KR101030851B1 - Apparatus for mobile device with attachable expansion - Google Patents

Abstract

Removable wireless expansion device according to the present invention includes an antenna module for transmitting or receiving a wireless signal; An external power connector detachably connected to the external power supply means; A terminal connection connector detachably coupled to the portable terminal to interface a signal between the portable terminal and the antenna module, and output the external power of the external power supply means to the portable terminal; And electrically connected to the antenna module, the external power connector, and the terminal connection connector, respectively, to control signal transmission between the antenna module and the terminal connection connector, and convert the external power supplied from the external power connector into the terminal connection connector. It is configured to include a control module for outputting.

According to the present invention, by integrally designing an antenna for transmitting or receiving a wireless signal in conjunction with the portable terminal and the expansion device for supplying power to the portable terminal, the expansion device of the portable terminal can be miniaturized, of course, production The unit price can be reduced and economic benefits can be created.

Description

Detachable wireless expansion unit {APPARATUS FOR MOBILE DEVICE WITH ATTACHABLE EXPANSION}

The present invention relates to an expansion device that is detachably coupled to a portable terminal such as a mobile phone, and more particularly, is configured to effectively extend and detach the extension of a user's personal portable terminal and the like to transmit and receive a wireless signal and supply power to the portable terminal. The present invention relates to a detachable wireless extension device that can be effectively realized selectively or in parallel with a simple configuration.

In general, an antenna is a means for receiving radio waves introduced from the outside and transmitting signals transmitted from other devices inside. Such an antenna is an essential component of a wireless portable terminal because it performs an important mediator role in wireless signal transmission / reception to improve communication sensitivity.

On the other hand, portable terminals, such as mobile communication terminals, have recently been miniaturized and slimmed, and various functions have been added to the portable terminals, thereby being combined. In particular, the GPS (Global Positioning System) enables the user to track his / her location by detecting and confirming his / her location by using satellite location information and finding the distance and the shortest route from the location to the desired location. As the spread of the positioning system) has become more common, the trend of providing a separate antenna for receiving the GPS signal in each mobile terminal is increasing.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned multifunctional portable terminal, the portable terminal must be made smaller and lighter for convenience, and also have to secure an area for function expansion. In particular, the antenna provided in the portable terminal has a limitation in reducing its size, which is an obstacle to miniaturization of the portable terminal.

In order to solve the above problems, a method of modularizing the antenna may be considered to be detachably coupled to the portable terminal. However, the above method simply pulls the antenna to the outside of the portable terminal by combining the antenna with the portable terminal. Only the function provided to the mobile terminal is limited.

On the other hand, it is currently recommended that the external power interface unit provided in the portable terminal to supply power to the portable terminal is manufactured to a standard connection standard for easy connection with an external power supply means, but the device structure according to the miniaturization of the portable terminal However, they are manufactured in various ways according to the design elements for the market demand or the specific use.

Accordingly, in the case of a portable terminal having a non-standard connector, an expansion device (connector converter or gender) capable of connecting to a connector of another standard is required to supply power to the portable terminal.

The use of such an expansion device for connection between different standards is not only inconvenient to carry the expansion device required in accordance with the terminal specifications at all times, but also has to be provided with all the independent modules for performing each expansion function. When the user wants to perform each function through the mobile terminal, user convenience is low, such as the need to repeat the coupling each time.

In addition, the conventional expansion device is connected to the connector of the mobile terminal in a lock form without a physical separation space, so the flexibility of the coupling portion is insufficient, there is a problem that there is a high possibility of damage to the expansion device due to the physical shock and the malfunction of the mobile terminal accordingly. have.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a detachable wireless extension device in which a plurality of functional configurations are integrated or integrated into a single module to further increase user convenience.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described below and will be appreciated by the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the configuration and combination of configurations shown in the claims.

In order to achieve the above object, the removable wireless extension device of the present invention includes an antenna module for transmitting or receiving a radio signal; An external power connector detachably connected to the external power supply means; A terminal connection connector detachably coupled to the portable terminal to interface a signal between the portable terminal and the antenna module, and output the external power of the external power supply means to the portable terminal; And electrically connected to the antenna module, the external power connector, and the terminal connection connector, respectively, to control signal transmission between the antenna module and the terminal connection connector, and convert the external power supplied from the external power connector into the terminal connection connector. It is configured to include a control module for outputting.

