hideo Yamada). These resignations are the latest in a steady trickle that began when the scandal broke.
November 25th
Woodford thanks members of Olympus who signed an online petition for his reinstatement. He continues his campaign to take over as CEO again.
November 29th
Olympus announces that it will, review its future focus, but denies that the future of the camera division is under threat.
December 1st
Woodford resigns from Olympus board. He cites concerns over how the new board will be formed, and announces he will make his own proposals.
December 6th
Olympus releases the findings of its independent probe into the company, which, as widely expected, finds no evidence of links to organized crime.
However board members, Investment Bankers, and Accountants are all blamed for the 13 year scandal. The estimated $1.7bn total irregular losses puts pressure on the authorities to prosecute.
Woodford continues to call for the resignation of all board members from the period of the scandal.
December 7th
Reports state that the Olympus board will stand down at the next shareholder meeting. Early guesses as to the date of the meeting say that late February is the earliest possible.
December 10th
The Japanese press reports that officials from The Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, The Metropolitan Police Department, and the Securities And Exchange Surveillance Commission will visit Olympus offices next week to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.
December 14th (Today)
Reports state that Olympus has met today's deadline to submit financial reports to the Japanese stock exchange. Failure to meet the deadline would have resulted in Olympus' shares being delisted, further destabilizing the company.
Asahi Shinbun reports that the external auditors appointed to oversee the accounts, KPMG and Ernst & Young, will sign off on the accounts.
The threat of delisting has not disappeared entirely, but it has significantly abated. Shares have recovered value, from their lowest value of 20% pre-scandal levels to 50% earlier today.
So that's how things stand for now, Olympus as a company may now be in a position to begin the recovery process. That may start in earnest when the next shareholder meeting occurs, and the board changes.
Olympus have a rich history in camera manufacturing, which we can hope will continue for a long time to come. Today they announced a new 12-50mm m4/3 lens for their PEN cameras. It's a power zoom (you push a button to make it zoom) which means it's designed with video in mind, and features extensive weather sealing. i'll talk a bit more about power zooms in another article.
Get in touch with your questions, comments, and blog ideas using firstname.lastname@example.com or using the contact form. You can also join our online community on the Ideal Focus Facebook Page.


text: Reyna Shelton is an on-location, natural light, modern portrait photographer. She specializes in seniors, teenagers + high school, children + babies and family portraits. Reyna Shelton Photography is based in Chula Vista, CA and serves the San Diego county (Chula Vista, Eastlake, Bonita, Otay Ranch, Imperial Beach, Coronado, Mission Valley, North Park, etc.) areas.

subset: commoncrawl


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Amazon unveils 30-minute Prime Air quadcopter delivery service, but it's completely impractical
- By Sebastian Anthony on December 2, 2013 at 11:14 am
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Amazon, the company that already automates many of its warehouses and fulfillment centers with robot workers, has unveiled Amazon Prime Air — a new delivery method that will see autonomous quadcopters deliver your order within 30 minutes. A couple of years from now, perhaps on Cyber Monday in 2015, you might be able to order a PS4 game or the latest smartphone and have it delivered to your door in half an hour.
At this point, you should probably watch the video below — and then read on for some discussion of the technological, regulatory, and practical issues that Amazon will face.
Technologically, Amazon Prime Air isn't actually all that crazy. Jeff Bezos, speaking on the 60 Minutes TV show, says the quadcopters will be capable of delivering a five-pound (2.3 kg) package to addresses within 10 miles of an Amazon fulfillment center, within 30 minutes. Power-wise (or should we say battery-wise), this is feasible. A delivery time of 30 minutes should be possible, assuming Amazon uses an entirely automated process (i.e. robots) to pick your order and then load it onto a quadcopter. (Amazon's acquisition of Kiva now makes a lot more sense.)
While the technology for Amazon Prime Air is in place, the requisite regulations certainly aren't. Amazon says that its quadcopters and Prime Air service will be ready in time for FAA approval of civil unmanned aircraft (i.e. quadcopters, drones, etc.) in US airspace. If all goes to plan, the FAA hopes to have suitable regulation in place for civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by 2015. The current FAA UAS roadmap says very little about autonomous vehicles, though, and we'd be surprised if the 2015 regulations allow for Bezos' vision of a fleet of autonomous quadcopters. (As far as the technology goes, though, autonomous quadcopters with built-in collision avoidance algorithms should be fairly common by 2015.)
Beyond technological and regulatory concerns, though, practical concerns are by far the largest potential pitfall for Amazon Prime Air. Imagine for a moment a fleet of Amazon Prime Air quadcopters above the skies of New York City. From my rooftop in Brooklyn, it would be awfully easy to shoot down some Amazon quadcopters with an air rifle and loot their bounty of emergency sriracha and condoms. Really, in this age of impulse buying, those quadcopters could be carrying some pretty valuable cargo (video games, engagement rings, etc.) If quadcopter hunting seems a bit over the top, there are also more mundane security concerns. In the video, the Prime Air quadcopter simply leaves the box outside your house. This might work in rural areas, where people have private backyards, but it's completely infeasible in an urban, densely populated setting — and with a range of 10 miles, Amazon Prime Air is clearly targeted at exactly that market. How long do you think those pretty yellow boxes would last, on a sidewalk in Queens? (Watch: Nanocopters, Smartbirds, and beyond: The coolest robot videos ever.)
Still, as a concept, Amazon Prime Air is very exciting. While 2015 might be a little too optimistic, there's no doubt that we're moving towards a future that is increasingly ruled by autonomous robots and vehicles. There are absolutely massive gains to be made by speeding up and automating the retail experience, from warehouse to doorstep and every stage in between — gains that Amazon and other retail giants are guaranteed to take advantage of.
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So it won't work in New York because of an overabundance of scumbags, but in an area with civilized people it could still work.
http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony
So… in Scandinavia and that's about it?
Don't forget gated communities.
Yeah, plenty of scumbags in gated communities too.
New York city was used as an example, because its *New York city* — the problem would exist for other cities as well – it was just the example used.
Ur dumb it works anywhere
Jeff Vahrenkamp
I"m sure with 30 minute delivery, you will be waiting for it (like the people in the video). I"m sure they could use the GPS on your phone to essentially drop it off right in front of you so there isn't any down time between delivery and pick up.
What if an emergency happens within those 30 minutes that requires your immediate attention?
Jeffy Glenny
Haha good point. And besides, depending on how accurate the gps is (lets say I was in the bathroom), if it pinpointed your exact location, the package would end up on your roof…
the drone locates where your house is then drops it off in front or back of your house. using GPS.
Greg Geiger
The front doors of every home in America is now in a database. Census workers went to every door in America a few years ago and saved the coordinates..
the drone locates where your house is then drops it off in front or back of your house. using GPS.
Joe Rossetti
I think changing your life and behavior for what probably amounts to a less than 1% of a 1% chance is stupid. Sure, what you're saying COULD happen, but it's so incredibly unlikely and if you're in an urban setting you can talk to a neighbor (or call amazon and ask them to delivery later) or what not.
Also, most of us have an actual emergency a handful of times a year. Lets just say, for the sake of argument, that all of us in the entire country have an emergency 100 times out of the year (absurdly high, i bet most are in single or low double digits). So let's run some math so you can actually see why you're point doesn't matter at all.
There are 365 days in a year. That breaks out to being 8760 hours.
Of those 8760 hours, there are 525,600 minutes. Out of those minutes, 100 of them will have an emergency (with my absurdly over-inflated number of emergency's in a year).
That breaks out to being one emergency every 5256 minutes, OR 87.6 hours.
I am not good enough at math to figure out the stats, but I will post on reddit and see if a mathlete can do so.
Either way, I hope this helps you understand how silly that line of thinking is now. It's enough to get the gist of it.
