ELECTRONIC TIMEPIECE WITH INTERNAL ANTENNA

• US 20140085153A1
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Nagahama, Toshitaka
• Granted Patent: US 9,219,304 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/720
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/04 Tuning or receiving; Circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 60/10 inside cases
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence

Abstract

An electronic timepiece has a case; a time display unit housed in the case; an annular dielectric that is housed in the case and has a conductive driven element to which a specific potential is supplied; and a conductive ground plane with an annular shape that is housed in the case and supplied with ground potential. The dielectric body and the ground plane are disposed coaxially to the same center axis with the gap therebetween in the axial (z-axis) direction less than or equal to the thickness of the dielectric in the axial direction.

Claims

1. An electronic timepiece with internal antenna, comprising:

a time display unit that displays time;

an annular dielectric body that is housed in the case and has disposed thereto a conductive driven element to which a specific potential is supplied; and

a conductive ground plane with an annular shape that is supplied with ground potential;

wherein the dielectric body and the ground plane are disposed coaxially to the same center axis with the gap therebetween in the axial direction less than or equal to the thickness of the dielectric in the axial direction.

2. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 1, wherein:

the ground plane has a plurality of supply parts to which the ground potential is supplied.

3. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 2, wherein:

the plural supply parts are disposed at equal angles from the center of the ground plane ring.

4. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 2, wherein:

the driven element is an endless ring or a ring with a notch therein, and when the dielectric and ground plane are seen in plan view from the axial direction of the ring, the plural supply parts are disposed symmetrically to a line joining the center of the ground plane ring and the driven part.

5. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 1, wherein:

the driven element is a ring with a notch therein, and has one driven part to which the specific potential is fed;

a supply part to which the ground potential is supplied is disposed to one place on the ground plane; and

when the dielectric and ground plane are seen in plan view from the axial direction of the ring, the supply part is disposed to apart in a range from the midpoint between the ends of the driven element and the driven part.

6. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 1, further comprising:

a case that has a conductive case body that has a cylindrical shape and is supplied with the ground potential, wherein

an annular dielectric body is housed in the case;

the gap between the inside surface of the case body and the outside surface of the dielectric is less than or equal to the thickness of the dielectric; and

the overlap of the case body and the dielectric in the axial direction is greater than or equal to ⅕

the thickness of the dielectric.

7. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 1, further comprising:

a case that has a conductive case body with a cylindrical shape, and a conductive back cover connected to the case body;

wherein

the ground potential is supplied to the case body and the back cover.

8. The electronic timepiece with internal antenna described in claim 1, wherein:

a conductive parasitic element that is an endless ring or a ring with a notch therein is disposed to the dielectric with a gap to the driven element.