The apparatus may further include a housing having a plurality of through-holes in the outside, wherein the antenna module and the control module are embedded in the housing, and the external power connector and the terminal connection connector extend outward through the individual through-holes. It may be configured to couple with the control module.

The control module of the present invention for implementing a more preferred embodiment is provided with a plurality of connection terminals detachably coupled to the terminal connection connector, the through hole of the housing may be formed at a position corresponding to the plurality of connection terminals. .

In addition, the connection terminal, may be formed hinged to the control module, the control module includes a signal processing unit for GPS operation processing using the signal received from the antenna module, the GPS operation processing result data Output to the mobile terminal through the interface of the terminal connection connector.

According to the present invention, an integrated design of an antenna for transmitting or receiving a wireless signal in conjunction with a portable terminal and a removable expansion device for supplying power to the portable terminal can reduce the size of the component and reduce the production cost. Occurs.

In addition, according to the present invention, the use of the portable terminal is not limited to the type of the connector provided by the various types of portable terminals and external power sources, and is provided with a connector that is detachable and can easily provide connection expandability in the use environment. Convenience can be increased and the removable wireless extension device according to the present invention can be reused in a new portable terminal even when the portable terminal is replaced.

In addition, according to the present invention, by changing the direction of the antenna module by changing the connector connected to the mobile terminal, it is possible to provide the optimum transmission / reception efficiency in response to changes in various wireless environments, the connector connected to the mobile terminal By providing the hinge in the form of a hinge, even if an impact is applied to the parts connected to each other, it is possible to secure autonomous angular movement in the direction of the impact, thereby reducing the risk of breakage.

The removable wireless extension device of the present invention based on such an effect can be applied to various applications such as GPS, RFID, and wireless terminal system, and it is very easy to add a function for supporting various service requirements in the future.

In addition, the expansion device according to the present invention can effectively meet the user needs (needs) for the convenience or convenience of the portable terminal, etc. can create a new market demand.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Prior to this, terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to the common or dictionary meanings, and the inventors should properly explain the concept of terms in order to best explain their own invention. Based on the principle that can be defined, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

In the following description with reference to the drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals and duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the removable wireless expansion device 100 according to the present invention. As shown, the removable wireless expansion device 100 includes an antenna module 110, an external power connector 120, a terminal connection connector 130 and a control module 140.

The antenna module 110 is for transmitting or receiving a wireless signal, the wireless signal transmitted or received in the transmission to the terminal connection connector 130 is connected to the mobile terminal through the control process of the control module 140. Received.

In this case, the wireless signal may be a wireless signal using a GPS protocol and a control method, and is not limited to a specific wireless signal, and all LBSs (Location Based Service) to which GPS technology is applied according to a change in a wireless signal transmission method thereafter. , A wireless terminal service or an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) service may be a wireless signal selected from various services according to the embodiment.

In the description of the present invention, the mobile terminal may mainly correspond to a mobile communication terminal capable of performing a voice or video call with a user who is physically separated, but is required to transmit and receive a wireless signal and supply external power. If it is a terminal, it should be interpreted that it is contained in the said portable terminal, without being limited to the names, such as PDA and GPS receiver, for example.

By constructing the antenna outside the mobile terminal as described above, it is possible to selectively mount the antenna having the signal of the required frequency band in the mobile terminal, and also because it is not necessary to arrange the antenna inside the mobile terminal, thereby providing space for the antenna to be mounted. Since it does not need to provide it, a portable terminal can be miniaturized.

Next, the external power connector 120 is a connector detachably connected to an external power supply means (not shown), the external power supplied from the external power supply means (not shown) via the control module 140 It is output to the terminal connection connector 130 connected to the mobile terminal.

Next, the terminal connection connector 130 is a connector that is detachably coupled to the portable terminal and transfers the external power or wireless signal output by the control module 140 to the portable terminal. That is, in the terminal connection connector 130, signals between the portable terminal and the antenna module 110 are interfaced, and the external power of the external power supply means is output to the portable terminal.

