Method for locating a GPS receiver in a wireless handset to minimize interference

• US 20020103002A1
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Published: 08/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tendler Cellular Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tendler Cellular Incorporated
• Inventors: Tendler, Robert K.
• Application Number:
  US09/774,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103002A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/005 adapting radio receivers, transmitters andtransceivers for operation on two or more bands, i.e. frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3805 with built-in auxiliary receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/04 the interference being caused by substantially sinusoidal oscillations, e.g. in a receiver or in a tape-recorder
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0022 of components mounted on printed circuit boards [PCB] shields integrated within component packages H01L23/552; shields integrated within PCB H05K1/0218

Abstract

A GPS receiver is mounted within a wireless handset in which the GPS receiver is spaced from a phone motherboard carrying a transmit section, with shielding interposed between the GPS receiver and the phone motherboard for suppressing radiation which interferes with the proper operation of the GPS receiver. The result is that the GPS receiver is not mounted to the phone motherboard but rather is spaced from one side thereof, with the receiver, in one embodiment, being placed in a shielded housing so as to form a Faraday cage around the GPS receiver. In order to further minimize interference between the radiation from the transmit section of the phone motherboard and the GPS receiver, a GPS antenna is utilized which has a two or three pole filter and a low noise amplifier tuned to reject the interfering radiation from the phone motherboard and in one embodiment is provided with a semi-rigid coaxial cable to prevent interfering radiation from entering the GPS receiver through the coaxial cable.

Claims

1. A method of minimizing interference from wireless handset components which interferes with the receipt of GPS signals by a GPS receiver located at the handset in which the wireless phone has a motherboard, comprising the steps of:

spacing the GPS receiver from the phone motherboard; and

,

providing shielding between the GPS receiver and the motherboard.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the motherboard has ground plane and further including the step of electrically connecting the shielding to the ground plane of the motherboard.

3. The method of claim 2, and further including the step of mechanically connecting the shielding to the ground plane of the motherboard.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shielding includes zinc.

5. The method of claim 1, and further including the step of providing a physical barrier between the GPS receiver and the motherboard, the barrier having an electrically conductive coating thereon.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the coating includes zinc.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the GPS receiver has a system ground and further including the step of electrically connecting the shielding to the system ground of the GPS receiver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the handset has a housing and wherein the housing includes a pod for carrying the GPS receiver and further including the steps of providing the walls of the pod with shielding.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the pod-carried shielding forms a Faraday cage about the GPS receiver.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless handset carries a patch type GPS antenna with a ground plane and a GPS output connector and further including the step of providing shielding around the output connector.

11. The method of claim 10, and further including providing heavily shielded coaxial cable between the output connector and the GPS receiver.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the heavy shielding is provided by semi-rigid coaxial cable.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the GPS antenna includes a filter coupled to the output connection to filter out components to either side of the GPS antenna frequency.

14. The method of claim 15, wherein the GPS antenna includes a low noise amplifier for amplifying the signal from the GPS antenna to compensate for losses due to the insertion of the filter.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said housing includes a bulkhead between said phone motherboard and said GPS receiver and wherein said bulkhead has said shielding affixed thereto.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said shielding is in the form of a conductive layer on said bulkhead.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein said shielding includes zinc.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said phone motherboard has a ground layer and wherein said shielding is electrically connected to said ground layer.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein said GPS receiver has a system ground and wherein said shielding is electrically connected to said system ground.

15. A system for providing a GPS receiver in a wireless handset such that interference between the components of the handset and the GPS receiver is minimized to a sufficient extent to permit robust receipt of signals by the GPS receiver from GPS satellites, comprising:

a wireless handset housing;

a phone motherboard located within said housing;

a GPS receiver spaced from one side of said phone motherboard; and

,

shielding interposed between said GPS receiver and said motherboard.