I applaud you for using math to prove how low the probability of an emergency is, but that doesn't make the event negligible. If Amazon uses this thinking and simply puts a disclaimer such as, "You are responsible for being there when the drone arrives. Not being there and losing the package is not our problem" would be a really shitty solution. A good business plan addresses all concerns from consumers and investors. This right now is a glaring hole, and something that I want an answer to. You may think it's silly, but I'm sure it's something they're working on. All I did was ask the question…
Joe Rossetti
By very definition something with a low probably is negligible.
I'm sure amazon could simply include a recall button that if such an emergency occurs you simply text or respond "cancel order" or words to that affect.
Either way, it's a legitimate concern, just not one I think matters as there are several easy fixes. Sorry if I came off so strong.
but with that the drone would be stolen alot.
Greg Geiger
There is no need to use the GPS on your phone. Census workers already saved GPS coordinates of every front door in America a few years ago..Your front door coordinates are already in a database.
Do you have a source for that claim? Census workers don't normally travel to every home in the country.
Greg Geiger
Oh my god.. Its been in the news everywhere in 2009… Where have you been?
Some people think it is, and are upset over an army of some 140,000 workers hired in part with a $700 million taxpayer-funded contract to collect GPS readings for every front door in the nation.
The data collection, presented as preparation for the 2010 Census, is pinpointing with computer accuracy the locations and has raised considerable concern from privacy advocates who have questioned why the information is needed. The privacy advocates also are more than a little worried over what could be done with that information.
Enhancing the concerns is the Obama administration's recent decision to put White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in an oversight role over the census, which will be used to determine a reapportionment of congressional seats and could be used to solidify a single political party's control over the nation, its budget, military and future.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke recently told the Washington Post: "The census director reports to me, and, of course, I serve at the pleasure of the president." He added the White House told him "it has no interest in politicizing [the census]."
But at American Daily Review, blogger Douglas Gibbs had more than a few doubts.
"GPS coordinates of your front door will make it easier for the government to monitor you," he said. "The U.S. Census Bureau is simply an excuse – a harmless looking means of obtaining the front door coordinates. The creation of GPS coordinates for front doors has nothing to do with the census, in all honesty, no matter how much the United States government tries to convince you that it does."
Learn what America means, get "The Patriot's Handbook: A Citizenship Primer for a New Generation of Americans"
In his article titled, "Big Brother GPS Doorway Census," Gibbs, recalled wondering why, just weeks ago, the Obama administration announced its oversight of the census, "literally taking control of the census away from the Commerce Department."
He put that together with Obama's longtime push for national service.
"The Obamites, thirsty to serve their new messianic figure, have lost enough of their objectivity to be willingly recruited into such an insidious program like gaining these coordinates for the U.S. government. … I ask again, what would be the purpose of shooting the GPS coordinates of American doorways?" he wrote.
The answer he provided was alarming.
"Imagine, if you will, that there are a number of people in a neighborhood that could not find the addresses they are tasked with finding. They are not locals, maybe are unable to read a map, or perhaps do not have the time to pull out a map, and they need to find you with specific GPS coordinates. Their devices would lead them to your front door with these coordinates. Imagine a crisis is afoot, and martial law is put into place. U.S. troops need to round up particular folks," he wrote.
"Let's take this a step further. After all, with Barack Obama desiring to decrease the number of folks in the military, and with forces committed worldwide, we may not have sufficient military forces at home to deal with a rising national emergency. If the government decided to rely on foreign troops, perhaps United Nations personnel, most of which may not understand the street signs, much less know the lay of the land, they could use GPS devices to direct them to your front door," he wrote.
According to the Census Bureau's website, the GPS technology "allows us to reduce the amount of time spent by census workers in locating addresses. … Most importantly, by adding a GPS coordinate to each housing unit, the Census Bureau is able to ensure that residents are counted in the right location."
At Canada Free Press, commentator J.B. Williams said, "I can't resist the urge to question the authority and purpose behind such a BIG BROTHER initiative, when the official census itself is not due to be taken until 2010…
"No imagination is required to think up a whole laundry list of evil that could be done with a nationwide GPS grid of coordinate's markers painted on every private home across the country. But I was having trouble thinking up one good reason for it, even one legitimate use that would justify what must be a very expensive undertaking," he said.
"Why does the Obama administration need or want the latitude and longitude coordinates for every home in America? Why the rush to GPS paint every home in the next 90 days? Why must the marker be within 40 feet of every front door? For what possible purpose does the Fed need GPS coordinates for every home, and under what authority do they have the right? Census workers, whom I asked, had the same holy-crap look on their faces that I had by then," he wrote.
Then he cited the cooperative effort that the U.S. Census Bureau has reached with ACORN, the organization of community activists with which Obama worked.
"Obama's interest in an ACORN-controlled 2010 Census, for the purpose of redistricting to the advantage of Democrats before the 2010 mid-term elections, comes as NO shock from a regime known for their heavy handed Rules for Radicals political strategies. But what does this have to do with GPS marking every home in the country?" he questioned.
Ask those who have served military duty, he said. They are very familiar with the most common use of GPS target painting, and the rest might want to read books such as "The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare."
Online sources noted that Google Maps already probably has listed most homes in the nation.
"But the front door? Sounds like a jackboot convenience to me," said RightSoup.com.
Added Williams, "What I do know is this … Coincidences of this number and magnitude don't happen. … I also know that people had better start asking the right people the right questions and demanding answers fast. Begin with asking the mainstream press why there has been no public notification of the federal governments GPS marking your front door?"
A number of concerned citizens have contacted WND about the program, and repeatedly have cited warnings delivered by the GPS squad members that their failure to allow the readings would result in fines and possibly imprisonment under Title 13, which allows the census to be taken.
But repeatedly they've gotten no answers when asked what a GPS reading has to do with the number of people living at the home – which isn't supposed to be subject to questions until 2010 anyway.
One WND reader raised these questions to a local census office.
"What authority does the U.S. Census Bureau have for sending anyone to my front door in April of 2009 to mark it with GPS coordinates? This is unacceptable. The census is not due until 2010, and the usurpation of the census by the White House is unconstitutional. … This citizen will not answer census questions until the year they are due, and demands that my GPS coordinates be removed from all government records."
The census response?
"Address canvassing should conclude by mid-July. The operation will use new hand-held computers equipped with GPS to increase geographic accuracy. The ability to capture GPS coordinates for most of the nation's housing units will greatly reduce the number of geographic coding errors caused by using paper maps in previous counts. … During the address canvassing operation, census workers may ask to verify a housing structure's address and whether there are additional living quarters on the property. All census workers carry official government badges marked with just their name. You also may ask them for a picture ID from another source to confirm their identity. In addition, some census workers might carry a 'U. S. Census Workers' bag."
Another WND reader, from Washington state, reported he is having his attorney look into the legality of the GPS data collection and hopes to have enough support for a legal challenge.
The reader, whose name was withheld because of his concerns over repercussions, said a government home data collector ignored his no trespassing sign, and he was threatened by the collector for wanting to refuse to provide "census" information.
He said GPS mapping nowhere is authorized for census workers.
Census spokesman Stephen Buckner told WND the activity is, in fact, proper, and even necessary. There are homes being built and torn down constantly, and the census needs such information. Local building records and other government databases such as tax records would not suffice, he said.
"There are 140,000 workers walking every street of America," he told WND, in order to document 145 million addresses with GPS coordinates.
He assured WND that all such personal information is confidential, because employees of contractors doing the work are subject to a $250,000 fine or imprisonment for five years for revealing personal information. He also confirmed that the last case that was prosecuted under the law was nearly 50 years ago.
"We have to verify every single address," he said.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2009/05/97208/#Erowfc4Lk0f0BQbh.99
Seems like a waste since Google already has that data, along with pictures of the buildings in question.
Its like a flying Pandora's Box of Lawsuits just waiting to be opened.
