JP2006148751A - External antenna extending device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable connecting an external antenna to a radio communication device and to supply power source to an amplifier in the external antenna with a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: A main body 20 is attachably/detachably formed on the case 6 of a mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 having built-in antennas 10a, 10b. Coupling antennas 22a, 22b are disposed on positions opposing the built-in antennas 10a, 10b in the case 6 in a state of mounting the main body on the case 6, and the antennas 22a, 22b are coupled to the built-in antennas 10a, 10b in high-frequency in non-contact state. External antennas 26a, 26b provided outside the main body are connected to the coupling antennas 22a, 22b via coaxial cables 24a, 24b. Amplifiers are provided in the external antennas 26a, 26b, respectively. When the main body 20 is mounted on the case 6, an operation power source from an external power source terminal provided on the main body 20 is supplied to the amplifiers via the coaxial cables 24a, 24b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an external antenna expansion device connected to a wireless communication device having only a built-in antenna, for example, a receiver.

  In general, in a receiver having only a built-in antenna, when the built-in antenna cannot receive radio waves well, an external antenna may be connected. A receiver having an external antenna terminal can be handled by connecting an external antenna to the external antenna terminal. However, some countermeasures have been required for receivers that do not have external antenna terminals. A solution to this problem is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, in order to connect an external antenna to a card-type radio mounted on a notebook-type personal computer, a coupling having a groove sandwiching a portion of the card-type radio slightly protruding from the notebook-type personal computer A coupler is provided, the coupler is electrically coupled to the card-type radio, and the coupler is connected to an external antenna via a cable.

JP-A-8-78934

  The technique of Patent Document 1 is intended to connect an external antenna to a card-type wireless device mounted on a notebook personal computer, but cannot be used for a portable communication device having a built-in antenna. In addition, it may be desired that an external antenna is provided with an amplifier to amplify a signal received by the external antenna. However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when an amplifier is provided in the external antenna, in order to operate the amplifier, the operation power must be supplied from the power supply device to the amplifier in the external antenna, and the configuration is complicated. Become. If the operating power is always supplied to the amplifier, unnecessary radiation is generated from the coupler when the external antenna is not attached to the card-type radio.

  The present invention provides an external antenna expansion device that allows an external antenna to be connected to a wireless communication device, can supply power to an amplifier in the external antenna with a simple configuration, and does not cause unnecessary radiation when not in use. The purpose is to provide.

  An external antenna expansion device according to the present invention has a main body. The main body is detachably formed in a casing of a wireless communication device having a built-in antenna. Examples of the wireless communication device include a wireless receiver, a wireless transmitter, and a wireless transceiver. The wireless communication device is preferably of a type that does not include an external antenna terminal for connecting an external antenna. A coupler is provided in the body. The coupler is disposed at a position facing the built-in antenna in the main body in a state where the main body is mounted on the housing, and is coupled to the built-in antenna in a non-contact state at a high frequency. An external antenna is provided outside the main body. The external antenna has amplification means inside and is connected to the coupler via a cable. This amplifying means amplifies the high frequency signal received by the external antenna and supplies it to the main body via a cable. The main body is provided with power supply means, which supplies operating power to the amplification means via the cable in a state where the main body is mounted on the housing. For example, a switch may be provided between the power supply means and the cable, and the switch may be configured to be open when the main body is not attached to the wireless communication device and closed when the main body is attached. As the power supply means, for example, a power supply terminal that receives a DC power supply from a DC power supply device provided outside can be provided.

  In the external antenna expansion device configured as described above, when the main body is mounted on the wireless communication device, the coupler in the main body and the built-in antenna of the wireless communication device are coupled in a high frequency manner without contact. An external antenna is connected to the coupler via a cable. Therefore, when the wireless communication device is a receiver, a high frequency signal received by the external antenna is supplied to the wireless communication device. In addition, since the amplification means is provided in the external antenna, the amplified high frequency signal is supplied to the wireless communication device. Since this amplifier is supplied with operating power from a power supply means in the main body via a cable, it is not necessary to lay a power cable to the amplifier separately from the cable, and the configuration is simplified. In addition, since the operation power is supplied only when the main body is mounted on the casing, unnecessary radiation does not occur from the coupler or the like when the external antenna is not used.

