JP2009278158A - Antenna for portable electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To erect an antenna part without tilting from an erected state in erecting the antenna part. <P>SOLUTION: A push stick 14 and a coil spring 15 are housed in a through-hole of an antenna base part 13, and a stopper 16 is fitted to the lower part thereof. The urging force of the coil spring 15 is applied to a circumferential side surface of a catching piece 22b through the push stick 14. The lower part of the push stick 14 is slidably inserted in an insertion hole formed in the stopper 16, and the tilt of the push stick 14 is restricted by the stopper 16 when the antenna part in an upper part of a joint 12a is erected. Thereby, the push stick 14 is prevented from tilting, and the antenna part can be erected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an antenna for a mobile electronic device provided in an electronic device having at least a receiving function, particularly a mobile phone capable of receiving terrestrial digital television broadcasting.

Although mobile phones are widespread, this mobile phone is equipped with an antenna for transmitting and receiving calls and information. In general, the antenna is built in the casing of the mobile phone or is a retractable antenna that can be expanded and contracted with respect to the casing of the mobile phone and can be stored in the casing when not in use.
Incidentally, in recent years, terrestrial digital television broadcasting has been started, and mobile phones that can receive a one-segment partial reception service of terrestrial digital television broadcasting are also known. In order to efficiently receive this one-segment partial reception service, it is necessary to make the antenna directivity match the direction of arrival of radio waves. For this reason, an antenna that can adjust the directivity characteristics of the antenna to be tiltable and rotatable with respect to the housing is suitable for the antenna that receives the one-segment partial reception service. In addition, it is preferable that the antenna can be stored in the casing of the mobile phone so that it can be easily carried during standby.

A configuration of a conventionally proposed antenna 200 for a mobile phone is shown in FIGS. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration when the antenna 200 that can be expanded and contracted in two stages is extended, and FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a part of the configuration of the antenna 200 shown in FIG. 18 in a sectional view.
The conventional antenna 200 includes an element portion including a first element 211 having a top portion 210 provided at the tip and a second element 212 that can slidably accommodate the first element 211 therein. Is tiltably held by the antenna base 213. The first element 211 is composed of a flexible element conductor, and the second element 212 is composed of a coil spring. A holding part 212b is fitted on the upper part of the second element 212, and a joint 212a is fitted on the lower part. A flat plate-shaped sandwiching piece 222b having rounded corners is provided at the lower end of the joint 212a. The antenna base 213 includes a holding part 213a that holds the holding piece 222b, and the holding piece 222b is pivotally supported by the shaft part 217 so as to be tiltable with respect to the holding part 213a (that is, the antenna base 213). The antenna base 213 and the second element 212 are slidably held in the holder 218. The holder 218 has a collar portion at the top and a thread portion on the outer peripheral surface thereof. By screwing the holder 218 into the casing of the mobile phone, the antenna 200 can be attached to the mobile phone.

  The clamping piece 222b pivotally supported by the shaft portion 217 so as to be tiltable with respect to the clamping portion 213a is urged upward by a coil spring 215 via a push rod 214 housed in the antenna base 213. The upper portion of the push rod 214 protrudes from the upper surface of the antenna base portion 213 and is in contact with the peripheral side surface of the holding piece 222b. A flange portion 214b is formed in the middle of the push rod 214. The lower portion of the push rod 214 is inserted into the coil spring 215, and the upper end of the coil spring 215 is in contact with the lower surface of the flange portion 214b. A stopper 216 is fitted to the lower portion of the antenna base 213, and the lower end of the coil spring 215 is in contact with the upper surface of the stopper 216. Thereby, when the urging force of the coil spring 215 is applied to the peripheral side surface of the sandwiching piece 222b and the element portion including the first element 211 and the second element 212 is tilted, it can be stably held at the tilt angle. become.