Matt Lukes
Just like it, almost exactly
Cool concept but I think it is this type of thinking that keeps companies like this on the forefront of innovation. You have to think outside of the box (no pun intended) to stay ahead of the competition. However, I live in a largeish apartment complex. Amazon going to leave my box on the front step? Or are they not going to deliver to apartment addresses? Also, I'm thinking if you are expecting a package in 30 minutes, you will either be waiting for the package or be getting to the package shortly after arrival. You don't pick 30 minute service knowing it will be sitting outside all day.
Ivan Salazar
Do you have a balcony? I was thinking about this yesterday, it could easily leave it your balcony which is usually a safe place. No balcony? Then amazon should send a notification of the exact time when the drone will be in your front step so they can go down the stair and wait for it. The customer should keep in mind that they must be free in the following 30 mins before purchasing in order to wait for the package.
It also doesn't seem to unreasonable for amazon to be able to produce and sell window ledge attachments that can provide a secure delivery surface to apartments without a balcony.
It would be very impressive technology if it could identify a balcony and safely put it down there. However, there's always the issue of gusts of wind pushing the package off the balcony. Not only would you lose your package, but someone on the street could get seriously hurt.
guys/girls why cant you just wait 30 minutes to get it and go no where and wait for it to arrive in under 30 minutes?
Joe Rossetti
I think people are forgetting this is like ordering a pizza except with down to the minute delivery information. It can flight straight up from amazon to a high enough altitude where it's hard to shoot down without drawing attention.
IT can fly directly over a location where the customer will already know the delivery time and then drop straight down. Someone would have to be above to steal it, or rob it from the customer.
Anyone ordering 30 minute delivery of an expensive item and is not waiting for it is stupid, plus amazon could also program in a hover and wait program that makes it hold position until the customer verifies they are ready.
There are some issues with that, but it's minimal.
guys/girls why cant you just wait 30 minutes to get it and go no where and wait for it to arrive in under 30 minutes?
Ivor O'Connor
I found all the humans picking and handling the package funny. Amazon is well known for the almost totally automated robot warehouses. I suppose this film was carefully constructed to show a "human" side. I think it is a great idea though. Especially in the Suburbia/Matrix landscape where the packages can be dropped off without being stolen. We also need flying heilquad autos before all the bridges fall apart. This is the future…
No, Amazon uses people a lot in their warehouses. They just expect them to behave like robots.
Angel Ham
Expect someone with a BB gun to mow one down and take away the contents.
Matt Lukes
That is exactly what I do every time I see one.
No one is going to pay extra for 30 minute delivery and then leave it there for hours. There's way less chance of theft than the article suggests. They obviously have GPS built in so they can probably send you a text when it arrives so you can get your lazy ass up for 30 seconds to pick up your box.
you don't pay extra unless you say an amazon prime subscription is extra. especially if you get a 30 day free trial of amazon prime and can try out the system, when it comes out to the public.
you don't pay extra unless you say an amazon prime subscription is extra. especially if you get a 30 day free trial of amazon prime and can try out the system, when it comes out to the public.
They should have a Amozon tracker that you can look on and see where it is and exactly when it is going to arrive. Like something that you can pull up on your phone if you have a product code or something. It could be an app similar to find my iPhone… "Find my drone"……lol
Ray C
Wouldn't it be easier to find a cheaper way to do next day delivery. Maybe place specific air delivery facilities throughout the country, then just deliver all the orders for that region by air that day to go out by the next day or something like that? Some combination of conventional delivery and new delivery might work better.
Ray, the only way this works is by placing a facility in almost every city that uses amazon. which was there plan from the beginning.
Ray, the only way this works is by placing a facility in almost every city that uses amazon. which was there plan from the beginning.
Perfect for Hunger Games deliveries!!! Plus now the CIA has a new way to smuggle drugs.
http://www.8vom.com/ Melvina Roselyn
It will bring some trouble.
Parrish Fam
Don't sleep on this. This maybe common place within the next 5 years or so. The sticky stumbling blocks are FAA regulations, but the technology is almost mature enough to support such a service. My company OpenRobotix.Com will release a small delivery pre-production prototype in 2014.
Impracticable today maybe, a necessity tomorrow.
If it's not a necessity now, why would it be in five years? Convenience and necessity are not the same things, no matter what your marketing manager says.
well to be fair, phones weren't really a necessity, google wasn't a necessity, and a few other stuff we largely used today isn't a necessity. Doesn't stop us from using it.
it's america we all want stuff fast.
great quote.
Eugene Cusie
For when getting that dildo as quick as possible matters!!
Then there's the next logical step… Combine that with the realistic robot skins they're developing in Japan and you have pleasure droids that come right to your door. Happy endings in 30 minutes or less.
When they can do it in 5 minutes from McDonalds then it'll catch on.
When the drone starts slicing and dicing birds into little fluffy blood balls, the greenies will scream and the dream will die. Plus, it would be a hackers wet dream to take control of the drone herd for a few hours.
Joseph Mullin
Maybe they could install some sort of sonic device to ward off birds. The hacking would definitely be a problem, though.
and the hacker will be able to do nothing but make people complain that there package was not there in under 30 minutes boohoo is all someone can do. also birds aren't blind and can avoid the drone. if it is rare for it to happen to a helicopter then it will be more rare with a smaller drone.
and the hacker will be able to do nothing but make people complain that there package was not there in under 30 minutes boohoo is all someone can do. also birds aren't blind and can avoid the drone. if it is rare for it to happen to a helicopter then it will be more rare with a smaller drone.
Just like birds miss wind turbines? I think any nefarious hacker could find something far more interesting to do than making people complain about late packages — like congregating a mass of drones around the end of an airport takeoff zone. Having a mass of drones ingested into a GE 56-7B engine would be rather catastrophic.
Just like birds miss wind turbines? I think any nefarious hacker could find something far more interesting to do than making people complain about late packages — like congregating a mass of drones around the end of an airport takeoff zone. Having a mass of drones ingested into a GE 56-7B engine would be rather catastrophic.
hey now… what if its storming and i want my new phone and i want it now?? (well within 30 mins) anyone think of that oneeeeee :-x
why the fuck would you need a phone if there is a storm? Where is your logic?
ya guest you idiot plus they probably still could do it drones can maneuver very well in wind and maybe wind storms.
Anthony Crawford
Now they could secure it having each box set. A code to unlock the item so only you can view it and get into the item since some may. Be simple just like a confirmation code but instead a pin code to get into the box
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Wow, its like real life Call of Duty care packages without dodging bullets, unless you live in New York city according to the example used above.
Why did a human load the copter box?
so, they can show humans do work there. probably in a few years when this is real life they will use robots to do it mostly.
What's going to keep me from taking that copter? ;-)
patience and blades.
Heath Parsons
Patience and blades never stopped human ingenuity. See: helicopter hijacking.
What kind of helicopters Rc or jet/gas ones. Yes humans are smart on how to use almost anything to kill another, but those are big air crafts that cause big damage these are about medium sized Rc air crafts that can barely lift over 6 lbs most damage to a human is some scratches and bleeding which can be treated with a bandaid or just staying inside.
patience and blades.
Matt Lukes
If you ordered the package, they might know where you live.
What if it hits a bird? It would even be very dangerous since it could kill a human with those unprotected propellers. In it's current version it is not good for much, there is simply too much which can go wrong.
wont hit a bird. it is like a helicopter
its not a quad copter it's a octocopter
its not a quad copter it's a octocopter
Ron Golan
An interactive 3D model of the Prime Air!
Heath Parsons
Skeet shooting with a prize!
that is alot harder to hit and every miss with a gun kills a person.
Every miss with a gun kills a person? Really?
They should have a Amozon tracker that you can look on and see where it is and exactly when it is going to arrive. Like something that you can pull up on your phone if you have a product code or something. It could be an app similar to find my iPhone… "Find my drone"……lol it would be really helpful
getting paid to pilot these babies would be awesome …
to bad nobody pilots them.
Chris Vaughn
UPS and Fed Ex are both running pretty efficient operations and have far fewer constraints related to package size and weight. Sure their trucks use more energy but they are also delivering hundreds of packages.
