Antenna Apparatus

• US 20080303735A1
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishimura, Kouji, Yano, Hatsuhiro, Fujimoto, Hidetsugu, Mizoguchi, Yoshitaka, Shiiba, Kongo, Sakita, Hiromi, Watanabe, Kouichi, Takayama, Yoshiniko
• Granted Patent: US 7,924,235 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/787
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/22 by structural association with other equipment or articles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24355 Continuous and nonuniform or irregular surface on layer or component [e.g., roofing, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249921 Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31612 As silicone, silane or siloxane

Abstract

An antenna apparatus used in a wireless communication medium or a wireless communication medium processing apparatus constructed by a constitution of including a magnetic member in which a magnetic ceramic powder is used as a major component thereof and which is provided with flexibility, an antenna formed at a surface or inside of the magnetic member, and a matching circuit of the antenna formed at the surface or the inside of the magnetic member.

Claims

1. An antenna apparatus comprising:

a sheet having a flexibility;

a ceramic member mounted on the sheet and having a plurality of blocks baked by constituting a major component thereof by the ceramic powder; and

an antenna provided at the ceramic member.

2. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the blocks comprising:

a contact face brought into contact with the sheet;

an opposed face opposed to other of the blocks contiguous thereto; and

a noncontact face which is provided between the contact face and the opposed face and is not brought into contact with the other block.

3. The antenna apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the noncontact face is constituted by a taper shape.

4. The antenna apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the noncontact face is a curved face continuous from the opposed face.

5. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising other sheet mounted on the plurality of blocks,

wherein the ceramic member is held between the sheet and the other sheet.

6. The antenna apparatus according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the blocks further comprising:

other contact face brought into contact with the other sheet; and

other noncontact face which is provided between the other contact face and the opposed face and is not brought into contact with the other block.

7. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic powder is a magnetic ceramic powder, and the ceramic member is a magnetic member constituting a major component thereof by the magnetic ceramic powder.

8. The antenna apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic ceramic powder is a ferrite ceramic powder of an Ni—

Zn species or an Mn—

Zn species.

9. The antenna apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a range of a mean particle size of the magnetic ceramic powder is equal to or larger than 0.1 μ

m and equal to or smaller than 8.0 μ

m.

10. The antenna apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic member includes the magnetic ceramic powder, butyral resin and a phthalic species acid plasticizer.

11. The antenna apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic member includes the magnetic ceramic powder, a water soluble bonding agent and an oily plasticizer.

12. The antenna apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the water soluble bonding agent includes at least one of hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and hydroxylethylmethyl cellulose species resin.

13. The antenna apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the oily plasticizer includes at least one of sorbitan monocaprylate and a glycerin species plasticizer.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic member is a dielectric body.

15. The antenna apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the ceramic member includes a Ti oxide.

16. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic member is formed in a multilayer structure.

17. The antenna apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the antenna and the matching circuit are formed at layers of the ceramic member different from each other and an interval between the layers are connected by a via hole provided at the ceramic member.

18. The antenna apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the antenna includes two conductive members opposed to each other, and the matching circuit includes a capacitance component generated by the two conductive portions.

19. The antenna apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the antenna is constituted by a loop-like shape.

20. A wireless communication medium in which the antenna apparatus according to claim 1 functions as any of an IC card, or an IC tag, or an ID card, or an ID tag.

21. A wireless communication medium processing apparatus comprising:

the antenna apparatus according to claim 1; and

a reading/writing portion connected to the antenna apparatus for executing at least one processing of reading and writing data between the wireless communication medium processing apparatus and a wireless communication medium via the antenna apparatus;

wherein said wireless communication medium processing apparatus functions as a reader/writer.

22. An antenna apparatus comprising a green sheet which is formed by constituting a major component thereof by the ceramic powder and is not baked;

and

an antenna provided to the green sheet.

23. The antenna apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the green sheet is formed by extrusion.

24. A method of fabricating a ceramic sheet comprising the steps of:

providing a slit at a green sheet which is formed by constituting a major component thereof by the ceramic powder and is not baked;

forming a baked body by baking the green sheet provided with the slit;

mounting the baked body on a sheet;

and diving the baked body into a plurality of blocks via the slit.

25. The method of fabricating the ceramic sheet according to claim 24, wherein the baked body mounted on the sheet is divided into the plurality of blocks.