  The conventional antenna 200 for portable electronic devices shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 has a tilting mechanism that tilts and holds the element portion at an arbitrary position. In this tilting mechanism, the coil spring 215 is compressed in order to generate an urging force, and thus bends laterally with respect to its central axis. Then, since the lower portion of the push rod 214 is inserted into the coil spring 215, the push rod 214 is easily tilted. For this reason, when the element portion is erected, there is a problem that the push rod 214 is inclined in the antenna base 213 as shown in FIG. 19, and the antenna portion is inclined from the upright state.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an antenna for a portable electronic device that can stand upright without tilting from an upright state when the antenna portion is upright.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the antenna for a portable electronic device of the present invention, the lower portion of the push rod inserted into the coil spring is slidably inserted into the insertion hole formed in the stopper. Is the most important feature.

  According to the present invention, since the lower part of the push rod inserted into the coil spring is slidably inserted into the insertion hole formed in the stopper, the stopper can be inclined in the antenna base. Therefore, when the antenna portion is made to stand upright, the antenna portion comes to stand upright without being inclined.

An example of the configuration of an antenna 1 for a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration when an antenna 1 that can be expanded and contracted in two stages is extended, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a part of the configuration of the antenna 1 shown in FIG. .
The antenna 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention shown in these drawings includes a first element 11 having a top portion 10 provided at the tip, and a second element 12 that can slidably accommodate the first element 11 therein. The element part is comprised by the antenna base 13 so that tilting is possible. The top portion 10 has a disc-like shape made of a synthetic resin that serves as a knob that is gripped when the element portion including the first element 11 and the second element 12 is expanded and contracted. The first element 11 is configured by covering a flexible element conductor made of a superelastic alloy with a flexible insulating tube. Further, the second element 12 is configured by covering a coil spring, which can be bent, with a flexible insulating tube. A metal hold portion 12b is fitted to the upper portion of the second element 12, and a metal joint 12a is fitted to the lower portion. A holding spring is fixed to the lower part of the element conductor in the first element 11, and when the first element 11 is slid in the second element 12, the first element 11 is moved into the second element 12 by the action of the holding spring. It comes to be held in elastic contact with the peripheral surface. As a result, the first element 11 can be pulled out from the second element 12 at an arbitrary length and held. A clamping piece 22b is provided at the lower end of the joint 12a. The clamping piece 22b is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape with rounded corners and a flat bottom surface.

  The antenna base 13 includes a clamping portion 13a for clamping a clamping piece 22b formed in the joint 12a, and the clamping piece 22b can be tilted with respect to the clamping portion 13a (that is, the antenna base 13) by the shaft portion 17. It is pivotally supported. The outer diameter of the antenna base 13 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the second element 12. The antenna base 13 and the second element 12 are held in the holder 18 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The holder 18 includes a cylindrical main body portion having a collar portion formed on the upper portion. A screw portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical main body portion, and the antenna 1 is attached to the mobile phone by screwing the main body portion into, for example, a casing of the mobile phone. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the antenna 1 in which an element portion including the first element 11 and the second element 12 is slid from the holder 18 and extended.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the holding piece 22 b that is pivotally supported by the shaft portion 17 so as to be tiltable with respect to the holding portion 13 a is a push rod 14 that is formed in an elongated round bar shape housed in the antenna base portion 13. Is pressed by a coil spring 15 housed in the antenna base 13. That is, the stopper 16 is fitted from the lower end of the antenna base 13, and the coil spring 15 is compressed in the antenna base 13. And the upper part of the push rod 14 protrudes from the small diameter hole formed in the upper surface of the antenna base 13, and is contact | abutted to the surrounding side surface of the clamping piece 22b, The outer diameter was enlarged in the middle of the push rod 14 A collar portion 14b is formed. The lower portion of the push rod 14 is fitted into the coil spring 15, the upper end of the coil spring 15 is in contact with the lower surface of the flange portion 14 b, and the lower end of the coil spring 15 is in contact with the upper surface of the stopper 16. Thereby, when the biasing force of the coil spring 15 being compressed is applied to the peripheral side surface of the sandwiching piece 22b via the push rod 14, the element portion composed of the first element 11 and the second element 12 is tilted. Thus, it can be stably held at the tilt angle. The stopper 16 is formed with a through hole throughout, and the lower portion of the push rod 14 is slidably inserted into the through hole. Thereby, the inclination of the push bar 14 is regulated by the stopper 16, and when the element portion composed of the first element 11 and the second element 12 is brought into an upright state, the push bar 14 stands upright without being inclined.

