Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-10
2001-08-07
Trost, William (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S090300, C455S575100, C343S702000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272356
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to radiotelephones and, more particularly, to radiotelephone antennas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Radiotelephones generally refer to communications terminals which provide a wireless communications link to one or more other communications terminals. Radiotelephones may be used in a variety of different applications, including cellular telephone, land-mobile (e.g., police and fire departments), and satellite communications systems.
Handheld radiotelephones (e.g., cellular telephones), may have an appendage, such as a flip cover, pivotally mounted to the housing thereof that is movable between closed and open positions. A flip cover for a radiotelephone may contain a microphone, speaker, antenna or other electronic components. To facilitate one-handed operation, some radiotelephones utilize a spring-activated flip cover that is held in a closed position by a mechanical latching mechanism.
FIG. 1
illustrates a radiotelephone
10
with a “top-hinged” flip cover
12
. The illustrated radiotelephone
10
includes a top handset housing
14
and a bottom handset housing
16
connected thereto to form a cavity therein. Top and bottom handset housings
14
and
16
house a keypad
18
including a plurality of keys
20
, a display
22
, and electronic components (not shown) that enable the radiotelephone
10
to transmit and receive telecommunications signals. A flip cover
12
is hinged to the top end
14
a of the top housing
14
, and is configured to house a speaker
26
. An antenna
28
extends from the radiotelephone
10
as illustrated.
In operation, the flip cover
12
may be pivoted by a user about an axis A between an open position and a closed position. When in a closed position, the flip cover
12
may provide protection to the keypad
18
from unintentional activation or exposure to the elements. When in an open position, the speaker
26
within the flip cover
12
may be favorably positioned to provide audio output to a user.
Conventionally, a radiotelephone antenna is electrically connected to radio frequency circuitry (i.e., a transceiver) located within the radiotelephone housing. The antenna and the radio frequency circuitry are typically interconnected such that the impedance of the antenna and the impedance of the radio frequency circuitry are substantially matched.
Radiotelephones and other electronic devices are undergoing miniaturization. Indeed, many of the contemporary radiotelephone models are less than 11-12 centimeters in length. For aesthetic reasons, it may be desirable to eliminate antennas that extend outwardly from radiotelephones. Unfortunately, antennas incorporated entirely within a radiotelephone may not be able to achieve adequate radiation performance.
A radiotelephone antenna may be incorporated within a flip cover. Unfortunately, matching the impedance of an antenna housed within a flip cover of a radiotelephone may be difficult because the antenna impedance may be dependent on the position of the flip cover with respect to both the housing of the radiotelephone and the printed circuit board which contains the radio frequency circuitry. As these respective positions change as a flip cover is moved between stored and operating positions, an antenna conventionally exhibits at least two different impedance states, both of which should be matched to the impedance of the feed from the printed circuit board.
Accordingly, with a radiotelephone flip cover incorporating an antenna, it is generally desirable to provide an impedance matching system that can provide an acceptable impedance match between the antenna and the radio frequency circuitry, both when the flip cover is in a stored position, and when the flip cover is in an operating position. Unfortunately, incorporating impedance matching components and/or circuitry within a radiotelephone may be somewhat expensive. Furthermore, available space within radiotelephones may be somewhat limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide radiotelephone antennas that can achieve adequate radiation performance when incorporated within a radiotelephone housing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide radiotelephone antennas that can be incorporated within a radiotelephone housing without requiring impedance matching components and/or circuitry.
It is another object of the present invention to facilitate reducing the costs associated with radiotelephone manufacturing.
It is yet another object of the present invention to facilitate efforts to miniaturize radiotelephones and other electronic devices.
These and other objects of the present invention are provided by a spring member internally mounted within an electronic device, such as a radiotelephone, that serves both as a mechanical device and as an antenna for receiving and/or transmitting wireless communications signals. For example, a radiotelephone may include a housing and a flip cover rotatably secured to the housing via a hinge. A spring member disposed within the hinge may serve to urge the flip cover along a predetermined path of rotation from a closed position adjacent the housing to an open position extending away from the housing. The spring member is electrically conductive and is also in electrical communication with a transceiver enclosed within the radiotelephone housing. The spring member is configured to receive and transmit radiotelephone communication signals.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a spring member may have a helical configuration that can torsionally deflect as the flip cover is moved from a closed position to an open position. The torsional deflection of the spring member is such that an impedance of the spring member can match an impedance of a transceiver when the flip cover is in both the closed and operating positions. As a result, impedance matching components and/or circuitry may not be required.
Various alternative embodiments of the present invention are provided for obtaining multiple frequency band operation of an internal mechanical spring member. For example, the pitch between adjacent coils of a helical spring member can be varied to induce multiple frequency band operation. In addition, multiple helical spring members may be utilized to induce multiple frequency band operation, wherein each spring member is configured to operate within a respective frequency band.
Furthermore, parasitic radiating elements may be used in conjunction with an internal spring member according to the present invention. For example, a conductive element may be disposed within a flip cover hinge and maintained in adjacent, spaced-apart relationship with an electrically conductive spring member according to the present invention. Accordingly, the conductive element can parasitically couple with the electrically conductive spring member such that the spring member and conductive element can operate within respective frequency bands.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an internal spring member utilized to urge an antenna pivotally mounted to an electronic device to an operating position may also serve as an antenna for receiving and/or transmitting wireless communication signals. An electrically conductive internal spring member, according to the present invention, is in electrical communication with an antenna pivotally mounted to an electronic device, such as a radiotelephone. The electrically conductive internal spring member is also in electrical communication with a receiver/transceiver within the electronic device. An internal spring member according to the present invention may be directly connected with an antenna, or capacitively coupled with the antenna.
According to the present invention, a pivotally mounted antenna is preferably electrically disconnected from a receiver/transceiver when the antenna is in a stored position. Accordingly, the spring member may operate as a quarter-wave (or multiples thereof) antenna when the pivotally mounted antenna is in a stor
Dolman Rodney A.
Hayes Gerard J.
Winstead Russell Evans
Ericsson Inc.
Myers Bigel & Sibley & Sajovec
Perez-Gutierrez Rafael
Trost William
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