The driver can also assess where (or if) to leave the package if nobody is home. One drone, one package doesn't sound that cost-effective to me. The drones would make for good target practice or maybe an efficient way to kill people.
Greg Geiger
I remember not having toilet paper, and having to go to the store with a poopy butt. Why didn't Amazon have this back then? Would be nice if I could order a pizza this way?
FAA was the only problem.
Joe Rossetti
I actually don't believe this is completely undoable.
It's THIRTY MINUTE DELIVERY. This isn't marketed to people who are not at home waiting for whatever they purchased. Everyone who is making a purchase and asking for 30 minute delivery is obviously there, or could get it delivered to where they ARE.
The obvious problem is theft and shootdowns of the quad's, which if flown high enough can help reduce said issue, but all of these things WILL have cameras (or can get them) because of this and collision avoidance technology.
I think the idea that the yellow packages will be sitting unsupervised is wrong. The person ordering, assuming amazon provides it, will know EXACTLY when their package is due to arrive and can be waiting outside for it. It's just like ordering a pizza or a cab, except that Amazon can actually say specifically because the data is available and obviously there will be a GPS system to track this stuff.
So really, the only valid problem I see is going to be shootdowns and large urban settings with sky rises and such. Apartments and elsewhere there would simply be a designated area, probably the main entrance, where customers who ordered could wait for their stuff.
Amazon could also take it a step further and work out negotiated contracts with places locally where a customer can simply go and drive to it and get it and that place can be secured with people handling everything. It's still faster than waiting a day or two.
Joe, to nicely correct you it delivers in 30 minutes or less.
Well, there is the 10 mile delivery limit. How many of us live within a 10 mile range of an Amazon Fulfillment Center? According to this list (http://outright.com/blog/locations-of-amazon-fulfillment-centers-2/) if you're in New York you don't have one. Amazon's list is even more sparse: (http://www.amazon.com/Locations-Careers/b?ie=UTF8&node=239366011). The reason is that fulfillment centers, aka warehouses, are located in areas where land is cheap. Those areas don't usually overlap with high population areas. As has been pointed out elsewhere, it looks like this was probably a publicity stunt by Bezos to put Amazon front and center in everyone's minds for Black Friday, and it worked!
why do people think shooting down one of theses drones will be easy you have to shoot it at least 5 times to get the contents. so good luck and also after u shoot once someone is going to probably call the police and you will be arrested.
I tried i t and it worked
Yes with a normal copter but there copter self adjust when one motor fails so u have to do it while it is moving 5 times which you have to be close to a pro shooter to do because u have to factor the wind, humidity ,etc… Just to take one motor down and then do that 5 times in under a, 1 1/2 minutes or less, unless your front yard or back yard is an open field because it won't be going slow for u to shoot at it.
Dumbest idea of the century.
Daniel Goodman
to avoid the shooting down scenario he talks about, you'd have to build in tactical monitoring for threats and evasive maneuvers. it's a valid concern.


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Home / Hugh Hefner Engaged to Crystal Harris on Christmas Eve / Pictures of Crystal Harris and Hugh Hefner (10)
Anna Higgie's fascinating journey into illustration began at an art schools in Australia. Today it continues – Anna is living a creative life in Bristol. While asked about fashion, she answers that it's one of the most interesting forms of art which inspires her to express herself artistically and is frequently reflected in her work. Work that lets her particular kind of magic to come alive.


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2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 in Competition Orange with Charcoal Black Interior. 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 444 horsepower and 380 lb/ft of torque,... More
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Ford Mustang BOSS 302 2013, Race Red, Very clean, 13000miles, Limited edition number 2634 of the 2013 edition, comes with original Boss 302 car... More
'14 SHELBY GT500, Rare special edition last year collector Shelby SVT Mustang and only 2K miles! Hand built and signed 5.8 liter supercharged aluminum... More
The fifth generation Mustang was built for nearly 10 years and kept getting better every year from power and technology to body re-designs to... More
For sale in our Fort Lauderdale Showroom is a 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500 Convertible. Nothing says LIKE NEW on a car better than low... More
For sale in our Fort Lauderdale Showroom is a 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500. Nothing says LIKE NEW on a car better than low miles... More
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Mustang and Roush, two of the most recognizable names in the automotive industry, have come together in this beautiful 2013 Ford Roush Mustang. 1... More
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Clad in traditional white with Shelby Guardsman Blue Le Mans stripes, this is one of only 159 total Shelby GT350s produced, two of which... More
Up for sale in our Tampa Showroom is this gorgeous representation of sex appeal and pure muscle the 2014 Shelby GT500. 2014 was very... More
CLEAN CARFAX. The 2012 Ford Mustang lineup represents the best pony car you can buy today. This 2012 Mustang is equipped with 17-inch alloy... More
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Eagles rescued after storm destroys Sevierville nest
American Eagle Foundation staff and volunteers rescued two juvenile bald eagles Monday after a Sunday storm sent their nest plummeting 75 feet to the ground.
Foundation photographer and volunteer John Prickett received a call Monday afternoon from an anonymous source saying the nest, which used to sit in a tree in the field adjacent to Kroger on Highway 66 (Winfield Dunn Parkway), was gone.
Prickett and other staff members got to the area around 4 p.m. They waded through the thick brush under the tree and found the two 6-week-old eagles within an hour.
"It's a tragic story with a good ending," Prickett said.
The two eaglets are now at UT's College of Veterinary Medicine receiving treatment. Prickett said the larger of the two birds made out well, but the smaller had broken its left wing in three places during the fall.
"The small one had some blood on its wing and maggots had already gotten in there, so they could have been down there 24 hours," Prickett said. "It will be touch-and-go with that one."
Prickett anticipates that the larger eagle will be releasable in the next six or seven weeks. The fate of the smaller eagle is less certain.
"Right now the wing is pinned, and we have to see if it's able to fly and fly well enough," Prickett said. "If it's determined that it can't, the American Eagle Foundation will keep it."
Foundation President Al Cecere was hopeful that the bird would recover.
"We're hoping that because it's a young bird it will recover nicely, but we don't know for sure," Cecere said.
If it doesn't recover, Prickett said the eagle could end up at Dollywood's Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, as part of a breeding pair, or as an educational bird.
"It will have a good life no matter where it ends up, but the hope is that it can still fly," Prickett said.
These eagles have not had it easy.
The family of eagles, dubbed the "Kroger eagles" by Prickett, had attracted a lot of attention from shoppers, who could spot the nest from the Kroger parking lot. The foundation put up signs in the lot warning spectators to remain at least 300 feet from the nest.
Then in April, a controversy involving helicopters flying too close to the nest resulted in two helicopter tour companies changing their routes.
The foundation claimed the noise from the helicopters was bothering the male and female adult eagles, which had already laid their two eggs.
Now, Prickett said, the adults are still hanging around the area with no nest to return to. Prickett doesn't know whether they will rebuild a nest there or not.
"It's a sad picture," Prickett said. "The female brought a fish to where the nest was and just sat there. After a while, she flew away toward the river."


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Community Fatherhood will increase the involvement of fathers and father figures in the lives of children through special programs and/or training opportunities in South Central Michigan.
Community Fatherhood shall promote the empowerment of fathers and father figures by providing information and resources.
Community Fatherhood will interact with all fathers in a respectful dignified manner, while valuing their right to self-determination.
Community Fatherhood is committed to improving the communication and awareness between the community systems response to fathers and their families.
Community Fatherhood
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A slot antenna formed in combination with a vehicle window. An electrically conducting, optically transparent film panel is bonded to the window and terminates so that its outer peripheral edge is spaced from the innermost edge of the metal framing the window to define a polygonal antenna slot between the edges. An unbalanced transmission line is connected to the antenna by connecting the grounded conductor to the framing metal near the metal edge and coupling the ungrounded conductor to the conductive panel near the juxtaposed, interfacing edge of the conductive panel.