  Further, the sandwiching piece 22b is formed in a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners, and a flat portion is formed on the lower surface of the peripheral side surface. When the element portion is tilted with respect to the antenna base portion 13 from an upright state In addition, the flat surface on the peripheral side surface of the sandwiching piece 22b comes into contact with the flat upper surface of the push rod 14, so that a click feeling can be obtained. Although not shown, a sliding spring is accommodated on the inner peripheral surface of the holder 18, and the antenna base 13 is elastically held by the holder 18 by the action of the sliding spring. As a result, in a state in which the second element 12 is tilted at an arbitrary angle with respect to the antenna base portion 13, the holder 18 is placed on the holder 18 in a plane substantially orthogonal to the plane in which the element portion composed of the first element 11 and the second element 12 is tilted. Can be rotated. This makes it possible to adjust the directivity characteristics of the antenna 1 in a desired direction so that the antenna 1 including the extendable element portion including the first element 11 and the second element 12 can be tilted and rotated with respect to the housing. become able to.

Next, the structure of each part which comprises the antenna 1 of the Example of this invention is shown in FIG. 3 thru | or FIG.
3 is a side view showing the configuration of the antenna base 13, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the configuration of the antenna base 13, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing the configuration of the antenna base 13 in a cross-sectional view. As shown in these drawings, the antenna base portion 13 is made of a metal such as brass, and is composed of a sandwiching portion 13a provided at the distal end portion and a cylindrical main body portion 13b provided at the lower portion of the sandwiching portion 13a. Yes. A clamping groove 13c into which a clamping piece 22b formed on the joint 12a of the second element 12 is fitted is formed in the clamping part 13a at substantially the center. An insertion hole 13d is formed in the clamping portion 13a that clamps the clamping piece 22b, and a first pin and a second pin, which will be described later, serve as the shaft portion 17 by fitting the clamping piece 22b into the clamping groove 13c. By wearing, the second element 12 is pivotally supported relative to the antenna base 13. The main body portion 13b is formed with a through-hole 13f throughout, and a thin-diameter hole 13g in which the diameter of the through-hole 13f is reduced is provided at the upper portion of the main body portion 13b. A flange 13e having a slightly larger outer diameter is formed at the lower portion of the main body 13b. The flange 13e abuts on the lower end of the holder 18 when the element portion composed of the first element 11 and the second element 12 is extended.

  Next, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the configuration of the push rod 14. As shown in this figure, the push rod 14 is made of metal or synthetic resin, and is formed in an elongated round bar shape, and a ring-shaped flange portion 14b having a diameter increased in the middle is formed. The outer diameter of the flange portion 14b is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the through hole 13f in the antenna base portion 13, the upper portion of the flange portion 14b is a push portion 14c, and the lower portion of the flange portion 14b is a main body portion 14a. The push rod 14 is slidably accommodated in the through hole 13f in the antenna base 13. When the push rod 14 is accommodated, the upper portion of the push portion 14c protrudes from the upper surface of the main body 13b of the antenna base 13 through the small diameter hole 13g. It becomes like this.

  Next, FIG. 7 is a side view showing the configuration of the coil spring 15. As shown in this figure, the coil spring 15 is configured by winding an elastic wire such as phosphor bronze in a coil shape. The upper and lower portions of the coil spring 15 are closely wound, and when the coil spring 15 is housed in the through hole 13f in the antenna base 13, the main body portion 14a of the push rod 14 is inserted into the coil spring 15. The upper end of the coil spring 15 comes into contact with the peripheral side surface of the flange 14b of the push rod 14.

