JP2003179674A - Portable communication terminal and case for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid the impossible state of transmission and reception due to the shortage of the sensitivity of an antenna in the case of stand-by or speaking at a place where radio waves are weak by improving the antenna characteristic of a minimized portable communication terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A portable telephone set 1 fitted with an antenna 10 and a case 19 for housing this portable telephone set 1 in a slidable state are provided. At a projected line 16 and a rail part 22 making the portable telephone set 1 and the case 19 slidable relatively, the ground part of the antenna 10 and a ground connection part to be conducted to this ground part are disposed in a sliding direction, and the earth length of the antenna 10 is made to be extensible by the sliding operation of the portable telephone set 1 and the case 19. Thus, by drawing out the portable telephone set 1 from the case 19 according to a receiving state, the earth length of the antenna 10 can freely be extended and contracted, thereby the antenna characteristic can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a case for the mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, to an antenna provided in a miniaturized mobile communication terminal. The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication terminal case that can sufficiently secure the ground length and improve the antenna characteristics.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a mobile phone or a P having a communication function is used.
In recent years, mobile communication terminals such as DAs have been remarkably miniaturized due to user requests. On the other hand, in a next-generation mobile phone that handles a large amount of data such as data and moving images, it is necessary to secure as wide a bandwidth as possible in order to achieve high-speed transfer and high quality of the data and moving images.

However, if the size of the portable communication terminal is reduced, it is difficult to secure sufficient antenna characteristics, and it is difficult to secure a wide bandwidth. In particular, a next-generation mobile phone requires a wider bandwidth, so that it is essential to secure sufficient antenna characteristics even if the size is reduced.

In recent years, in downsizing portable communication terminals,
For example, patch antennas are often used because they are easy to use and allow free design of mobile communication terminals. If the patch antenna is built into the mobile communication terminal, the antenna is not exposed on the outer surface of the mobile communication terminal, so that a novel design that has never existed can be achieved and the added value can be increased.

[0005]

By the way, the patch antenna has a characteristic that its antenna characteristic depends on the ground length. That is, if the ground length is extremely short, it becomes difficult to secure sufficient antenna characteristics, and a wide bandwidth cannot be obtained. Therefore, in the mobile communication terminal using the patch antenna, the ground pattern is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the mobile communication terminal in order to secure a sufficient ground length.

However, in a portable communication terminal whose size is reduced by shortening its length in the longitudinal direction, the miniaturization deteriorates the antenna characteristics during standby and during communication, making it difficult to secure a desired bandwidth. Become. In particular,
In the case of a so-called foldable mobile communication terminal that can be folded in two, which has been popular in recent years, this problem becomes remarkable because the length in the longitudinal direction becomes extremely short.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and improves usability for improving the antenna characteristics of a miniaturized mobile communication terminal and for protecting the main body and key protection of the mobile communication terminal. An object of the present invention is to provide a good mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication terminal case.

[0008]

A mobile communication terminal of the present invention includes a first housing to which an antenna is attached, and the first housing.
And a second housing for connecting the housings of the antenna, and the ground portion of the antenna and the ground portion of the antenna in the sliding direction of the slide mechanism portion that makes the first housing and the second housing slidable relative to each other. This is a structure provided with a ground connecting portion that is electrically connected to the ground portion. Further, this mobile communication terminal is configured such that the ground length of the antenna can be expanded and contracted by the sliding operation of the first housing and the second housing.

According to the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, when the first casing and the second casing are slid relative to each other, the ground length of the antenna can be expanded and contracted, so that, for example, in a place where the radio wave is weak. In a standby state or the like, it is possible to slide the first and second casings to sufficiently lengthen the ground length of the antenna and improve the sensitivity characteristic of the antenna. Therefore, in the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, the antenna characteristics can be sufficiently improved even if the terminal itself is miniaturized.

The mobile communication terminal case of the present invention has a case body on which the mobile communication terminal with the antenna ground portion exposed is slidably housed on the outer surface of the housing, and the ground is provided on the inner surface of the case body. It has a ground connection part that slidably contacts the part. In addition, in this portable communication terminal case, the earth length of the antenna can be expanded and contracted by a relative sliding operation between the portable communication terminal and the case body.