Finally, the control module 140 is electrically connected to the external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector 130, respectively, to control signal transmission between the antenna module 110 and the terminal connection connector 130. The external power supplied from the external power connector 120 is output to the terminal connection connector 130.

That is, the control module 140 is a module that mediates a signal or power between the external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector 130, and calculates a signal transmitted or received from the antenna module 110 to the Output to the mobile terminal through the terminal connection connector 130, and controls the external power input from the external power connector 120 to be output through the terminal connection connector 130 at a predetermined voltage.

At this time, the control module 140 includes a signal processing unit 142 for GPS calculation processing using the signal received from the antenna module 110, the terminal connection connector 130 to the GPS operation processing result data It is preferable to output to the mobile terminal through interfacing of.

As described above, the use of the present invention as a GPS module may be an extension device applied to wireless communication such as satellite signals, wireless terminals, RFID, and the like as needed.

The user can carry the removable wireless extension device 100 configured as described above in the form of an accessory of the portable terminal and use it as a wireless module that interworks with the portable terminal. It can also be used as a connector connecting device provided from the external power supply means to provide to the portable terminal. In this case, the wireless module function and the connector connection function may operate independently or simultaneously.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the detachable wireless extension device 100 according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a combined perspective view of the detachable wireless extension device 100 according to the present invention.

2 and 3, the detachable wireless extension device 100 according to the present invention further includes a housing 150 having a plurality of through holes 152 on the outside, and the control module 140 Is built in the housing 150, the external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector 130 is coupled to the control module 140 in a form extending outward through the individual through holes 152.

At this time, the antenna module 110 embedded in the housing 150 is connected to the antenna module as necessary to feed and / or ground, and monopole / PLAN (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) / PILA (Planar Inverted). -L antenna) can be implemented. Such power supply and / or ground connection can be easily selected and designed by those skilled in the art to implement a known antenna connection type, the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, the antenna module 110 may be formed by combining a ceramic patch antenna. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and pure metals such as copper, copper alloy, and aluminum may be formed by adhering the conductive material to the antenna substrate, and other methods of etching or depositing the conductive material on the substrate may be used. have.

On the other hand, the external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector 130, one side thereof is coupled to the control module 140, the other side of each connector is detachably coupled to the external power supply means and the mobile terminal, respectively. do.

The terminal connection connector 130 electrically connects between the antenna module 110 and the mobile terminal to transmit / receive signals controlled by the control module 140 and external power of the external power supply means. It consists of a power pin that outputs to the mobile terminal.

Accordingly, the data line to which the wireless signal of the antenna module 110 is transmitted / received and the power line to transmit power transmitted from the external power connector 120 are electrically connected to the corresponding circuit of the control module 140, respectively. Then, by connecting to the corresponding pin of the terminal connection connector 130, the terminal connection connector 130 has an interface function for signal transmission with the supply connection of the external power.

At this time, the external power connector 120 is preferably a different type of connector than the terminal connection connector 130. That is, the external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector 130 are provided in different types as described above, so that the interface between the mobile terminal and the external power supply means provided in various standards according to the use and necessity can be interconnected. Can be. As a result, the interface unit can enhance compatibility between devices that are not standard connection standards, and maximize the utilization of the portable terminal and the external power supply means.

Here, the antenna module 110 and the control module 140 is preferably implemented on the same printed circuit board to form an integrated. Implementing the antenna module 110 and the control module 140 on the same substrate as described above physically integrated may have the advantages of efficiency of production and cost reduction of production.

Meanwhile, the control module 140 includes a plurality of connection terminals 144 detachably coupled to the terminal connection connector 130, and the through hole 152 of the housing corresponds to the plurality of connection terminals 144. It is formed at the position.

That is, a connection terminal 144 is provided on the control module 140 to be electrically connected to the printed circuit board of the control module 140 and the terminal connection connector 130 on one surface of the connection terminal 144. Detachable coupling portion is formed is coupled to the control module 140 and the terminal connection connector 130 is coupled or separated from each other.