1. A slot antenna formed in association with a metal sheet having an inner metal edge defining an aperture which is closed by a non-conductive, optically transparent window extending across the aperture, the antenna including:
(a) an electrically conducting, optically transparent panel bonded to the window and having an outer peripheral edge spaced from said inner metal edge to define a polygonal antenna slot between the edges;
(b) an unbalanced transmission line having a grounded conductor and an ungrounded conductor coupled respectively to interfacing sides of the slot, the grounded conductor being coupled to the metal sheet near said inner metal edge; and
(c) a coupling metallic layer, generally parallel to and spaced from the electrically conducting, transparent panel by an interposed dielectric layer and positioned near the oppositely facing peripheral edge of the conducting, transparent panel across the slot from the grounded conductor, the coupling metallic layer having an area interfacing the transparent conducting layer selected to provide a capacitance between the coupling metallic layer and the transparent conducting layer which impedance matches the slot antenna to the transmission line by minimizing net reactance, the ungrounded transmission line conductor being connected to the coupling metallic layer to capacitively couple the ungrounded conductor to the transparent conducting panel.
2. An antenna in accordance with claim 1 wherein the window comprises an interlayer laminated between two glazing piles, wherein the transparent, conductive film panel is laminated between the interlayer and one glazing ply and the coupling metallic layer is laminated between the interlayer and the other glazing ply.
3. An antenna in accordance with claim 1 wherein the coupling metallic layer is bonded to an exposed surface of one of the glazing plies and the conductive film panel is between the glazing plies.
4. An antenna in accordance with claim 1 wherein a resistance heating power source is connected to the conductive panel by means of conductors extending across the slot at a pair of RF voltage nodes spaced along the slot.
5. An antenna in accordance with claim 4 further including a first bus bar in contact with the film panel along a first edge portion of the window, a second bus bar in contact with the film panel along a second edge portion of the window opposite the first edge portion and means to provide connection of the bus bars to a power source.
6. An antenna in accordance with claim 5 wherein the connection means includes a first bus bar extension extending from the first bus bar to a terminal area along the first edge portion and a second bus bar extension extending from each end of the second bus bar to the first edge portion along third and fourth edge portions, respectively, and further extending along at least a portion of the first edge portion to the terminal area, the second bus bar extensions being electrically insulated from the first bus bar and film panel.
7. An antenna in accordance with claim 1 wherein a resistance heating power source is connected to the conductive panel by means of conductors extending across the slot at an RF node.
8. A slot antenna formed in association with a metal sheet having an aperture defined by an inner metal edge of the sheet, the aperture being closed by a non-conductive, optically transparent window which is angularly offset from a horizontal plane and extends from an adjacent, conductive, approximately horizontal vehicle body panel, the antenna including:
(a) an electrically conducting, optically transparent panel bonded to the window and having outer peripheral edges spaced from said inner metal edge to define a polygonal antenna slot between the inner metal edge and the peripheral edges, the slot being angularly offset from a horizontal plane to extend generally at an angle from the adjacent horizontal body panel at a slot edge; and
(b) an unbalanced transmission line having an ungrounded conductor and a grounded conductor coupled respectively to interfacing sides of the slot near oppositely facing edge locations spaced across the slot from each other, the edge locations being at a central, lowermost portion of the slot, the grounded conductor being coupled to the metal sheet near said inner metal edge and the ungrounded conductor being coupled to the transparent conducting panel near a peripheral edge of the transparent conducting panel.
9. An antenna in accordance with claim 8 for use in the AM and FM broadcast bands wherein the width of the slot is greater than one quarter inch and not significantly greater than substantially one inch.
10. An antenna in accordance with claim 9 wherein the slot width is approximately one inch.
11. An antenna in accordance with claim 8 wherein said transparent conductive panel is laminated between two layers of an interlayer film to form a composite interlayer and wherein the interlayer is laminated between two glass plies.
12. An antenna in accordance with claim 8 wherein the conductive body panel extends generally horizontally from said lowermost edge of the window.
This invention relates generally to a radio frequency antenna and more particularly relates to an antenna formed in association with the window of a vehicle for transmitting or receiving radio signals.
A variety of vehicles, such as automobiles and aircraft, carry electronic equipment which requires an antenna. Historically, antennas for vehicles consisted of structures which protruded from and were mounted to the outer surface of the body or skin of the vehicle. An example is the common automobile whip antenna. The prior art then came to recognize that such antennas created aerodynamic problems, were easily broken, were not aesthetically appealing, and required holes through the outer body or skin, thus interrupting the integrity of that outer body or skin of the vehicle.
Prior art workers have attempted to reduce these problems by constructing antennas which conform to the shape of the outer surface of the vehicle. For example, an antenna has been formed in an automobile windshield by embedding a pair of inverted L-shaped wires in between the two glass layers of the windshield. Such antennas consisted of a pair of parallel spaced wires extending upwardly from the bottom center of the windshield which then diverged in opposite directions along but spaced from the top of the windshield. The problem with these antennas is that they exhibited undesired directional patterns and were visible to the operator of the vehicle and consequently were aesthetically undesirable.
Another proposed solution was the formation of a conventional slot antenna within the car body, but concealed behind an electromagnetically transparent material, such as a synthetic resin. Such antennas are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,700 and SAE Technical Paper entitled "A New Generation Of Antennas For Automobile Use" by Louis L. Nagy, reprinted from SP-701, Recent Developments In Automotive Audio Systems, 1987.
Yet another approach was shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,971,191 and 3,007,164 which utilized the entire window opening as an aperture antenna.
Thin metal films are currently used in windshields as a solar shield to filter or reflect infrared and ultraviolet radiation in order to minimize the solar heating of the cat's interior. They may also be attached to DC sources so that an electrical current resistively heats the film to defrost the window. A substantial body of prior art exists teaching the application of such films to windows and a substantial body teaching resistive heating. Representative patents include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,610,771; 4,782,216; 4,806,220; 4,898,790; and 5,012,255.
Several antennas have been proposed which use the concepts of a whip antenna or a dipole antenna and combine it with the concept of forming such an antenna in a vehicle window by thin films on or between the layers of the window. Antennas of a variety of shapes are formed on the surface of the windows and often are provided with auxiliary or supplemental antennas in an attempt to control the antenna pattern or gain. Diversity selection has previously been used for antennas.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,768,037 and 4,849,766 illustrate a variety of different antenna shapes formed by a thin film upon a layer of a vehicle window. U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,316 and Japanese Kokai patent Hei 2[1990]-113603 illustrate other shapes formed in the window. Japanese Kokai patent Hei 2[1990]-15701 shows an antenna on a rear window. U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,020 shows a film antenna with a surrounding bus bar. Further improvements to these antennas are needed to obtain the performance necessary to gain broad commercial acceptance of antennas formed integrally with a window.
The principal problem in vehicle mounted antenna design is to obtain an antenna which not only has low loss and desirable impedance characteristics but sometimes also, very importantly, an azimuthally omnidirectional pattern so that it can receive or radiate a strong signal which is substantially insensitive to its direction with respect to the vehicle so that the signal strength will not vary appreciably as the vehicle is turned.
The prior art has viewed and treated antennas formed on a vehicle window as simply dipole, whip or other conventional antennas of the type which are ordinarily supported in free space. They applied those antenna concepts to the concept of forming an antenna as a thin film on a windshield. The prior art thin films were viewed as a radiating body spaced from a metal ground surface, but spaced by glass rather than the earlier atmospheric spacing of a protruding antenna, such as a whip.
The present invention forms a slot antenna between the metal frame of a window and a conductive, optically transparent film panel which is bonded to the window and has an outer peripheral edge spaced from the inner metal edge of the window frame. This defines a polygonally shaped antenna slot between the peripheral, outer edge of the inner panel and the inner metal edge of the surrounding metal.