According to the portable communication terminal case of the present invention,
When the mobile communication terminal is slid relative to the case body, the ground portion of the mobile communication terminal slides into contact with the ground connection portion in the case body, and the ground connection portion functions as an earth pattern. The ground length of the antenna provided in the mobile communication terminal can be expanded and contracted. Therefore, in the case of the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, the antenna characteristics of the miniaturized mobile communication terminal can be improved.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, a mobile phone, which is one of mobile communication terminals, is slidably housed in a case, and a sliding portion between the mobile phone and the case is provided with a ground portion of an antenna incorporated in the mobile phone. A mobile communication terminal and mobile communication device that is equipped with a connection part that conducts electricity to ensure a sufficient earth length of the antenna and enhance the antenna characteristics by pulling out the mobile phone from the case when standing by in a place where radio waves are weak or during a call. It is an example of a terminal case.

[Structure of Mobile Phone] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mobile phone 1 includes a display unit 2, various operation buttons (various operation keys) 3, an earpiece 4, a mouthpiece 5, and the like. have. As shown in FIG. 3, which is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. A printed wiring board 9 on which various electronic components 8 are mounted is housed.

The printed wiring board 9 is mounted with an antenna 10 such as a patch antenna (microstrip antenna), an inverted F antenna, or a short-circuit antenna, which is suitable for downsizing the mobile phone 1. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which a patch antenna is used as the antenna 10. The patch antenna includes a dielectric 11 and this dielectric 11.
The radiating element conductor pattern 12 is formed on the upper surface of the radiating element, the ground conductor pattern 13 is formed on the bottom surface of the dielectric 11, and the feeding portion pattern 14 for feeding power to the radiating element conductor pattern 12. The patch antenna has a ground pattern 1 formed on the printed wiring board 9.
It is connected to 5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, both end portions of the printed wiring board 9 in the longitudinal direction are outward from both side surfaces 1a of the terminal body composed of the upper case 6 and the lower case 7. It is protruding. The ridge portion 16 protruding outward from both side surfaces 1a of the terminal body is combined with a groove portion (rail portion) provided in a case described later to form the mobile phone 1
And a case 19 constitute a slide mechanism portion which is relatively slidable. And, in this protruding portion 16, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a ground portion 17 electrically connected through the ground pattern 15 formed on the printed wiring board 9 is formed. The ground portions 17 are respectively formed on the upper surface 9a and the lower surface 9b near both end edges of the printed wiring board 9 over the entire longitudinal direction of the printed wiring board 9. As a result, the antenna 10 is connected to the ground portion 17 via the ground pattern 15 formed on the printed wiring board 9.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 16 is provided with a positioning recess 18 which constitutes a positioning mechanism for fixing the sliding position of the mobile phone 1 and the case 19 at an arbitrary position. There is. The positioning recess 18 includes, for example, a state in which almost the entire display unit 2 is pulled out from the case 19, a state in which a part of the operation button 3 is pulled out from the case 19, and all of the operation buttons 3 are pushed out from the case 19. They are formed at positions where the mobile phone 1 is positioned and fixed so that the mobile phone 1 is pulled out.

[Construction of Case] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 19 is formed as a flat housing having a size large enough to allow the mobile phone 1 to be slid therein.
The case 19 is formed of, for example, a metal case or a resin case such as plastic. When the mobile phone 1 is housed in the case 19, the terminal insertion opening 20 of the case 19 allows a part of the display unit 2 to be exposed to the outside so that the reception state during standby can be visually checked. A notch portion 21 for forming is formed. This notch 21
Are formed on the upper surface 19a and the lower surface 19b of the case 19, respectively. Therefore, when the mobile phone 1 is stored in the case 19, the mobile phone 1 can be stored in either direction without considering the directionality, and the handleability can be improved.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the case 19 is provided with a rail portion 22 which constitutes a groove portion into which the ridge 16 of the mobile phone 1 is slidably fitted. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the rail portion 22 is provided on the inner side surface 19c in the longitudinal direction of the case 19 and is continuously formed from the terminal insertion opening 20 to the rear end of the case. The rail portion 22 has two rails 22a and 22b provided at a predetermined interval, and the ridge portion 1 of the mobile phone 1 is provided between the two rails 22a and 22b.
A groove is formed so that 6 can slide.