Next, FIG. 8A is a side view showing the configuration of the stopper 16, and FIG. 8B is a side view showing the configuration of the stopper 16 in a sectional view.
As shown in these drawings, the stopper 16 is made of a metal such as brass, and has a main body portion 16a and a lower end portion 16b in which an insertion hole 16d is formed, and between the main body portion 16a and the lower end portion 16b. A groove portion 16c is formed. The stopper 16 is inserted from below into the through hole 13f in the antenna base 13 in which the push rod 14 and the coil spring 15 are housed, and the lower part corresponding to the groove 16c of the antenna base 13 is crimped, so that the antenna base 13 is fitted. At this time, the upper surface of the stopper 16 comes into contact with the lower end of the coil spring 15 so that the coil spring 15 is compressed. As a result, the coil spring 15 biases the push rod 14, and the upper surface of the push portion 14c of the push rod 14 protruding from the small diameter hole 13g elastically acts on the peripheral side surface of the holding piece 22b formed on the joint 12a. Will come to press. Further, since the main body 14a of the push rod 14 is slidably inserted into the insertion hole 16d of the stopper 16, the inclination of the push rod 14 is regulated by the stopper 16, and the first element 11 and the first element 11 When the element portion composed of the two elements 12 is brought into the upright state, it can be made to stand upright without being inclined.

  Next, FIG. 9A is a side view showing the configuration of the second pin 17 b constituting the shaft portion 17, and FIG. 9B is the configuration of the first pin 17 a constituting the shaft portion 17. FIG. The second pin 17b shown in FIG. 9A is made of a metal such as stainless steel or brass, and includes a disc-shaped head and a rod-shaped fitting portion having a circular cross section extending from the head. The first pin 17a shown in FIG. 9 (b) is made of a metal such as stainless steel or brass, and has a cylindrical main body portion closed on one side and a circular head having a circular section formed by expanding the diameter on the closed side. A fitting hole having a circular cross section is formed over substantially the entire main body. The shaft portion 17 is configured by inserting the fitting portion of the second pin 17b into the fitting hole. That is, the clamping piece 22b formed in the joint 12a is inserted into the clamping groove 13c in the clamping part 13a, and the first pin 17a is inserted from one of the insertion holes 13d in the clamping part 13a. Next, the second pin 17b is fitted into the fitting hole of the first pin 17a from the other side of the insertion hole 13d. Thereby, the clamping piece 22b is pivotally supported by the clamping part 13a by the shaft part 17 including the first pin 17a and the second pin 17b.

Next, FIG. 10 is a side view showing the configuration of the joint 12a, FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of the joint 12a, and FIG. 12 is a side view showing the configuration of the joint 12a in a sectional view.
As shown in these drawings, the joint 12a is made of a metal such as brass and has a cylindrical main body 22a with one end closed, and a flat sandwiching piece 22b extending from the lower end of the main body 22a. Yes. An insertion hole 22d into which the lower portion of the second element 12 is fitted is formed in the main body portion 22a, and an insertion hole 22c is formed in the flat sandwiching piece 22b. The holding piece 22b is inserted into the holding groove 13c of the holding portion 13a in the antenna base 13, and the first pin 17a inserted through one insertion hole 13d of the holding portion 13a is inserted through the insertion hole 22c formed in the holding piece 22b. The shaft portion 17 is configured by inserting the second pin 17b into the first pin 17a from the other insertion hole 13d. The peripheral side surface of the sandwiching piece 22b has a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners and a flat bottom surface, and the pressing portion 14c of the push rod 14 is elastically pressed against the peripheral side surface. As a result, when the second element portion 12 is made almost upright from the tilted state, the flattened side surface of the pressing portion 14c is flattened on the flat peripheral side surface of the lower surface by overcoming the rounded corner of the sandwiching piece 22b that is substantially rectangular. The upper surface comes into elastic contact, and a click feeling can be obtained. The lower portion of the second element 12 is inserted into the insertion hole 22d and caulked to fit the joint 12a into the lower portion of the second element 12.