Azimuthally omnidirectional pattern improvement is accomplished by feeding the slot antenna by an unbalanced transmission line which is connected so that the grounded conductor of the transmission line is coupled to the antenna near the inner edge of the outer metal of the frame and so that the ungrounded conductor is coupled to the conductive inner, film panel near the oppositely facing peripheral edge of the conductive panel. Forming a slot antenna in this manner and connecting its transmission line feed conductors near opposing, interfacing edges of the slot substantially enhances the azimuthally omnidirectional character of the antenna's pattern. A slot antenna fed in this manner creates generally symmetrical current patterns in the conductor surfaces on opposite sides of the slot. These symmetrical current patterns set up a generally balanced field across the slot and thereby avoid much of the directional character of prior art antennas.
Preferably, the ungrounded conductor of the transmission line which feeds the antenna is capacitively coupled to the transparent, conductive, film panel on the window by means of a small, second metallic layer which has an area selected to produce a capacitive reactance matching the inductive reactance of the antenna to the transmission line by minimizing the net reactive component.
Furthermore, for an automobile windshield which has a generally horizontally extending hood beneath it, the FM pattern and transmission line losses are substantially improved by feeding the slot antenna from its central bottom portion.
The present invention takes advantage of the existing gaps or apertures which are already present in vehicles, or other structures, and utilizes existing windshield manufacturing technology which is conventionally used to fabricate windows from layers, plies, coatings and laminations.
FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an automobile having an antenna embodying the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the detail of the antenna of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 3-6 are views in cross-section of an edge portion of a windshield embodying an antenna in accordance with the present invention and illustrating alternative structures for coupling the antenna to the ungrounded conductor of the unbalanced transmission line which is connected to the antenna.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are polar plots illustrating the directional patterns for a top fed and bottom fed embodiment of the present invention on an automobile.
FIG. 9 is a Smith chart with two curves illustrating the operation of the present invention in the FM broadcast band without and with, respectively, capacitive coupling impedance compensation.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of an alternative slot antenna embodying the invention.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of an electrically heatable window or transparency incorporating the novel features of the windshield antenna of the present invention, with portions removed for clarity.
FIG. 12 is an exploded, sectional view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 11 illustrating the electrical connection of a lower bus bar to the power source of the heatable transparency and the connections to the lower bus bar and vehicle frame for the radio antenna of the present invention.
In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the word connected or coupled or terms similar thereto are often used. They are not limited to direct connection but include connection through other circuit elements where such connection is recognized as being equivalent by those skilled in the art. Similarly, metal body parts of a vehicle are often connected together to function as a single metal sheet and therefore are referred to in the singular even though they may consist of several parts.
FIG. 1 illustrates an automobile 10 having several windows, one of which is a windshield 12. Immediately below the windshield 12 is a conductive auto body panel 14, such as a hood, extending generally horizontally from below the window 12.
The window 12 and its associated body structures are functionally illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2. The window is surrounded by a metal frame, which may be a separately identifiable bezel. The window appears electrically as a metal sheet 18 having an inner metal edge 20 defining an aperture. It is necessary that the metal sheet extend at least several inches away from its inner metal edge to provide a substantial conductive surface. The metal sheet cannot be only a narrow metal frame. The aperture is closed by a non-conductive, optically transparent window 12, typically of glass, extending across the aperture. An electrically conducting, optically transparent film panel 16 is bonded o to the window and has an outer peripheral film edge 22 which is spaced from the inner metal edge 20 to define a polygonal antenna slot 24 between the edge 20 and the film edge 22.
Metallized, thin film layers of this nature are currently incorporated into laminated automobile windshields for use as a solar shield to reduce the transmission of infrared and ultraviolet radiation through the window. For antenna purposes, the resistivity of the film is preferably on the order of 25 ohms per square or less. Antennas constructed with films having a resistivity of 8 ohms per square and 4 ohms per square respectively have been successfully tested. Films having a resistivity on the order of 100 ohms per square or more are believed to be less effective because they exhibit excessive resistive signal loss in the film. The glass or other glazing material, such as synthetic resins or plastics and any decorative border (not shown) about the window, of course, must be relatively non-conductive.
While the conductive, transparent panel on the window is typically a film, it can alternatively comprise a mesh or screen arrangement providing a continuous conduction path. For example, a mesh can be laminated to or molded within any of the window layers or plies.
The slot width must be sufficiently large that the capacitive effects across it at the frequencies of operation are negligible so that the signal is not shorted out. Although the capacitive reactance across the slot is less at the higher frequency FM broadcast band, the slot width is more critical in the lower frequency AM broadcast band. This is because, although the shunting reactance is greater at the lower frequency AM band, the antenna impedance is also considerably greater in the AM band and therefore the effect of the capacitive reactance in shunting the AM signal is greater in the AM band than its effect in shunting the FM signal. Antennas which have been constructed in accordance with the invention have been found to exhibit approximately a 50 ohm impedance in the FM band and approximately a 2000 ohm impedance in the AM band.
Experiments indicate that the outer peripheral edge of the film of the transparent panel should be spaced from the inner metal edge of the surrounding body metal to form a slot width greater than 1/4 inch. At 1/4 inch the antenna was found to work poorly. A 1/2 inch spacing was found to work well, but a one inch slot width provided even better performance. Slot widths greater than one inch produced no significant improvement.
The antenna is fed by an unbalanced transmission line, such as a coaxial cable or a strip line. It is very much preferred that the unbalanced transmission line conductors be coupled to juxtaposed, interfacing sides of the slot. While they do not need to be connected at the very edge of the slot, they must be connected within a few inches of the edge, preferably within about an inch, and at locations across the slot from each other. The grounded conductor, such as the outer shield portion of a coaxial cable, is coupled to the surrounding metal sheet, such as the car body or window frame, near the inner metal edge of the slot. The ungrounded conductor, such as the central conductor of a coaxial cable, is coupled to the conductive film near the oppositely facing peripheral edge of the film. This connection is highly desirable to improve the effectiveness of the antenna because it provides essentially symmetrical, electrical currents in the metal surfaces on opposite sides of the slot to provide a balanced field across the slot. This avoids asymmetrical currents and asymmetrical fields which would distort the pattern from its nearly uniformly omnidirectional pattern and cause nulls in some directions.
Consequently, it has been found that an antenna is not as effective if it is fed in the conventional manner which consists of simply connecting the grounded conductor of the unbalanced transmission line to any convenient grounding terminal. Rather, the transmission line conductors should be connected near the slot edge, and preferably within approximately one inch. A coaxial transmission line with a 120 ohm characteristic impedance was selected and found effective for feeding the antenna. Its impedance represents a compromise between the 50 ohm impedance exhibited at FM frequencies and the 2000 ohms exhibited at AM frequencies.
Most preferably, the transmission line is connected to the central lowermost portion of the slot, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in which the outer conductor 26 of the coaxial cable is connected to a connection point 28 of the metal frame near the center bottom of the windshield 12 and the central ungrounded conductor 30 is connected to the conductive, film panel 16 across the slot from the connection 28 of the grounded conductor 26.
FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the significance of this connection to the central lowermost portion of the slot. FIGS. 7 and 8 are polar plots showing the amplitude of the received signal as a function of the direction of arrival of the signal with respect to the front of the automobile. In these plots, the radius is proportional to the signal power, with each circle representing a 10 dB change. The outer circle represents -50 dB in FIG. 7 and -47 dB in FIG. 8. The circular axis represents the 360� divisions of direction with respect to the vehicle front. Both plots were for a signal at 102 MHz.
FIG. 7 illustrates the antenna pattern when the antenna is fed from the top center. The pattern exhibits noticeable dips or nulls, in some directions, as large as 16 dB. FIG. 8 illustrates the same antenna fed from the central lowermost portion of the slot. It exhibits an azimuthally omnidirectional behavior with a signal variation no greater than 3 dB. Consequently, the antenna of the present invention fed in the manner and at the location preferred, provides little signal variation as the orientation of the vehicle to a transmitter or receiver is changed.