On the surfaces of the rails 22a and 22b facing each other, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the ground connecting portion 2 which is conductively connected to the ground portion 17 of the protrusion 16 is provided.
3 is provided. By connecting to the ground part 17 of the antenna 10, the ground connection part 23 has a function of extending the substantial ground length of the antenna 10 in addition to the original ground length of the antenna 10. The ground connecting portion 23 is continuous from the terminal insertion opening 20 to the rear end of the case in order to ensure a sufficient ground length of the antenna 10 when the mobile phone 1 is pulled out from the case 19. Is formed.

The ground connecting portion 23 is connected to the case 19
In the case where is a resin case instead of a metal case, it is preferable to use a metal leaf spring that can be electrically connected to the ground portion 17. Alternatively, the ground connecting portion 23 may be formed by forming a conductor pattern on the facing surfaces of the rails 22a and 22b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the rail portion 22 is provided with a positioning protrusion 24 for fixing the sliding position of the mobile phone 1 and the case 19 at an arbitrary position. The positioning protrusion 24 is formed at a position near the opening of the terminal insertion port 20, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the positioning protrusion 24 is provided on the rails 22a, 2a.
It is formed as a hemispherical protrusion protruding on the inner side of the case on the bottom surface between 2b, and is fitted into the positioning recess 18 formed in the protrusion 16. By fitting the positioning protrusion 24 into the positioning recess 18, the arbitrary sliding position of the mobile phone 1 with respect to the case 19 is fixed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the case 19 has an opening hole 25 at a position corresponding to the mouthpiece 5 provided in the mobile phone 1 so as to expose the mouthpiece 5 to the outside. Are formed. The opening hole 25 is, for example, in a state where the mobile phone 1 is completely housed in the case 19, and the display unit 2 of the mobile phone 1
In a state where almost all of the operation buttons 3 are pulled out from the case 19, a part of the operation buttons 3 are pulled out from the case 19, and all the operation buttons 3 are pulled out from the case 19 respectively. They are formed at positions corresponding to the mouthpieces 5, respectively.

In this embodiment, the mobile phone 1 is used as the case 1.
Since the cell phone 1 is positioned and fixed at three arbitrary positions with respect to 9, the mobile phone 1 is completely attached to the case 19.
Opening holes 25 are formed at a total of four places including the position accommodated in the housing 9. The opening holes 25 are formed on both the upper surface 19a and the lower surface 19b of the case 19.

The mobile phone 1 and the case 19 configured as described above are provided with the ground portion 17 on the rail portion 22 and the ground portion 17 provided on the ridge portion 16 which is relatively slidable and constitutes the slide mechanism portion. Since the ground length of the antenna 10 is freely extendable by sliding the mobile phone 1 and the case 19 by providing a ground connection portion 23 for conducting connection, for example, when waiting in a place where the radio wave is weak or During a call, the mobile phone 1 can be pulled out from the case 19 to make the ground length of the antenna 10 sufficiently long to improve the sensitivity characteristic of the antenna.

Further, since the mobile phone 1 is housed in the case 19, the case 19 functions as a reinforcing member even if the mobile phone 1 is made smaller and thinner, and the strength of the mobile phone 1 is improved. Further, the case 19 also functions as a key protector for protecting various operation buttons 3 provided on the mobile phone 1.

[Usage Pattern] The usage pattern of the mobile phone 1 when a patch antenna is used as the antenna 10 will be described below.

