Portable telephone apparatus and control method thereof

• US 6,731,920 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2002
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Koyanagi, Yoshio, Iwai, Hiroshi, Yamada, Kenichi, Ogawa, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vuong, Quochien B.
• Application Number:
  US09/980,000
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90.3, 455/269, 455/272, 455/273, 455/274, 455/575.1, 455/575.7, 455/347, 343/702, 343/725, 343/726, 343/832, 343/833, 343/700.MS, 343/741
• US Class Current: 455/272
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/244 extendable from a housing along a given path
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/29 Combinations of different interacting antenna units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q25/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/28 varying the amplitude
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/40 with phasing matrix
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3838 Arrangements for reducing RF exposure to the user, e.g. by changing the shape of the transceiver while in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0615 of weighted versions of same signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/082 selecting best antenna path

Abstract

A transmitting unit of a portable telephone apparatus transmits radio signals by using at least two antennas and simultaneously energizing those antennas with a predetermined amplitude ratio and a predetermined phase difference so that the direction of the main beam of a radiation pattern has a direction substantially opposite to that of the audio radiating direction from a speaker, and so that the mean effective gain is larger than that of when a single antenna is energized. The above energization of at least two antennas is formed only for transmission of telephone speech. A receiving unit of the portable telephone apparatus receives radio signals by using at least two antennas, and selectively receives, by the diversity receiving system, the radio signal having the highest level of those radio signals received by those antennas.

Claims

1. A portable telephone apparatus comprising:

at least two antennas; and

transmitting means for transmitting radio signals by simultaneously exciting said at least two antennas with a predetermined amplitude ratio and a predetermined phase difference so that a main beam of a radiation pattern has a direction substantially opposite to an audio radiating direction from a speaker.

2. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said transmitting means transmits the radio signals by simultaneously exciting said at least two antennas with a predetermined amplitude ratio and a predetermined phase difference so that a mean effective gain becomes larger than that when exciting one of said at least two antennas.

3. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said transmitting means excites said at least two antennas only for transmission of telephone speech.

4. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving means for receiving radio signals by using said at least two antennas, and selectively receiving a radio signal having a highest level among the radio signals received by said at least two antennas, using a diversity receiving system.

5. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said at least two antennas include an external antenna provided outside of a housing of said portable telephone apparatus, and an internal antenna built in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus.

6. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 5,

wherein said external antenna is a whip antenna and said internal antenna is a planar inverted-F antenna.

7. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 5,

wherein said external antenna comprises a whip antenna and a helical antenna which are mechanically joined with each other so as to be electrically insulated from each other,

wherein said helical antenna is connected with a radio circuit of said portable telephone apparatus when said external antenna is housed in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus, and said whip antenna is connected with the radio circuit of said portable telephone apparatus when said external antenna is extended,

wherein said portable telephone apparatus further comprises detecting means for detecting whether or not said external antenna is housed in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus, and

wherein said transmitting means simultaneously excites said external antenna and said internal antenna with the predetermined amplitude ratio and the predetermined phase difference so that the main beam of the radiation pattern has the direction substantially opposite to the audio radiating direction from the speaker when said detecting means detects that said external antenna is housed in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus, and said transmitting means excites only said external antenna when said detecting means detects that said external antenna is not housed in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus.

8. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said transmitting means excites said at least two antennas with phases opposite to each other.

9. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said at least two antennas include two quarter-wave antennas.

10. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said at least two antennas include two half-wave antennas.

11. The portable telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said at least two antennas are internal antennas built in the housing of said portable telephone apparatus.

12. A control method of a telephone apparatus, said control method comprising:

controlling transmitting of the telephone apparatus so as to transmit radio signals by simultaneously exciting at least two antennas with a predetermined amplitude ratio and a predetermined phase difference so that a main beam of a radiation pattern has a direction substantially opposite to an audio radiating direction from a speaker.

13. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 12,

wherein said controlling of the transmitting of the telephone apparatus comprises transmitting the radio signals by simultaneously exciting the at least two antennas with the predetermined amplitude ratio and the predetermined phase difference so that a mean effective gain becomes larger than that when exciting one of the at least two antennas.

14. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 12,

wherein said controlling of the transmitting excites the at least two antennas only for transmission of telephone speech.

15. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

controlling receiving of the telephone apparatus so as to receive radio signals by using the at least two antennas, and selectively receive a radio signal having a highest level among the radio signals received by the at least two antennas, using a diversity receiving system.

16. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 12,

wherein the at least two antennas include an external antenna provided outside of a housing of the telephone apparatus, and an internal antenna built in the housing of the telephone apparatus.

17. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 16,

wherein the external antenna is a whip antenna, and the internal antenna is a planar inverted-F antenna.

18. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 17,

further comprising detecting whether or not the external antenna is housed in the housing of the telephone apparatus,

wherein the external antenna comprises a whip antenna and a helical antenna which are mechanically joined to each other so as to be electrically insulated from each other,

wherein the helical antenna is connected with a radio circuit of the telephone apparatus when the external antenna is housed in the housing of the telephone apparatus, and the whip antenna is connected with the radio circuit of the telephone apparatus when the external antenna is extended, and

wherein said controlling of the transmitting simultaneously excites the external antenna and the internal antenna with the predetermined amplitude ratio and the predetermined phase difference so that the main beam of the radiation pattern has the direction substantially opposite to the audio radiating direction from the speaker when said detecting detects that the external antenna is housed in the housing of the telephone apparatus, while said controlling of the transmitting excites only the external antenna when said detecting detects that the external antenna is not housed in the housing of the telephone apparatus.

19. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 12,

wherein said controlling of the transmitting excites the at least two antennas with phases opposite to each other.

20. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 19,

wherein the at least two antennas include two quarter-wave antennas.

21. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 19,

wherein the at least two antennas include two half-wave antennas.

22. The control method of the telephone apparatus as claimed in claim 19,

wherein the at least two antennas are internal antennas built in the housing of the telephone apparatus.