Antenna/push-button assembly and portable radiotelephone including the same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A portable telecommunications device comprising:
- a) a circuit board having a ground plane; and
b) a patch antenna/push-button assembly comprising;
a first contact mounted on said circuit board;
a second contact movable relative to said first contact;
a button member including an integral patch antenna, said patch antenna comprising a dielectric substrate having upper and lower opposed surfaces, an electrically conductive patch element disposed on said upper surface, and a ground plane layer disposed on said lower surface;
an antenna feed line extending through said ground plane layer and said dielectric substrate and electrically coupled to said patch element;
a flexible grounding connector having a first end connected to said ground plane layer and a second end connected to said ground plane of said circuit board;
a button cover covering at least a portion of said patch antenna; and
a spring member operative to bias said second contact away from said first contact;
wherein said button member is movable to engage said second contact with said first contact.
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Abstract
An antenna/push-button assembly includes a first contact, a second contact movable relative to said first contact, and a button member including an integral antenna. The button member is movable to engage the second contact with the first contact. The antenna may be a patch antenna. A portable telecommunications device includes an antenna/push-button assembly comprising a button member. The button member includes an integral antenna. The button member is operable to control a function of the device.
36 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A portable telecommunications device comprising:
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a) a circuit board having a ground plane; and
b) a patch antenna/push-button assembly comprising;
a first contact mounted on said circuit board;
a second contact movable relative to said first contact;
a button member including an integral patch antenna, said patch antenna comprising a dielectric substrate having upper and lower opposed surfaces, an electrically conductive patch element disposed on said upper surface, and a ground plane layer disposed on said lower surface;
an antenna feed line extending through said ground plane layer and said dielectric substrate and electrically coupled to said patch element;
a flexible grounding connector having a first end connected to said ground plane layer and a second end connected to said ground plane of said circuit board;
a button cover covering at least a portion of said patch antenna; and
a spring member operative to bias said second contact away from said first contact;
wherein said button member is movable to engage said second contact with said first contact. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
a transceiver for transmitting and receiving radiotelephone communications;
a processor coupled to said transceiver for processing the radiotelephone communications transmitted and received by said transceiver;
a speaker coupled to said processor for generating sound responsive to the received radiotelephone communications; and
a microphone coupled to said processor for generating electrical signals for the transmitted radiotelephone communications responsive to outside sound; and
wherein said antenna includes a conductive layer for receiving electromagnetic signals and said antenna is coupled to at least one of said processor and said transceiver.
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3. The device of claim 2 further comprising a keypad having a key coupled to said processor, wherein said antenna is disposed adjacent said keypad.
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4. The device of claim 2 wherein said antenna comprises a GPS patch antenna for receiving electromagnetic global position signals from a GPS satellite.
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5. The device of claim 4 wherein said processor comprises a GPS receiver for processing the received electromagnetic global position signals.
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6. The device of claim 1 wherein said second contact is mounted on said button member.
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7. The device of claim 1 wherein said spring member includes a membrane spring.
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8. The device of claim 1 wherein said grounding connector includes a resilient coil spring.
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9. The device of claim 1 including a coaxial cable and wherein said antenna feed line includes a center conductor of said coaxial cable.
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10. The device of claim 1 including a pin connector having a base and wherein said antenna feed line includes a pin of said pin connector, said pin being displaceable with respect to said base.
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11. The device of claim 1 including an electrically conductive resilient spring finger, wherein said antenna feed line is connected to said spin finger and said second contact is mounted on said spring finger.
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12. The device of claim 1 including a pivot pin connector having a base and a pin which is pivotable about said base, wherein said antenna feed line includes said pin of said pivot pin connector.
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13. The device of claim 12 including a third contact and a fourth contact, wherein said button member is pivotable about said base to selectively engage said first contact with said second contact and said third contact with said fourth contact.
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14. The device of claim 1 further comprising a housing body, wherein said circuit board is disposed in said housing body and said button member is movably received in said housing body.
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15. The device of claim 14 wherein said housing body has a front face and said electrically conductive patch element is disposed substantially parallel to said front face of said housing body.
Specification