Handheld device and method of manufacture thereof

• US 9,214,719 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2013
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Pegg, Albert Murray, Malo, Eric Gary, Reader, Darren, Behin, Rayhan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Tan
• Application Number:
  US14/089,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20150145730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/878, 343/873
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/06 with core of ferromagnetic material H01Q7/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0277 for a printed circuit board assembly

Abstract

A handheld device comprises a casing acting as a protective supporting framework of the handheld device. A circuit board mechanically supports and electrically connects with each other electronic components of the handheld device and is configured to be embedded into the casing. At least one wireless communications circuit transmits signals and data from the handheld device and is carried by the circuit board. A flex-antenna assembly is electrically coupled to the wireless communications circuit for sending and receiving the signals and data, defines flexible dielectric and conductive layers of the flex-antenna assembly disposed adjacent to each other, and is embedded into the circuit board.

Claims

1. A handheld device comprising:

a casing that acts as a protective supporting framework of the handheld device;

a circuit board that mechanically supports and electrically connects with each other electronic components of the handheld device and is configured to be embedded into the casing;

at least one wireless communications circuit that transmits signals and data from the handheld device and is carried by the circuit board; and

a flex-antenna assembly that is electrically coupled to the wireless communications circuit for sending and receiving the signals and data, defines flexible dielectric and conductive layers of the flex-antenna assembly disposed adjacent to each other, and is embedded into the circuit board.

2. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board is configured to be a rear surface of either of the casing and handheld device.

3. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board is configured to be a door of either of the casing and handheld device.

4. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board is a printed circuit board (PCB).

5. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the handheld device comprises further a display and a plurality of control keys and the circuit board is operatively coupled to the display and control keys.

6. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board is made of copper foil, woven fiberglass cloth with an epoxy resin, and solder mask that allow a suitably rigid structure.

7. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board is made of resin-coated copper (RCC) and polymide (PI).

8. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications circuit is electrically coupled to the conductive layer.

9. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications circuit is any of a satellite-positioning-system circuit, a cellular-communication circuit, a wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) circuit (WLC), a “

Bluetooth”

circuit, a code-division-multiple-access (CDMA) circuit, and an NFC circuit and wireless charging.

10. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein at least part of the flex-antenna assembly includes ferrite for providing inductive shielding to the flex-antenna assembly.

11. The handheld device of claim 10, wherein the ferrite is adhesively applied to the flex-antenna assembly.

12. The handheld device of claim 10, wherein a combination of the circuit board, flex-antenna assembly, and ferrite defines a thickness of the combination of no greater than about 0.80 mm.

13. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the flex-antenna assembly defines a top layer stacked-up on a bottom layer of the flex-antenna assembly and includes a respective pair of copper coils.

14. The handheld device of claim 13, wherein the flex-antenna assembly includes a stacking-up of NFC (near-field communication) and WLC (wireless charging) antennas with each other.

15. The handheld device of claim 14, wherein a layer of copper coil is split into two layers of the respective copper coils such that normal processes can still be used to combine the NFC and WLC antennas with each other as a thin stack-up.

16. The handheld device of claim 15, wherein a substantially 100-micrometer layer of copper coil is split into two substantially 50-micrometer layers.

17. The handheld device of claim 13, wherein a plurality of Pogo pins define a contact area of the circuit board located outside of the coils, the coils are connected to each other by a plurality of vias, the coils define an inner end of the coils that is routed to a substantially central area, and only one of the layers enables a trace that runs out from the central area and defines a channel for accessing the Pogo pins and bridging the inner end to the contact area.

18. The handheld device of claim 13, wherein each of the pair of coils defines a track width of the coil of about 500 micrometers.

19. The handheld device of claim 1, wherein the handheld device is a portable electronic device (PED).

20. The handheld device of claim 19, wherein the PED is any of a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular telephone, smart telephone, electronic messaging device, and laptop computer.