Antenna device

• US 20020093457A1
• Filed: 01/09/2002
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Hamada, Hiroki, Ishiwa, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,642,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/40 Radiating elements coated with or embedded in protective material
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0421 with a shorting wall or a shorting pin at one end of the element H01Q9/0414 takes precedence

Abstract

An antenna device includes a dielectric chip fitted to an aperture formed in an exterior casing of a terminal unit and having an outer surface thereof cooperating with an outer surface to form part of an outer surface of the terminal unit, and an antenna conductor embedded into the dielectric chip and disposed at a vertical position sufficiently far from a grounding conductor of a printed circuit board in the exterior casing.

Claims

1. An antenna device comprising:

a dielectric chip adapted to be fitted in an aperture formed in an exterior casing of a terminal unit, said dielectric chip having an outer surface thereof cooperating with an outer surface of the exterior casing to form part of an outer surface of the terminal unit; and

an antenna conductor embedded into said dielectric chip and extending along the outer surface of said dielectric chip.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein said antenna device is accommodated in the terminal unit having a printed circuit board that is disposed inside the exterior casing away from the aperture in a height direction of the exterior casing.

3. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein said antenna conductor embedded into said dielectric chip extends substantially in parallel to the outer surface of said dielectric chip.

4. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein said dielectric chip is provided with a fixture for fixing said dielectric chip to the printed circuit board.

5. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric chip is provided with a fixture for fixing said dielectric chip to the exterior casing.

6. The antenna device according to claim 4, wherein said fixture consists of a leg extending from a surface of said dielectric chip on a side facing the printed circuit board, and the leg is formed with a hook adapted to be inserted into a hole formed in the printed circuit board.

7. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member interposed between said dielectric chip and the exterior casing to seal a gap therebetween.

8. The antenna device according to claim 4, wherein said dielectric chip has a peripheral face thereof formed with a groove, and the exterior casing has a wall extending along the peripheral face of said dielectric chip, the wall having a hook inserted into the groove of said dielectric chip.

9. The antenna device according to claim 8, further comprising a terminal conductor extending from said antenna conductor to outside of said dielectric chip, said terminal conductor has a contact face adapted to be in spring contact with a pad formed on the printed circuit board.

10. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric chip is so disposed that the outer surface thereof is in flush with the outer surface of the exterior casing.

11. A terminal unit to which the antenna device as set forth in any one of claims 1-10 is mounted.