GB2353413A

GB2353413A - Jointed antenna

Info

Publication number: GB2353413A
Application number: GB9919364A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Brown
Original assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Current assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Priority date: 1999-08-16
Filing date: 1999-08-16
Publication date: 2001-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-16
Also published as: JP2001053514A; JP3528914B2; GB9919364D0; GB2353413B

Abstract

An antenna arrangement comprises a first 2 and second 3 portion, and a joint 10, which is arranged between the first and second portions to allow the orientation between the two portions to be changed, and which has an internal passageway 22 allowing a cable 23 to pass from the first portion to an active antenna element in the second portion. Preferably the joint has holes 18, 19, arranged about the joint pivot axis (4, Figure 1), which cooperate with pivot members 20 extending from the first portion and has a nose which secures it to the second portion. The portions may be cylindrical and the pivot axis may be at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the first portion. Indentations 27 (or 31, Figure 4) may be provided on the joint for cooperation with pins 28 or flat springs (35, Figure 4) on the first portion to hold the portions at set angles.

Description

2353413 ANTENNA ARRANGEMENT This invention relates to an antenna

arrangement which is suitable for use with a satellite network.

To provide an efficient coupling of energy to and from a satellite which is travelling in an orbit around the earth, it is preferred that an antenna on the earth should be substantially vertical.

With apparatus that is not fixed, it is difficult to achieve the preferred orientation of an antenna.

An arrangement which has previously been proposed in the specification of United States patent number 5,844,985, which was published on December 1 1998, included a mechanism for use with a portable telephone unit which was designed to keep an antenna vertical. The mechanism employed a counterweight element which ensured that the antenna sought a vertical orientation, irrespective of the orientation of the telephone unit with which it was associated.

The present inventor proposes a more simple solution.

In an arrangement to be described below, by way of example in illustration of the invention, an apparatus,., for example a portable telephone, has a jointed antenna arrangement. One portion of the antenna arrangement extends f rom the joint towards the apparatus and another 2 portion extends from the joint away from the apparatus. The portion which extends from the joint and away from the apparatus may be angled about the joint in order to achieve a preferred orientation. The joint in the particular arrangement to be described provides both a pivot between the two portions, and a passageway through which a connecting cable is able to pass from the apparatus to the remote portion of the antenna arrangement.

To this end, in the particular arrangement to be described, the centre of the joint is unimpeded by any member providing a pivot. Pivot points are provided at the sides of the joint. Click-stop means are incorporated in the joint, in order that the two portions may be located easily and accurately at particular angular relations.

The antenna arrangement that is to be described may be used with other apparatus than portable telephones. It may, for example, be used with portable computer apparatus. It is possible for the optimum position of the pivoted antenna portion to be determined or maximised with the aid of a signal level indicator incorporated in the portable apparatus, so that a maximum received signal level can be achieved and maintained.

When used with a hand held portable telephone the user, having been directed by the employment of the click-stop means to a particular orientation of the extended antenna portion, is able to make any minor 3 physical movements necessary to achieve and maintain the maximum received signal level.

There will now be described, by way of example, arrangements which are illustrative of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a portable telephone in use, Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an antenna arrangement, and Fig. 3 is a partly cut-away view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of a joint, Fig. 5 is a partly broken away view of a part of a joint and a portion of an antenna assembly, and Fig. 6 is a part longitudinal sectional view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a portable telephone handset 1 having an antenna arrangement which includes a first portion 2, which extends from the handset 1, and a second portion 3 which is coupled pivotally at 4 to the first portion 2. The handset 1 is shown with its receiver and transmitter positioned adjacent an ear and the mouth respectively of a user whose head is shown diagrammatically at 5. With the user's head 5 held in the normal upright position, and the first portion 2 of the antenna arrangement positioned about a broken line A- 4 A'. and the second portion 3 of the antenna arrangement positioned about a broken line P-P', it has been found, in the particular arrangement that the preferred angle between the longitudinal axes of the first 2 and the second 3 portions of the antenna arrangement, which are indicated by the lines A-A' and P-P', is 59".

The illustration in Fig. 1 shows the handset 1 held against the user's right ear. The handset 1 may, of course, be held alternatively against a user's left ear, in which case the second portion 3 of the antenna arrangement will be pivoted about the axis 4, so that the axis P-P' of the second portion 3 is at an angle of 590 with respect to and on the other side of the axis A- At from that shown in the illustration.

Reference will now be made to Figs. 2 and 3 in order to describe, in more detail, one structure of a joint at the pivot axis 4.

In Fig. 2 there are shown the first portion 2 and the second portion 3 of an antenna arrangement. The first portion 2 and the second portion 3 are tubular and are coupled together by a joint 10, which provides the pivot axis 4 indicated in Fig. 1. The first portion 2 has a two-part casing 11, 12, and its end 13, which has a hemi-spherical outer surface 14, incorporates a slot 15.

Through the slot 15 there is visible the surface 16 of a rotatable element 17 of the joint 10. The rotatable element 17, which is hollow, is attached to the second portion 3 of the antenna arrangement by means of a neck which is visible at 24 in Fig. 3. A cable 23, which is coupled at one end via a connector 23a to an antenna in the portion 3, passes through the joint 10 and the portion 2 to the circuit (not shown) of the associated apparatus 1.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the part 12 of the first portion 2 of the arrangement has been removed to reveal the rotatable element 17, which has, at its opposite sides, pivot holes 18 and 19. A pivot member 20 extending from the inner surface of the casing part 11 is shown extending into the hole 18, and a corresponding member (not visible) extends from the casing part 12 into the hole 19, thereby leaving a clear passageway in the is hollow element 17.