Since the patch antenna is an antenna for both transmission and reception, it is necessary to cover the bandwidth of the carrier frequency used for transmission and reception. For example, the frequency band currently used all over the world is GSM (Global System for
Mobile Communications: This is a 900 MHz band standardized by the pan-European digital mobile telephone system.
The required bandwidth in the 0 MHz band is 35 MHz as a transmission bandwidth, 35 MHz as a reception bandwidth, and 10 MHz as a guard bandwidth between both bandwidths,
80 MHz or higher is required.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the bandwidth characteristic with respect to the ground length of the patch antenna, where the horizontal axis is the ground length (unit: mm) and the vertical axis is the bandwidth (unit: MHz). As can be seen from this characteristic diagram, it is necessary to secure a ground length of at least 90 mm or more in order to secure a bandwidth of 80 MHz. In order to secure this length, the earth length of the antenna 10 can be freely expanded and contracted by the relative sliding operation of the mobile phone 1 and the case 19.

For example, the usage of the mobile phone 1 will be described below by taking the case where the mobile phone 1 is used in a place where the radio wave is weak as an example. As shown in FIG. 11, when the mobile phone 1 is completely stored in the case 19, the cutout portion 21
When the reception state of the antenna 10 displayed on the display unit 2 visible from the front is bad, the mobile phone 1 is pulled out from the case 19 to the position shown in FIG. 12 as the first step. When the mobile phone 1 is pulled out from the case 19 to the state shown in FIG. 12,
Originally, the ground length, which is only about the length of the mobile phone 1, is used as the ground portion 17 and the ground connection portion 2 provided in the slide mechanism portion.
By connecting with 3, it can be extended to the length indicated by L1 in FIG.

If a sufficient reception state cannot be obtained by pulling out the mobile phone 1 from the case 19 to the position shown in FIG. 12, the second step is to pull out the mobile phone 1 from the case 19 to the position shown in FIG. . As a result, the ground length of the patch antenna is further increased to L2.

If sufficient sensitivity cannot be obtained even in the second stage, as shown in FIG. 14, the portable telephone 1 is kept in the case 19 until all the operation buttons 3 come out of the case 19.
And extend the ground length of the patch antenna to the maximum length of L3.

In this way, the mobile phone 1 is selected according to the reception status.
The ground length of the antenna 10 can be freely expanded / contracted by simply pulling out the case 19 from the case 19, and the antenna characteristics can be improved during stand-by in a place where the radio wave is weak or during a call, and transmission / reception due to insufficient sensitivity. The problem of inability can be resolved.

[Other Embodiments] The specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

For example, in FIG. 4, the ground portion 17 formed on the protruding portion 16 is exposed, but as shown in FIG. 15, the conductor cover 2 covers the ground portion 17 and covers it.
6 may be formed. By covering the ground portion 17 with the conductor cover 26, it is possible to improve the appearance of the mobile phone 1 and prevent wear of the ground portion 17 due to sliding contact. As the conductor cover 26, it is preferable to use a conductive metal or the like that can be electrically connected to the ground portion 17.

In addition to this, as shown in FIG.
In addition, a microphone 27 connected to the mobile phone 1 may be provided. In this case, the microphone is not attached to the mobile phone 1, the microphone 27 is attached only to the case 19 side, and the mobile phone 1 and the microphone 27 are connected by a lead wire or a flexible printed wiring board. In this way, the microphone 27 can always be brought close to the mouth regardless of the position where the mobile phone 1 is pulled out from the case 19.

In addition to the above, in the above-described embodiment, the notch 21 is formed on each of the upper surface 19a and the lower surface 19b of the case 19, but the notch 21 may be formed on only one surface. Similarly, the opening hole 25 that exposes the mouthpiece 5 to the outside may be formed only on one surface of the case 19.

In addition to the above, in the above-described embodiment, the edge portion of the printed wiring board 9 provided in the mobile phone 1 is used as the ridge portion 16, and the rail portion 22 for making the ridge portion 16 slidable. Although it is provided on the inner side surface 19c of the case 19, the protrusion 16 may be provided on the case 19 and the rail portion 22 may be provided on the mobile phone 1.