  The wireless communication device may be provided with an external power supply terminal. In this case, the main body is provided with a power supply terminal for supplying an operating power to the wireless communication device from the power supply means to the external power supply terminal in a state where the main body is mounted on the wireless communication device. The power supply to the power supply terminal is preferably performed from the power supply means.

  With this configuration, when the main body is mounted on the wireless communication device, the operation power can be supplied from the main body to the wireless communication device even if the external power supply terminal of the wireless communication device is covered by the main body and becomes unusable. it can.

  A plurality of built-in antennas may be provided in the casing with a predetermined interval. In this case, a plurality of the couplers are provided to face each of the built-in antennas in a state where the main body is mounted on the housing.

  With this configuration, for example, even if a plurality of built-in antennas are diversity antennas, external antennas can be connected to them, and these external antennas can be used as diversity antennas. Can keep the degree.

  The external antenna may be provided detachably from the coupler. In this case, a plurality of the couplers are provided to face each of the built-in antennas in a state where the main body is mounted on the housing. If comprised in this way, when the use environment of a radio | wireless communication apparatus differs, for example, when using it in a house and using it in a motor vehicle, the external antenna corresponding to the different external environment can be used. For example, when used inside a house, an antenna already arranged outside the house can be used as an external antenna. When used inside an automobile, an antenna already provided outside the automobile is used as an external antenna. Can be used as

  As described above, according to the external antenna expansion device according to the present invention, an external antenna can be used even in a wireless communication device that does not include an external antenna terminal. The power supply for operation can be supplied with a simple configuration. Further, since the power supply for operation is supplied only when the main body is mounted on the housing, unnecessary radiation does not occur when the main body is not mounted.

  The external antenna expansion device 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention is used for a wireless communication device, for example, a portable wireless communication device, specifically, a mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 as shown in FIG.

  The mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 is for receiving a multi-channel satellite digital broadcast transmitted from a geostationary satellite, and has a casing 6 formed in a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. Although not shown, operation keys and the like are arranged. On the back side of the upper surface 6a of the housing 6, a display device 8 constituted by, for example, an LCD or the like is provided.

  In the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4, the built-in antennas 10 a and 10 b are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval at a position closer to the inner upper surface at a position closer to the back surface 6 b than the display device 8. These built-in antennas 10a and 10b are diversity antennas, for example, and are connected to receiving, demodulating and decoding means such as a front end descrambling / MPEG decoder 12 provided in the housing 6 as shown in FIG. The external antenna connection terminal is not provided in the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4.

  This mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 receives, for example, 2.6 GHz band digital broadcast signals from geostationary satellites with built-in antennas 10a and 10b, and supplies them to the front-end descrambling / MPEG decoder 12, where frequency conversion and detection are performed. Descrambling, decoding corresponding to MPEG, supplying an audio output signal, a digital output signal, and a data output signal to a connection terminal (not shown), and outputting a video to the display device 8 based on the digital output signal Sound is output from the speaker 14 based on the signal.

  Further, an external power supply terminal 16 is provided on the back surface 6b of the housing 6, and is arranged in the housing 6 such as the front-end descramble / MPEG decoder 12 based on the external DC power supply connected thereto. Each device that is being operated works.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the external antenna extension device 2 has a main body 20. The main body 20 can be attached to and detached from the back side of the housing 6 and has a vertical cross-sectional shape of, for example, a substantially U-shape. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the main body 20 has a vertical portion 20 a that contacts the entire back surface 6 b of the housing 6 when the main body 20 is mounted on the housing 6. The main body 20 further contacts the upper surface 6a of the housing 6 from the upper end of the vertical portion 20a and extends horizontally to the front side, and contacts the lower surface 6c of the housing 6 from the lower end of the vertical portion 20a. And a lower horizontal portion 20c extending horizontally. The external power supply terminal 16 is covered by the vertical portion 20a, and power cannot be directly supplied to the external power supply terminal 16 when the main body 20 is mounted.

  Inside the upper horizontal portion 20b, coupling tools such as coupling antennas 22a and 22b are arranged so as to be parallel to and opposed to the built-in antennas 10a and 10b in the housing 6 when the main body 20 is mounted. . The arrangement interval of the coupling antennas 22a and 22b is substantially the same as that of the built-in antennas 10a and 10b. Further, the distance between the coupling antenna 22a and the built-in antenna 10a and the distance between the coupling antenna 22b and the built-in antenna 10b are selected so that both are optimally coupled in terms of high frequency. This high-frequency coupling is performed by electrostatic coupling or electromagnetic coupling.