Next, an assembly process of the configuration excluding the element portion of the antenna 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to an exploded view shown in FIG.
In FIG. 13, the joint 12 a and the antenna base 13 are shown in a cross-sectional view, and the clamping piece 22 b is inserted into the clamping groove 13 c of the clamping part 13 a in the antenna base 13, and is inserted from one insertion hole 13 d of the clamping part 13 a. The first pin 17a passes through the insertion hole 22c formed in the clamping piece 22b, and the shaft portion 17 is assembled by fitting the second pin 17b into the first pin 17a from the other insertion hole 13d. Is pivotally supported by the antenna base 13. In this state, the push rod 14 is inserted into the through hole 13f of the antenna base 13 from below, the push part 14c is projected outward from the narrow hole 13g above the through hole 13f, and the upper surface of the push part 14c is held between the clamping pieces 22b. It is made to contact with the peripheral side surface. Next, when the coil spring 15 is inserted into the through hole 13 f of the antenna base 13 from below, the main body portion 14 a of the push rod 14 is inserted into the coil spring 15, and the upper end of the coil spring 15 is the flange portion 14 b of the push rod 14. It contacts the lower surface of the. Subsequently, when the stopper 16 is inserted into the through hole 13f of the antenna base 13 from below, the upper surface of the stopper 16 comes into contact with the lower end of the coil spring 15, but the entire stopper 16 is inserted into the through hole 13f. Insert until At this time, the body portion 14 a of the push rod 14 is inserted into the insertion hole 16 d of the stopper 16, and the coil spring 15 is compressed and contracted. The urging force of the coil spring 15 is transmitted via the push rod 14. It is applied to the peripheral side surface of the sandwiching piece 22b. When the stopper 16 is inserted into the through-hole 13f, the antenna base 13 corresponding to the groove 16c of the stopper 16 is caulked to fix the stopper 16 to the antenna base 13. Thereby, the antenna 1 can be assembled as shown in FIG. In the assembled antenna 1, the inclination of the push rod 14 is regulated by the stopper 16, and when the element portion composed of the first element 11 and the second element 12 is brought into the upright state, the push rod 14 stands upright without inclining. Can be made. Moreover, when the element part which consists of the 1st element 11 and the 2nd element 12 tilts with respect to the antenna base part 13, while being able to hold | maintain a desired tilt angle, a click feeling can be obtained.

Next, an example of the configuration of the mobile phone 100 including the antenna 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 14 is a perspective view showing a state in which the antenna 1 according to the present invention is extended and tilted from the mobile phone 100, and FIG. 15 shows a state in which the antenna 1 according to the present invention is housed in the mobile phone 100. FIG. 16 is a front view showing a tilting range when the antenna 1 according to the present invention is extended from the mobile phone 100, and FIG. 17 is an extension of the antenna 1 according to the present invention from the mobile phone 100. It is a side view which shows the rotation range at the time.
As shown in these drawings, the antenna 1 according to the present invention is attached to one side surface of a housing 100 a constituting the mobile phone 100. The casing 100a is provided with an operation unit including a numeric keypad and operation buttons (not shown) and a display 101 including a liquid crystal. The antenna 1 can be tilted with respect to the housing 100a when extended, and in the extended state of the antenna 1 shown in FIG. An element portion made up of the elements 12 is substantially perpendicular to the laterally oriented casing 100a. The antenna 1 can pull out the first element 11 from the second element 12, and can be expanded and contracted in two stages so that the length of the antenna 1 can be changed. Further, when the antenna 1 is retracted, the top portion 10 can be stored in the storage space provided in the housing 100a as shown in FIG. Further, the extended antenna 1 can be tilted at an arbitrary angle with respect to the housing 100a, and the tilting range is 0 ° to about 90 ° as shown in FIG. Further, the extended antenna 1 is rotatable about the antenna base 13 as a rotation axis with respect to the housing 100a, and the rotation range is rotated at an arbitrary angle of about 360 ° as shown in FIG. be able to. As a result, the directivity characteristics of the antenna 1 attached to the mobile phone 100 can be directed in a desired direction, and the length of the antenna 1 can be changed. An antenna suitable for the mobile phone 100 capable of receiving can be obtained.