Tests have shown that in the FM broadcast band this embodiment of the invention provides a signal which is, on average, only 3-6 dB below that for a typical whip antenna. This variation in FM signal level is easily accommodated by the automatic volume control circuitry of the typical radio receiver. Furthermore, since it was found that approximately 3 dB of the signal loss was due to the resistive loss in the metal film, 3 dB of these reported losses do not represent degradation in the signal-to-external noise ratio. Thus, no significant degradation in the quality of the FM signal was observed.
In the AM broadcast band, the average signal levels were actually stronger than those due to a typical whip antenna.
The connection points are important because substantial distributed RF currents flow in both the transparent, electrically conducting panel and the surrounding metal sheet fed by the transmission line. If the connection points are moved, the impedance, efficiency and pattern change and degrade the antenna performance.
The principles of prior art diversity antenna systems can be applied to the present invention by providing multiple transmission line feed connection locations for embodiments of the invention. This takes advantage of changes in antenna characteristics which occur as a result of feed position. In a diversity system all the feed locations are periodically, electronically sampled and the location providing the strongest signal is connected to the receiver.
It is relatively easy and convenient to mechanically, conductively connect the outer shielded conductor of the coaxial transmission line to the metal surrounding the window using conventional terminals and fasteners. It is considerably more difficult, however, to conductively connect the central ungrounded conductor of the transmission line to a thin metal film.
It is preferred to capacitively couple the ungrounded conductor to the transparent film by means of a generally parallel, metallic layer which is spaced from the conductive film panel by an interposed, dielectric layer. This allows the central ungrounded conductor to be conductively and mechanically connected to the more robust parallel metallic layer. Two examples of this coupling are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 illustrates a windshield comprising outer and inner glass plies 40 and 42, respectively, having a central, thermoplastic interlayer 44, typically polyvinylbutyral, to provide the conventional, laminated safety glass feature and also has a conductive metal film layer 46. Although not limiting in the present invention, the films may be of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,610,771; 4,806,220; 4,898,790; and 5,028,759, which teachings are herein incorporated by reference. These layers are shown at a disproportionate thickness in order that they will be visible in the drawings. The exterior glass ply 40 has an exposed surface 1 and an inner surface 2, while the interior glass ply 42 has an inner surface 3 and an exposed surface 4. Although not limiting in the present invention, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the metallized layer 46 is coated on the surface 2 in any convenient manner known in the art, e.g. pyrolytic or C magnetic sputtering vacuum deposition, then covered with the interlayer 44 and sandwiched between the glass plies 40 and 42. The assembly is then laminated to form a unitary structure in a manner well known in the art. The coating layer 46 terminates before it reaches the outer peripheral edge of the glass plies 40 and 42. The laminated windshield is secured to the window frame 50 in any convenient manner, e.g. with adhesive 48. A molding strip 51 covers the space between the edge of the windshield and the frame 50. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a conductive layer 52, such as an adhesive copper or other metal tape, a silver ceramic, conductive adhesive, etc., is bonded to an interior surface of the windshield, such as interior surface 4, and separated by the dielectric glass ply 40 and interlayer 44 from the metal film 46. The central, ungrounded conductor 54 is connected to the metal layer 52 in a conventional manner, such as by conductive adhesive.
FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the metal layer 62 is incorporated between the glass plies 64 and 66. The metal layer 62 is bonded to the interior surface 67 of inner glass ply 66 so that the interlayer 68 forms the dielectric separating the metal layer 62 from the conductive film panel 70. The central, ungrounded conductor 72 is connected conductively to the metal layer 62 in a conventional manner. Preferably the metal layer 62 has a leg which extends beyond the edge of the glass ply 66 to provide a connection tab or terminal.
FIG. 5 illustrates yet another alternative embodiment in which the central conductor 80 is directly conductively connected to the conductive film panel 82, which is laminated with the interlayer 84 between a pair of glass plies 86 and 88. The conductor 80 may be a wire member, a metal tab or a thin silver-containing coating laminated within the windshield assembly.
FIG. 6 illustrates a conductive panel 90 deposited upon a relatively thin interlayer sheet 91 with a second interlayer sheet 92 bonded to the conductive panel to form a three layer, flexible laminate. This laminate is then assembled between two glass plies 93 and 94 as the interlayer in the conventional manner. It should be appreciated that although FIG. 6 illustrates a direct electrical connection, a capacitive connection of the type illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 may also be used.
The capacitive coupling not only provides an easily and inexpensively manufactured electrical connection to the central conductive film panel, but additionally has been found to afford an opportunity for impedance matching the antenna to the transmission line. The slot antenna in accordance with the present invention was found to have a reactive component which is inductive. Consequently, since the capacitance between the metal layer, to which the ungrounded transmission line conductor line is connected, and the metal film 46 is a well known function of their interfacing areas, the distance between them, and the dielectric constant of the material, the interfacing area can be selected by design to match the antenna to the transmission line and thus minimize the net reactive component seen by the transmission line and thereby maximize RF energy transfer. The capacitive coupling also provides DC isolation from any resistive heating circuitry. When the conductive layer used for the capacitive coupling is between the glass layers, it is more protected from mechanical destruction or gradual environmentally caused deterioration. If the direct hard wire conductive connection is used, it may be desirable to interpose a capacitive element between the antenna and the transmission line in order to accomplish some impedance matching in the absence of capacitive coupling.
Connection of the transmission line to the bottom central portion of the windshield provides an additional advantage beyond improvement of the antenna pattern. Such connection requires a shorter cable because in most automobiles the radio is in the center of the dashboard immediately below the windshield. The shorter cable is an advantage because at AM frequencies a coaxial cable does not behave as a transmission line because of the long wavelength, but rather appears simply as a distributed capacitance shunting the signal. The shorter the cable the less the shunting capacitance and thus the less signal loss.
Experimentally, an embodiment similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3 was constructed and tested, utilizing a metal layer 52 which was 14.5 cm long and 1.2 cm wide and was found to work well. It is believed that the optimum capacitance area for an embodiment of the type illustrated in FIG. 4 would be an interfacing area of the metal layer 62 on the order of one to ten square centimeters. The necessary area for that embodiment is considerably smaller because the interlayer 68 is considerably thinner than a glass ply. Of course, as would be apparent to those skilled in the art, the interfacing area, and consequently the value of capacitance which would cause the capacitive reactance to nearly match the inductive reactance of the antenna, would be a function of the intended operating frequency and the size and shape of the vehicle and its windshield.
It is possible with existing windshields having a metal film solar barrier layer to additionally connect an electrical potential across opposite ends of the metal layer in order to provide a distributed current flow through the layer and resistively heat it, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,902. This provides for window defrosting and deicing. Experiments have shown that this causes a significant deterioration of the radio frequency signals, but this may be overcome by conventional means, for example by providing a suitable RF choke in the power feed lines. At FM broadcast band frequencies, the shunting effect of such a power connection can be substantially minimized by selecting the position of the connection of the conductors across the slot so that they are connected at a pair of the RF voltage nodes which are spaced along the slot.
For the center, bottom connected antenna, it was found that there are two RF voltage nodes spaced along the slot at opposite sides of the window. By connecting the heater power conductors at the location of these RF voltage nodes, these conductors do not disturb the RF currents flowing in the metal layers around the slot and thus do not significantly disturb the pattern or the gain of the antenna.
As an example of an embodiment showing a heated windshield FIGS. 11 and 12 show a transparency 120 which includes an outboard glass ply 122, a plastic interlayer 124 (shown only in FIG. 12) and an inboard glass ply 126 (shown only in FIG. 12). The transparency 120 is positioned on frame 100 of a vehicle. An electroconductive coating 128 is placed preferably on the inboard surface 130 of the outboard glass ply 122. Although not limited in the present invention, in the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, power is provided to the coating 128 via a bus bar and lead arrangement similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,902. A bottom bus bar 134 and top bus bar 136 are positioned along opposing edge of the glass ply 122 with the coating 128 making electrical contact with the bus bars as shown in FIG. 12. The bus bar material is preferably a silver-containing ceramic material.
