Mobile wireless communications device with an integrated battery/antenna and related methods

• US 9,413,057 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2010
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Wong, Joshua Kwan Ho, Whitmore, John Alfred, Man, Ying Tong
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US12/904,385
• Publication Number:
  US 20110275421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,126 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/572
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• 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
• 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

Abstract

A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable housing, a cellular transceiver carried by the portable housing, and a battery carried by the portable housing and comprising a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte therebetween. The mobile wireless communications device may further include a wireless communications circuit carried by the portable housing and configured to wirelessly communicate via at least one of the electrodes.

Claims

1. A mobile wireless communications device comprising:

a portable housing;

a cellular transceiver carried by the portable housing;

a cellular antenna carried by the portable housing and coupled to the cellular transceiver;

a coiled battery stack carried by the portable housing and comprising a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte therebetween being arranged in a layered stack having at least one fold therein, wherein the pair of electrodes are intertwined with each other, wherein the layered stack comprises a Frlan structure; and

a wireless communications circuit comprising a Near Field Communication (NFC) circuit and carried by the portable housing and configured to generate a magnetic field to send and receive NFC signals using at least one of the pair of electrodes of the coiled battery stack as an antenna.

2. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the wireless communications circuit further comprises a frequency modulation (FM) circuit configured to receive FM signals using at least one of the electrodes as an antenna.

3. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein each of the pair of electrodes is a single contiguous electrode having multiple folds therein to provide the layered stack.

4. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further comprising at least one tertiary coil adjacent the coiled battery stack.

5. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 4 wherein the coiled battery stack is positioned within the at least one tertiary coil.

13. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the layered stack comprises a plurality of folds.

14. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1, wherein the layered stack has a plurality of folds therein, wherein a first terminal is coupled to an electrode of the pair of electrodes along an outer portion of the plurality of folds and a second terminal is coupled to the electrode along an inner portion of the plurality of folds.

15. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 5 wherein the coiled battery stack is DC decoupled from the at least one tertiary coil.

6. A mobile wireless communications device comprising:

a portable housing;

a cellular transceiver carried by the portable housing;

a cellular antenna carried by the portable housing and coupled to the cellular transceiver;

a coiled battery stack carried by the portable housing and comprising a pair of electrodes, including a cathode and an anode, and an electrolyte therebetween, the cathode, anode, and electrolyte being arranged in a layered stack having at least one fold therein, wherein the pair of electrodes are intertwined with each other;

a Near Field Communication (NFC) circuit carried by the portable housing and configured to generate a magnetic field to send and receive NFC signals using at least one of the pair of electrodes of the coiled battery stack as an antenna; and

at least one tertiary coil adjacent the coiled battery stack,

wherein the coiled battery stack is positioned within the at least one tertiary coil, and

wherein the coiled battery stack is DC decoupled from the at least one tertiary coil.

7. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 6 wherein the layered stack has a plurality of folds therein.

16. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 6, wherein the layered stack comprises a Frlan transformer.

8. A method of operating a mobile wireless communications device comprising a cellular transceiver, a cellular antenna coupled to the cellular transceiver, a coiled battery stack, and a wireless communications circuit within a portable housing, the coiled battery stack comprising a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte therebetween being arranged in a layered stack having at least one fold therein, wherein the pair of electrodes are intertwined with each other, wherein the layered stack comprises a Frlan structure, the method comprising:

using the wireless communications circuit to generate a magnetic field to send and receive Near Field Communication (NFC) signals using at least one of the electrodes of the coiled battery stack as an antenna.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the wireless communications circuit further comprises a frequency modulation (FM) circuit configured to receive FM signals using at least one of the electrodes as an antenna.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the layered stack has a plurality of folds therein.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising using at least one tertiary coil adjacent to the coiled battery stack.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the coiled battery stack is within the at least one tertiary coil.

17. The method of claim 8 further comprising at least one tertiary coil adjacent the coiled battery stack.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the coiled battery stack is positioned within the at least one tertiary coil.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the coiled battery stack is DC decoupled from the at least one tertiary coil.