In the above description, the antenna for a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone that can receive a one-segment partial reception service of digital terrestrial television broadcasting has been described. However, the antenna is not limited to this, and tilts and rotates in a horizontal plane. It can be applied generally to antennas that need to do.
Moreover, although the antenna part which consists of a 1st element and a 2nd element can be expanded-contracted in 2 steps | paragraphs, it is not restricted to this, It is good also as an antenna part of 1 step | paragraph structure which consists only of 1st elements.

It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of extending | stretching the antenna made into the 2nd step which is an Example of this invention and was extendable. It is a figure which expands and shows a part of structure of the antenna which is an Example of this invention with sectional drawing. It is a side view which shows the structure of the antenna base part of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the antenna base part of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the antenna base part of the antenna concerning this invention with sectional drawing. It is a side view which shows the structure of the push rod of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the coil spring of the antenna concerning this invention. It is the side view which shows the structure of the stopper of the antenna concerning this invention, and its sectional drawing. It is a side view which shows the structure of the 1st pin and 2nd pin which comprise the axial part of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the joint of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the joint of the antenna concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the joint of the antenna concerning this invention with sectional drawing. 1 is an exploded view of an antenna according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which extended and tilted the antenna concerning this invention from a mobile telephone. It is a perspective view which shows the state which accommodated the antenna concerning this invention in the mobile telephone. It is a front view which shows the tilting range at the time of extending | stretching the antenna concerning this invention from a mobile telephone. It is a side view which shows the rotation range at the time of extending | stretching the antenna concerning this invention from a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the structure of an example of the antenna for portable telephones conventionally proposed. It is a figure which expands and shows a part of structure of the antenna conventionally proposed by sectional drawing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna, 10 Top part, 11 1st element, 12 2nd element, 12 Element part, 12a Joint, 12b Hold part, 13 Antenna base part, 13a Clamping part, 13b Body part, 13c Clamping groove, 13d Insertion hole, 13e Part, 13f through hole, 13g small diameter hole, 14 push rod, 14a body part, 14b collar part, 14c push part, 15 coil spring, 16 stopper, 16a body part, 16b lower end part, 16c groove part, 16d insertion hole, 17 Shaft part, 17a 1st pin, 17b 2nd pin, 18 holder, 22a body part, 22b clamping piece, 22c insertion hole, 22d insertion hole, 100 mobile phone, 100a housing, 101 display, 200 antenna, 210 top part, 211 1st element, 212 2nd element DOO, 212a joints, 212b hold unit, 213 antenna base, 213a sandwiching section, 214 push rod, 214b flange portion 215 coil spring 216 stopper 217 shaft portion 218 holder, 222b clamping piece

Claims (2)

An element portion having a flexible element, a top portion fixed to the tip of the element, and a sandwiching piece formed at the lower end;
An antenna having a sandwiching portion pivotally supported by a shaft portion so as to sandwich the sandwiching piece formed at the lower end of the element portion, holding the element portion in a tiltable manner, and having a through-hole formed throughout. The base,
A slide hole in which the element portion is slidably held, and a holder in which the antenna base is held in the slide hole when the element portion is pulled out;
A push rod which is housed in the through hole of the antenna base and protrudes from the upper end of the antenna base and is in contact with the peripheral side surface of the clamping piece;
A coil spring housed in the through hole of the antenna base and biasing the push rod toward the clamping piece;
A stopper fitted to the lower end of the antenna base so that the push bar and the coil spring do not come out of the through hole of the antenna base,
An antenna for a portable electronic device, wherein a lower portion of the push rod is slidably inserted into an insertion hole formed in the stopper.   The push rod has an elongated rod shape with a flange portion having a diameter increased in the middle, and a lower portion of the push rod is inserted into the coil spring so that an upper end of the coil spring is the flange portion. The antenna for a portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the coil spring is in contact with the upper surface of the stopper.

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