  These coupling antennas 22a and 22b are connected to external antennas 26a and 26b via transmission lines, for example, coaxial cables 24a and 24b. As shown in FIG. 2, these external antennas 26a and 26b include antenna elements 28a and 28b, and further have amplification means such as LNAs (low noise amplifiers) 30a and 30b. The LNAs 30a and 30b amplify the signals received by the antenna elements 28a and 28b and supply the amplified signals to the coaxial cables 24a and 24b.

  Therefore, when the main body 20 is mounted on the housing 6 and the LNAs 30a and 30b are operating, the digital broadcast signals received by the antenna elements 28a and 28b and amplified by the LNAs 30a and 30b are coaxial cables 24a and 24b. To the coupling antennas 22a and 22b.

  As described above, the coupling antennas 22a and 22b are coupled to the built-in antennas 10a and 10b at a high frequency in a state where the main body 20 is attached to the back surface 6b of the housing 6, so that the digital broadcast signal is coupled to the built-in antenna. 10 a and 10 b are also received and supplied to the front-end descrambling MPEG decoder 12.

  Therefore, even when the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 is placed in an environment where the built-in antennas 10a and 10b cannot receive radio waves from a geostationary satellite well, the main body 20 is mounted on the housing 6 and the external antennas 26a and 26b are appropriately connected. If it is placed at a proper position, it will be possible to receive radio waves from geostationary satellites. In particular, since the external antennas 26a and 26b are connected to the coupling antennas 22a and 22b by the coaxial cables 24a and 24b, the degree of freedom of the arrangement of the external antennas 26a and 26b is high, and by appropriately arranging the distance between them. It can be used favorably as a diversity antenna.

  The coaxial cables 24a and 24b are connected by a connector (not shown) provided at a proper position of the main body 20 and a connector provided on the coaxial cables 24a and 24b so as to be detachable from the coupling antennas 22a and 22b. Has been. In addition to or in place of these connectors, the external antennas 26a, 26b and the coaxial cables 24a, 24b may be further connected by connectors.

  The operation power to the LNAs 30a and 30b is supplied via the coaxial cables 24a and 24b. That is, operating power is supplied to the coaxial cables 24a and 24b superimposed on the digital broadcast signal. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, in the main body 20, DC blocking capacitors 32a and 32b are connected between the coupling antennas 22a and 22b and the coaxial cables 24a and 24b. Further, the coaxial cables 24a and 24b are connected to power supply means, for example, an external power supply terminal 36, via high frequency blocking coils 34a and 34b. For example, when the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 is mounted in an automobile or the like, the external power supply terminal 36 is connected to a DC power supply (not shown) of the automobile via a cable. The external power supply terminal 36 is provided, for example, on the outer surface side of the vertical portion 20a or the outer surface side of the upper horizontal portion 20b.

  If the external power supply terminal 36 is directly connected to the high frequency blocking coils 34 a and 34 b, the external power supply terminal 36 is connected to the DC power source described above and the main body 20 is not attached to the housing 6. However, direct current is supplied to the LNAs 30a and 30b via the high-frequency blocking coils 34a and 34b. As a result, the digital broadcast signals received by the external antenna elements 28a and 28b may be amplified by the LNAs 30a and 30b, and unnecessary radiation may be generated from the coupling antennas 22a and 22b.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, an open / close switch 38 is provided between the external power supply terminal 36 and the connection point between the high frequency blocking coils 34a and 34b. Moreover, the open / close switch 38 is a normally open type, and is provided in the housing 20 so as to be closed only when the main body 20 is attached to the housing 6. For example, an operation part of the opening / closing switch 38 is provided on the inner surface of the upper horizontal part 20b or the lower horizontal part 20c, and the opening / closing switch 38 is closed when this operation part comes into contact with the upper surface 6a or the lower surface 6c of the housing 6. Has been. Therefore, even if DC power is supplied to the external power supply terminal 36, as long as the main body 20 is not attached to the housing 6, the LNAs 30a and 30b do not operate and unnecessary radiation does not occur.

