Internal antenna and flat panel speaker assemblies and mobile terminals including the same

• US 7,167,130 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2003
• Issued: 01/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayes, Gerard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan; Tho
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Chuc
• Application Number:
  US10/632,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20050024273A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/700.MS, 343/846, 343/100.MS, 343/841, 343/848, 343/767, 343/770, 343/701, 455/550, 455/89, 455/575, 455/90, 455/553, 455/563, 455/129, 455/556, 455/566
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/03 Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets

Abstract

Antenna subassemblies and wireless terminals are provided. The antenna subassembly includes a planar antenna and a flat-panel speaker that can be integrated with the planar antenna. The wireless terminal includes a flat-panel speaker and a planar antenna, integrated or not, positioned adjacent one another on the same side of an electronic circuit in a housing.

Claims

1. A wireless terminal comprising:

a housing including an earpiece on a front face of the housing;

an electronic circuit disposed within the housing;

a flat-panel speaker positioned proximate a back side of the electronic circuit within the housing wherein the flat-panel speaker is formed of a piezo electric material; and

an internal antenna positioned proximate the flat-panel speaker on the back side of the electronic circuit within the housing, wherein the electronic circuit is positioned between the front face of the housing and the flat panel speaker and internal antenna.

2. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the flat-panel speaker is integrated with the internal antenna.

3. The wireless terminal of claim 2, wherein the flat-panel speaker and the internal antenna each comprise conductive portions that reside on a first primary surface of a common substrate.

4. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the internal antenna is a planar antenna.

5. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a keyboard on the front face of the housing.

6. The wireless terminal of claim 5, wherein the electronic circuit comprises a printed circuit board, and wherein the wireless terminal further comprises a forward acoustic passageway extending from the flat-panel speaker to the earpiece, the forward acoustic passageway comprising at least one acoustic aperture extending through the printed circuit board adjacent the flat-panel speaker.

7. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element to the internal antenna.

8. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element that provides a lower frequency range frequency response for the internal antenna.

9. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element that provides a multi-band frequency response for the internal antenna.

10. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the internal antenna comprises a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA).

11. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the internal antenna comprises a single-contact patch antenna.

12. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the internal antenna comprises a monopole antenna.

14. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit comprises a printed circuit board having a signal feed and a ground plane, and wherein the internal antenna is operatively coupled to the signal feed and the ground plane.

13. A wireless terminal comprising:

a housing including an earpiece and a keyboard on a front face of the housing;

a printed circuit board disposed within the housing;

a flat-panel speaker positioned proximate a back side of the electronic circuit within the housing;

a forward acoustic passageway extending from the flat-panel speaker to the earpiece, the forward acoustic passageway comprising at least one acoustic aperture extending through the printed circuit board adjacent the flat-panel speaker; and

an internal antenna positioned proximate the flat-panel speaker on the back side of the electronic circuit within the housing, wherein the electronic circuit is positioned between the front face of the housing and the flat panel speaker and internal antenna;

wherein the internal antenna is positioned between the printed circuit board and the flat-panel speaker and wherein the forward acoustic passageway further comprises at least one acoustic aperture extending through the internal antenna.

15. A wireless terminal comprising:

a housing;

an electronic circuit disposed within the housing;

a flat-panel speaker positioned proximate a back side of the electronic circuit within the housing;

an internal antenna positioned proximate the speaker on the back side of the electronic circuit within the housing; and

wherein the electronic circuit includes an audio driver circuit coupled through a balanced feed to the speaker.

16. The wireless terminal of claim 15, wherein the balanced feed comprises a plurality of leads, and wherein the electronic circuit further comprises an RF isolation circuit on each lead of the balanced feed.

17. The wireless terminal of claim 16, wherein the RF isolation circuit comprises a tank circuit.

18. The wireless terminal of claim 16, wherein the RF isolation circuit comprises an inductor.

19. A wireless terminal comprising:

a housing;

an electronic circuit disposed within the housing;

a flat-panel speaker positioned proximate a back side of the electronic circuit within the housing wherein the flat-panel speaker is formed of a piezo electric material;

an internal antenna positioned proximate the flat-panel speaker on the back side of the electronic circuit within the housing; and

wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element to the internal antenna that provides an increased bandwidth frequency response for the internal antenna.

20. A wireless terminal comprising:

a housing including an earpiece on a front face of the housing;

an electronic circuit disposed within the housing;

an internal antenna; and

a flat-panel speaker integrated with the internal antenna and positioned proximate a back side of the electronic circuit within the housing;

wherein the electronic circuit is positioned between the front face of the housing and the flat-panel speaker integrated with the internal antenna and wherein-the electronic circuit comprises;

an audio driver circuit coupled to the flat-panel speaker through a balanced feed comprising a plurality of leads;

an antenna driver circuit in communication with the internal antenna; and

a signal compensation circuit in communication with the audio driver circuit and the antenna driver circuit, wherein when the internal antenna is in transmit mode the signal compensation circuit compensates a signal from the audio driver circuit to the flat-panel speaker.

21. An antenna subassembly for use with a wireless terminal device, comprising:

a planar antenna;

a flat-panel speaker, wherein the speaker is integrated with the planar antenna; and

wherein the antenna subassembly further comprises an electronic circuit including an audio driver circuit coupled through a balanced feed to the speaker, wherein the balanced feed comprises a plurality of leads, and wherein the electronic circuit further comprises an RF isolation circuit on each lead of the balanced feed.

22. The antenna subassembly of claim 21, wherein the RF isolation circuit comprises a tank circuit.

23. The antenna subassembly of claim 21, wherein the RF isolation circuit comprises an inductor.

24. An antenna subassembly for use with a wireless terminal device, comprising:

a planar antenna; and

a flat-panel speaker, wherein the flat-panel speaker is integrated with the planar antenna and wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element to the planar antenna, wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element that provides a lower frequency range frequency response for the planar antenna.

25. The antenna subassembly of claim 24, wherein the flat-panel speaker is configured to act as a parasitic element that provides a multi-band frequency response for the planar antenna.

26. The antenna subassembly of claim 24, wherein the planar antenna comprises a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA).

27. The antenna subassembly of claim 24, wherein the planar antenna comprises a single-contact patch antenna.

28. The antenna subassembly of claim 24, wherein the planar antenna comprises a monopole antenna.