Electrical connection from a power source 146 to the top bus bar 136 includes leads 148 and 150 which extend from a terminal area 158 (shown only in FIG. 11) in opposite directions along the bottom edge of the transparency 120 from a terminal area 158 (shown only in FIG. 11) and along opposite side portions of the transparency 120 to opposite ends of bus bar 136. Electrical connection to the bottom bus bar 134 may be made via lead 168. The leads 148 and 150 are electrically insulated from the coating 128 and bottom bus bar 134 in any convenient manner, such as, for example, by limiting the coating 128 on surface 130 to that area of the glass ply 122 within a boundary area 152. Electrical lead 170 connects the bottom bus bar lead 168 to one pole of the electrical power source 146 and leads 148 and 150 leading to the bus bar 136 may be wired in common to the opposite pole, for example, by means of a jumper wire 172 and lead 174.
If desired, an opaque border 132, such as but not limited to a ceramic enamel, may extend about the marginal edge of the transparency 120 to conceal the bus bars 134 and 136 and leads 148, 150 and 168 of the heating circuit when the transparency 120 is viewed from outside the vehicle in which it is installed, through glass ply 122.
Although not limiting in the present invention, in the particular embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the central conductor 102 of coaxial cable 104, i.e. the ungrounded conductor, is electrically connected to the film 128 via lead 168. However, it should be appreciated that rather than having a direct electrical connection to the film 128, a capacitive connection similar to that discussed earlier may be used. The outer shield portion 106 of the coaxial cable 104, i.e. the grounded conductor, is connected to the frame 100 in close proximity to the ungrounded connection. The cable is electrically connected to the radio 108.
In order to prevent the power source 146 from grounding the radio signal received via bus bar 138, the power source 46 preferably has a high impedance to RF signals. Although not limiting in the present invention, in one particular embodiment, this is accomplished by providing an induction coil in series with the power source 146.
FIG. 10 illustrates that a slot antenna may be formed in a vehicle window using a metal film layer by forming the entirety of the slot in the metal film rather than between the outer peripheral border of the metal film and the inner edge of the window frame. FIG. 10 illustrates a transparent window 100 closing a metal body panel 102 and having a circular gap 104 in the metal film layer. The gap 104 forms a slot which is essentially a continuous, polygonal, nonconducting slot within the area of the film 105 to define an interior conductive polygonal panel 106 spaced from a surrounding exterior conductive sheet 108. Although not limiting in the present invention, FIG. 10 is a circle but it should be appreciated that other shapes are contemplated. The circle, as shown in FIG. 10, is a special polygon, which consists of an infinite number of sides, arranged symmetrically about a central axis. It may, for example, have a diameter on the order of 4 inches which would be appropriate for cellular telephones.
Antennas embodying the present invention may be used on all varieties of vehicles and other structures having windows, such as buildings. They can also be used on the side and rear windows of vehicles.
FIG. 9 is a Smith chart having two curves C and D indicating the impedance characteristic of the antenna over the FM band for the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 and normalized to 50 Ohms. Points 1 and 2 represent frequencies of 88 MHz and 107.9 MHz respectively. Curve D illustrates the antenna itself with direct electrical connection to the film. Curve C illustrates the antenna combined with capacitive coupling for impedance matching purposes, as described above. In the case of the direct connection to the antenna in curve D, the Smith chart illustrates the inductive nature of the reactive component of the antenna impedance and shows a voltage standing wave ratio near 2:1. In the case of the antenna with capacitive coupling to the film and impedance matching in curve C, it shows a more nearly resistive impedance and a voltage standing wave ratio less than 1.5:1.
While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail, it is to be understood that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.
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|By Tad Anderson
Article Rating:
|January 2, 2013 07:00 AM EST
|I did not look closely at the description of this book before acquiring it. I mistakenly thought it was going to be about the Core Frameworks iOS has to offer. I thought that because I own the previous version of the author's book The iOS 5 Developer's Cookbook: Core Concepts and Essential Recipes for iOS Programmers.
It turns out the lineup is just being restructured and the iOS 5 Developer's Cookbook: Core Concepts and Essential Recipes for iOS Programmers is being broken into two volumes and a tutorial book. This is the first of a 2 volume cookbook set. I think the more appropriate and less confusing title should have been used like The iOS 6 Essentials Developer's Cookbook, or The iOS 6 Fundamentals Developer's Cookbook.
Although it was not what I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found the all the content valuable.
Like her previous edition, this book is much more than just a cookbook with a bunch of recipes in it. I have used plenty of cookbooks and they are never readable from cover to cover. I usually just familiarize myself with the recipes that are available, read the ones interesting to me at the time, and throw them on the shelf until I need them.
This one is both a great cover to cover read as well as a great reference. The author does a great job of mixing a traditional book with a recipe book. Each chapters contain both background information and recipes. I have listed the chapters below.
1. Gestures and Touches
2. Building and Using Controls
3. Alerting the User
4. Assembling Views and Animations
5. View Constraints
6. Text Entry
7. Working with View Controllers
8. Common Controllers
9. Accessibility
10. Creating and Managing Table Views
11. Collection Views
12. A Taste of Core Data
13. Networking Basics
Appendix. Objective-C Literals
This book definitely lives up to the cookbook title. There is tons of code that comes with it and it is all very well organized and usable. The only thing I didn't like was that the author used HelloWorld.xcodeproj for the project name every time. After you open a few projects you have to go to Finder and the actual folder to reopen a specific one because all your shortcuts are HelloWorld.xcodeproj. Although some of them run slightly different, I do like that the samples are built to run on both the iPad and iPhone, and that they run without the need to tweak them.
This book covers a ton of material, but of course I always would like to see more. The thing I would like to see most in The Advanced iOS 6 Developer's Cookbook is much more coverage of dealing with security on web services and JSON over REST. I am using the NSJSONSerialization class, which the author only lightly touches on in the book and provides a small sample application.
I am not going to ding the book for not providing detailed coverage of dealing with security on web services and JSON over REST because it covers so much already in such great detail. No one is covering web services in enough detail for me, and although several authors have said there are plenty of resources on the web, there aren't. Especially when it comes to samples that also include security. Apple's developer documentation is greatly lacking in this area also. They provide plenty of theory, but no good clean concrete samples. I have finally figured out what I needed to implement by piecing together several examples across several books, web sites, and Apple documentation, but it would be nice to see it covered in one place in depth.
I think this book is great for both the iOS beginner and the experienced developer, but you should know Objective-C first. The author does a great job of explaining complex topics that make it easy to understand while going in-depth enough to completely explain the topic at hand.
This book is an invaluable asset for any iOS developer and I highly recommend it. This book will continue to be within arm's reach every time I open Xcode.
For more book recommendations check out my .NET, iOS, and Java Architecture and Development Book Recommendations for 2013
The Core iOS 6 Developer's Cookbook (4th Edition) (Developer's Library)
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Council and Democracy
Within this section you will find information about Councillors, committee meetings and elections.
Please use the 'In this Section' links for the complete list and to find out more.
You may also like to refer to the A-Z of services at the bottom of the page if you cannot find the information you are looking for.


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Forthright with Sue Lani Madsen
Sue Lani Madsen comments on current events, context, community, country living and conservative values, and tries not to get carried away by alliteration. She is an architect, rancher, writer and volunteer firefighter/EMT from eastern Washington.
Monthly Archive for September, 2011
Thomas Friedman Gets It Wrong
Mr. Friedman's goal of aiming to "corner" rather than respect Republicans is a bad strategy. Nobody likes to be cornered. Not even my young goat. [Read More]
Jim Crow Politics
My one and only encounter with Jim Crow came in 1962 in Yorktown, Virginia. "The Help" has revived old memories for many, and it inspired Rev. Wayne Perryman to sue the Democratic Party for an apology over the party's suppressed history of racism and support for Jim Crow laws. Rev. Perryman values truth over political correctness. [Read More]