The through hole 152 of the housing is provided in the housing 150 to correspond to the position where the connection terminal 144 is formed so that the plurality of connection terminals 144 and the terminal connection connector 130 can be coupled to each other. do.

Meanwhile, although the housing 150 of the present invention is illustrated in a square shape in FIG. 3, various polygonal shapes such as a rectangular bar shape as well as a hexagonal shape as shown in FIG. 4 or an external power connector 120 and the terminal connection connector are illustrated. As long as the 130 can be provided on one surface, any shape can be used.

When the terminal connection connector 130 is coupled to the mobile terminal, the terminal connection connector 130 affects the direction of the antenna module 110 embedded in the housing 150 according to the direction of the coupled terminal connection connector 130. Since the antenna has a difference in the radio wave environment according to its position, by changing the direction of the antenna freely by freely changing the direction of the terminal connection connector 130 detachably coupled to the portable terminal, the radio waves having better sensitivity among the received radio waves Can be adaptively received.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the connection terminal 144 may be hinged to the control module 140. The hinge 146 is formed between the printed circuit board and the connection terminal 144 of the control module 140 so that the connection terminal is not fixed to the printed circuit board and can be moved in a left, right, or up and down direction. Provide flexibility.

The hinge 146 illustrated in FIG. 6 is formed of a conductive material such as metal because it is to be electrically connected to the control module 140, the terminal connection connector 130, and the like. In this regard, the connection terminal 144 can be moved within a predetermined direction in the left and right or up and down directions as described above, so that the mobile terminal and the like can be physically easily coupled to the expansion device of the present invention. It is preferable to configure the movement direction by the predetermined stepped structure.

Through the structural connection of the present invention, the electrical connection can be effectively performed, and at the same time, it is possible to effectively overcome the weaknesses of the external shocks inherent in the related art, and the specific function of the portable terminal can be continuously maintained regardless of the external shocks.

In the above embodiment, the movement of the connection terminal 144 by the hinge 146 is limited within a right and left or up and down direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and any method may be used to provide flexibility of the connector connection portion. Or is possible.

As described above, although the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto and is described below by the person skilled in the art and the technical spirit of the present invention. Various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

The following drawings, which are attached to this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and together with the detailed description of the present invention serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention, the present invention includes matters described in such drawings. It should not be construed as limited to.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a removable wireless expansion apparatus according to the present invention,

2 is an exploded perspective view of the detachable wireless extension device according to the present invention;

3 is a combined perspective view of the detachable wireless extension device according to the present invention;

4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the removable wireless expansion device according to the present invention;

5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment using a hinge in a removable wireless expansion device according to the present invention,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the hinge of FIG. 5.

Claims (7)

An antenna module for transmitting or receiving a radio signal; An external power connector detachably connected to the external power supply means; A terminal connection connector which is detachably coupled to the portable terminal to interface signals between the portable terminal and the antenna module and outputs external power of the external power supply means to the portable terminal; Electrically connected to the antenna module, the external power connector and the terminal connection connector, respectively, to control signal transmission between the antenna module and the terminal connection connector, and output the external power supplied from the external power connector to the terminal connection connector. A control module; And It includes a housing having a plurality of through holes on the outside, The antenna module and the control module is embedded in the housing, the external power connector and the terminal connection connector is removable wireless extension, characterized in that coupled to the control module in the form extending outwards through the individual through-hole. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the control module, And a plurality of connection terminals detachably coupled to the terminal connection connector, and the through hole of the housing is formed at a position corresponding to the plurality of connection terminals. The method of claim 3, wherein the connection terminal, Removable wireless extension device characterized in that the hinge coupled to the control module. The method of claim 1, wherein the control module, And a signal processing unit configured to perform GPS calculation processing using the signal received from the antenna module, and output the GPS operation processing result data to the portable terminal through interfacing the terminal connection connector. The method of claim 1, wherein the external power connector and the terminal connection connector, Removable wireless extension device, characterized in that different types of connectors. The method of claim 1, wherein the antenna module and the control module, Removable wireless expansion device, characterized in that formed on the same printed circuit board to form an integrated.

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