  The connection point between the high frequency blocking coils 34 a and 34 b is also connected to a power supply terminal, for example, the relay power supply terminal 40. The relay power terminal 40 is arranged at a position corresponding to the external power terminal 16 of the housing 6 on the inner surface side of the vertical portion 20a of the main body 20, that is, the surface in contact with the back surface 6b of the housing 6 as shown in FIG. Has been. Moreover, the relay power terminal 40 is formed in a form that can be connected to the external power terminal 16 of the housing 6.

  Accordingly, the relay power supply terminal 40 is connected to the external power supply terminal 16 of the housing 6 in a state where the main body 20 is mounted on the housing 6, and the DC power from the external power supply terminal 36 of the main body 6 is connected to the open / close switch 38, the relay power supply terminal. 40, supplied to the external power supply terminal 16 of the housing 6, and each device in the housing 6 operates. When the relay power supply terminal 40 is provided on the main body 20 in this manner, the external power supply terminal 16 of the housing 6 is connected to the main body because the coupling antennas 22a and 22b are arranged to face the built-in antennas 10a and 10b in the housing 6. Even if it is covered by the power supply 20, it is possible to supply power to the housing 6 from the outside by providing the main body 20 with the relay power supply terminal 40. It is not necessary to supply power to the power supply terminals 16 and 36 provided on the external antenna extension device 2 and the housing 6 via power plugs or the like.

  In the case where the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 is used while being fixed in a house as shown in FIG. 4 and an external antenna can be installed outside the house, the external antennas 26a and 26b are provided. Both need not be used, for example, only the external antenna 26a can be used. In this case, if the coaxial cable 24a and the external antenna 26b are configured to be separable by a connector, a dedicated external antenna is fixedly provided outside the house and used as the external antenna 26a as necessary. You can also

  In the above embodiment, the two external antennas 26a and 26b are used, because the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 includes the two built-in antennas 10a and 10b. The number of external antennas can be changed according to the number of built-in antennas provided in the terminal 4. Moreover, in said embodiment, the main body 20 used the thing whose vertical cross-sectional shape is a U-shape, but this is because the housing | casing 6 of the mobile broadcast portable terminal 4 was a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Therefore, the shape of the main body 20 is not limited to this shape, and various shapes can be used as long as the coupling antenna can be disposed facing the built-in antenna in the housing. it can. In the above embodiment, the external antenna expansion device is used in combination with the mobile broadcast portable terminal receiver, but the present invention is not limited to this, as long as the wireless communication device has a built-in antenna and an external power supply terminal. An external antenna expansion device can be used in combination with various things.

1 is a perspective view of a state in which an external antenna expansion device according to an embodiment of the present invention is not attached to a mobile broadcast portable terminal. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the external antenna extension device of FIG. 1 and a mobile broadcast portable terminal. FIG. 2 is a side view of the external antenna extension device of FIG. 1 attached to a mobile broadcast portable terminal. It is a perspective view which shows the other usage example of the external antenna expansion apparatus of FIG. 1, and a mobile broadcast portable terminal.

Explanation of symbols

2 External antenna expansion device 4 Mobile broadcasting portable terminal (communication device)
6 Housing 10a 10b Built-in antenna 16 External power supply terminal 20 Body 22a 22b Coupling antenna (coupler)
24a 24b Coaxial cable (transmission path)
26a 26b External antenna 28a 28b Antenna element 30a 30b Amplifier (amplifying means)
40 Relay power terminal (Power terminal)

Claims (4)

A main body detachably formed in a housing of a wireless communication device having a built-in antenna;
A coupler that is disposed at a position facing the built-in antenna in the main body in a state where the main body is mounted on the housing, and is coupled to the built-in antenna in a non-contact state at a high frequency;
An external antenna provided outside the main body, connected to the coupler via a cable, and having amplification means inside;
Power supply means provided in the main body, and supplying operation power to the amplification means via the cable when the main body is attached to the wireless communication device;
External antenna expansion device provided.   2. The external antenna expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is provided with an external power supply terminal, and the main body is connected to the external power supply from the power supply unit in a state where the main body is mounted on the wireless communication device. An external antenna expansion device provided with a power supply terminal for supplying operating power to the wireless communication device at the terminal.   2. The external antenna extension device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the built-in antennas are provided at a predetermined interval in the housing, and the coupler is configured so that each body is mounted in the state where the main body is mounted on the housing. A plurality of external antenna expansion devices provided to face the built-in antenna.   2. The external antenna expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the external antenna is detachably attached to the coupler.

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