There is a third hole 22 in the rotatable element 17 which enables the cable 23, connecting the portable telephone 1 to an antenna element (not shown) in the second portion 3 of the arrangement, to pass freely via the inside of the first portion 2, an internal passageway provided by the hollow rotatable element 17 and a hole (not visible) in the neck 24 to the antenna element. The neck 24 extends from the element 17 into the base 25 of the tubular second portion 3 of the antenna arrangement.

There is thus no exposure externally of the cable 23 as it passes from the portion 2 to the portion 3.

The base 25 of the second portion 3 has a hemispherical shape which cooperates with the 6 hemispherical outer surface 14 of the first portion 2 for angular movement between them. This movement allows the neck 24 to move in the slot 15 between the two-part easing 11, 12, as the hemispherical base 25 of the portion 3 slides over the cooperating outer surface 14 of the portion 2.

The extent of the angular movement which is able to take place between the portions 2 and 3 of the arrangement is thus determined- by the length of the slot 15.

In order to establish the preferred relative angular positions of the portions 2 and 3, there are provided, on the surface 16 of the rotatable element 17, three indentations 27 which cooperate with the rounded end of a spr ing loaded pin 28 extending from a cylinder 29 in the first portion 2 of the arrangement. Upon the rotation of element 17 and the portion 3, the pin 28 clicks into the respective indentations 27 in the surface 16 at each of three preferred angular positions, and locates the portions 2 and 3 in the preferred angular relationship. These positions correspond to the portions 2 and 3 being in-line, or at the preferred angle for use on either the left or the right of a user's face.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is shown a particular form of rotatable element 17 for the joint 10 in which there are three indentations 31, corresponding to the indentations 27 of Fig. 3, a groove 31a, a pivot hole 19 and a third hole 32, corresponding to the hole 22 of Fig.

7 3, and through which the cable 23 is able to pass.

Extending from the element 17 is a neck 33, corresponding to the neck 24 which is visible in Fig. 3, and a tapered nose portion 34, through which the cable 23 is able to pass into the base of the tubular second portion 3 of the antenna arrangement. A flat spring 35 has a tongue 36 which engages the groove 31a and the indentations 31, upon the rotation of the antenna portion 3 and the hollow element 17 about the pivot point 4 provided by the holes 18 and 19. Cooperation between the tongue 36 and the indentations 31 provides a click-stop action, corresponding to that between the pin 28 and the indentations 27 described with reference to Fig. 3.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, there are indicated the rotatable element 17 having the indentations 31 and the groove 31a, the leaf spring 35 mounted upon the casing port 11 shown in Fig. 2 and the tapered nose portion 34 with the neck 33 through which the cable 23 is able to pass. It may be seen, most clearly from Fig. 5, that the rotatable element 17, the neck 33 and the nose 34 are able to rotate about the pivot axis 4 defined by the pivot holes 18 and 19 between the shoulders 37 and 38 of the casing part 11, and to be held in each of the three positions defined by the engagement of the tongue 36 in the indentations 31.

It will be understood that not only may the antenna portion 3 incorporate an appropriate antenna. for example a quadrifilar helix antenna, but the portion 2 may also 8 incorporate an antenna.

It will be appreciated that the hollow joint provided by the use of the rotatable element 17 which is pivoted at its sides enables the cable 23 connecting an antenna in the portion 3 to a transmitter/ receiver in the portable telephone 1 to be completely concealed, as it passes from one portion of the arrangement to the other. The use of a click-stop arrangement provided by the spring loaded pin 28 and the indentations 27 in the arrangement of Fig. 3 and the tongue 36 and the indentations 31 in the arrangement of Figs. 4 to 6 enables preferred angular relationships between the portions 2 and 3 to be adopted easily.

It will be understood that, although particular arrangements have been described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, variations and modifications thereof, as well as other arrangements, may be conceived within the scope of the appended claims.

It will be appreciated, for example, that instead of the element 17 pivoting about members such as that at 20 from the portion 2, the portion 3 may carry the pivot members which extend into the holes 18 and 19 in the rotatable element 17 and determine the axis of rotation 4. In such an arrangement, the portion 3 may be split and the pivot members may extend from the portion 3 either through holes in the portion 2, or directly into holes in the element 17, as shown at 18 and 19. Similarly the spring element 35 may be on the portion 2.

9

Claims

An antenna arrangement including a f irst and a second portion, a joint member between the first and second portions whereby the first and second portions may be rotated relative to one another about a pivot axis, and means associated with the joint member and enabling the f irst and second portions to be located in a particular angular relationship relative to one another, the joint member providing an internal passageway for a cable to pass from the first portion for connection to an antenna in the second portion.
2. An antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the joint member has holes on opposite sides arranged about the pivot axis, the holes cooperating with pivot members extending from one of the first and second members.
3. An antenna arrangement as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein indentations on a surface of the joint member cooperate with a spring element on one of the first and second members.
4. An antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 3 in which the spring element is a flat spring.
5. An antenna arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the f irst and second portions extend longitudinally and the pivot axis is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of one of the f irst and second portions.
6. An antenna arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the pivot member is pivoted about the first portion and has a nose portion which extends into the second portion.
7. An antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1 including an arrangement substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 or Figs, 1 and 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.