In addition to the above, in the above-described embodiment, the sliding mechanism portion that makes the mobile phone 1 and the case 19 slidable is the ridge portion 16, and the rail portion 22 that makes the ridge portion 16 slidable. Mobile phone 1
Any other slide mechanism may be used as long as it can slide the case 19 and the case 19 relative to each other.

Besides, in the above-described embodiment, the mobile phone 1 is pulled out and fixed in position at any of three positions with respect to the case 19, but the mobile phone can be freely pulled out at any position. In order to position and fix 1 to the case 19, a pressing mechanism such as a spring is attached to the case 1.
The mobile phone 1 may be positioned and fixed to the case 19 by using the frictional force of the pressing mechanism.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the explanation has been made on the assumption that the mobile phone 1 is always housed in the case 19 for use, but it is limited to, for example, standby in a place where the radio wave is weak or during a call. The mobile phone 1 may be put in the case 19 for use.

[0042]

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the antenna characteristics of a miniaturized mobile communication terminal. For example, in a standby state in a place where a radio wave is weak or during a call, a transmission / reception impossible state due to insufficient sensitivity of the antenna is caused. It can be avoided. Further, it is possible to provide a convenient mobile communication terminal case that can protect the main body and key protection of the mobile communication terminal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a state in which a mobile phone is stored in a case.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a state before housing the mobile phone in a case.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing an enlarged vicinity of a ridge portion of a mobile phone.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the case as viewed from the terminal insertion opening.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing an enlarged slide mechanism portion when the mobile phone is fixed to the case at an arbitrary position.

7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing an enlarged slide mechanism portion when the mobile phone is not fixed to the case at an arbitrary position.

9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a bandwidth characteristic with respect to a ground length of a patch antenna.

FIG. 11 is a plan view when the mobile phone is used with the mobile phone completely stored in the case.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the mobile phone used when almost the entire display unit is popped out from the case.

FIG. 13 is a plan view when the mobile phone is used with a part of the operation buttons protruding from the case.

FIG. 14 is a plan view when a mobile phone is used with all the operation buttons protruding from the case.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing an example in which a conductor cover is formed so as to cover the ground part.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a mobile phone showing an example in which a microphone is attached to a case.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile phone, 9 ... Printed wiring board, 10 ... Antenna, 16 ... Ridge part, 17 ... Ground part, 18 ... Positioning recessed part, 19 ... Case, 20 ... Terminal insertion port, 21 ... Notch part, 22 ... Rail part, 23 ... Ground connection part, 24
... Positioning protrusions, 25 ... Opening holes, 26 ... Conductor cover, 2
7 ... Microphone

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A first housing to which an antenna is attached, a second housing connecting the first housing, and the first housing and the second housing relatively to each other. A slide mechanism section that is slidable; and a ground section that is provided in the sliding direction of the slide mechanism section and that is electrically connected to the ground section of the antenna and the ground section. A mobile communication terminal, wherein the ground length of the antenna is made flexible by a relative sliding operation of the second casing. 2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the slide mechanism unit includes a ridge formed on either the first casing or the second casing, and the protrusion. A mobile communication terminal comprising: a groove portion into which a strip portion is slidably fitted. 3. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein either the protruding portion or the groove portion is a ground portion of the antenna. 4. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the positioning mechanism fixes the slide positions of the first casing and the second casing at an arbitrary position. A mobile communication terminal having a section. 5. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second casing is provided at a position corresponding to a mouthpiece provided in the first casing. A mobile communication terminal, characterized in that an opening hole is formed to expose the mouthpiece to the outside. 6. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second casing is provided with a microphone connected to the first casing. Characteristic mobile communication terminal. 7. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein a conductor cover is formed to cover the ground portion. 8. A case body in which a ground portion of the antenna accommodates a mobile communication terminal exposed on the outer surface of the housing in a slidable manner, and is formed on an inner surface of the case body, and slidably contacts the ground portion. A case for a mobile communication terminal, comprising a ground connecting part, wherein the earth length of the antenna can be expanded and contracted by a relative sliding operation of the mobile communication terminal and the case body.