KR101604715B1 - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A smart antenna system that can be applied to MIMO is disclosed. The antenna system of the portable terminal according to the present invention can improve the spatial diversity and the polarization diversity by using antennas installed in different bodies. LTE HRPD, and the like, and is advantageous in terms of manufacturing and cost.

Description

[0001] PORTABLE TERMINAL [0002]

The present invention relates to an antenna device of a portable terminal.

A portable terminal is a portable device that is portable and has one or more functions such as voice and video call function, information input / output function, and data storing function.

As the functions are diversified, the mobile terminal has complicated functions such as photographing and photographing of movies, playing music or moving picture files, receiving games, broadcasting, etc. These devices are integrally mounted and are equipped with a multimedia player .

In order to implement complex functions in multimedia devices, various new attempts have been made in terms of hardware or software. For example, a user interface environment is provided for a user to easily and conveniently search for or select a function.

As the type and amount of data to be transmitted through the portable terminal are increased, an attempt is made to meet the performance of the wireless antenna (e.g., MIMO). However, miniaturization tendency of the portable terminal is not easy to overcome the space diversity among the antennas, and problems such as mutual coupling due to a narrow installation distance may arise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to minimize mutual coupling between antennas installed in a limited space and improve radio performance.

The present invention also proposes an antenna structure that maximizes space and polarization diversity in a confined space, while facilitating modularization and fabrication.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including: a first body having a first antenna; A second body foldably connected to the first body by a hinge; And a second antenna having a radiator disposed on the second body so as to realize diversity of the first antenna, the second antenna being formed to be connectable to the circuit board of the first body; A flexible PCB extending to the second body through the hinge; And an antenna connection portion formed at the second body side end portion of the flexible PCB and configured to be in contact with the radiator.

As an example related to the present invention, the first antenna may be disposed on the opposite side of the hinge of the first body.

As an example related to the present invention, a ground of a certain area may be further included in at least one of the first body side end portion and the second body side end portion of the flexible PCB.

As an example related to the present invention, a display may be installed on the second body, and a flexible PCB connecting the circuit board and the display may be further provided.

As an example related to the present invention, the flexible PCB for connecting the display may be integrally formed so that the flexible PCB for connecting the second antenna can extend in common through the hinge.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the radiator of the second antenna may be formed directly on the flexible PCB.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the radiator is disposed in parallel to a plane direction of the second body, and when the second body is in an open state, the radiator is formed to be able to form an angle with respect to the first antenna .

As an example related to the present invention, the plug may be configured to be inserted into a mobile switch formed on the circuit board.

As an example related to the present invention, the first antenna or the second antenna may be composed of a plurality of different antennas.

As an example related to the present invention, the plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna may be formed to cover different bands.

As an example related to the present invention, a plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna may be connected to the same feed path.

As an example related to the present invention, the plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna may be composed of an antenna having a dielectric constant of 6 to 20 and an antenna having a dielectric constant of 1 to 4.

As described above, according to the antenna structure of the portable terminal related to the present invention, since the second antenna is located in the second body having a constant angle with respect to the first body, polarization diversity (polarization) diversity can be improved. As a result, it can be suitably applied to terminals requiring high data processing capacity such as LTE and HRPD.

Particularly, since the second antenna is formed in a flexible PCB, it is easy to modularize and has advantages in manufacturing and cost.

Hereinafter, a vibration generating method of a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a portable terminal according to the present invention in a closed state, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a portable terminal according to the present invention in an open state.

According to these drawings, the portable terminal 100 has a first body 101 and a second body 102 which are foldably connected. As shown in FIG. 1, a state in which the two bodies 101 and 102 are completely overlapped can be referred to as a closed configuration. As shown in FIG. 2, when the second body 102 rotates at a specific angle with respect to the first body 101 The state in which the inner surfaces of the first body 101 and the second body 102 are exposed can be referred to as an open configuration.

The portable terminal 100 forms a wireless network with another remote terminal, a base station, or a relay station. It is possible to wirelessly perform voice / image or text communication with another terminal through the portable terminal 100, or to enable the Internet or the like. Furthermore, the portable terminal 100 can enjoy broadcasting at any place where the user is located by having means for wirelessly receiving a radio broadcast or a TV broadcast.

The case (casing, housing, cover, etc.) constituting the external appearance of the portable terminal 100 may be formed by injection molding synthetic resin or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti) have.

A first display 151 may be provided on the outer surface of the second body 102 to output various status information of the portable terminal and user contents without opening the second body 102. [

A first image input unit 121 is provided in another portion of the outer surface of the second body 102. The first image input unit 121 may be configured to photograph the user using the first display 151 without using the second body 102 in the opened state or opening the second body 102. [

Referring to FIG. 3, an acoustic output unit 152, a second image input unit 121 ', and a second display 151' are provided on the inner surface of the second body 102.

The sound output unit 152 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker.

The second image input unit 121 'may be implemented in the form of a camera module for photographing an image or a moving image for a user or for a video communication. Furthermore, an image input unit may be additionally provided on the outer surface of the second body 102 or on the rear surface of the first body 101 so that the user can take an image of the object on the opposite side of the user.

The second display 151 'is suitable for providing a null screen rather than the first display 151 and may convert and output a screen output according to the attitude of the portable terminal 100. For example, when the portable terminal 100 is laid out on the ground, the screen displayed through the second display 151 'is rotated by 90 degrees and the size is adjusted so that the user can comfortably view the screen .

The first display 151 and the second display 151 'may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a transparent display, or an e- paper) and the like. The displays 151 and 151 'may further include touch sensing means to enable information input by a user's touch.

A keypad 132 and an acoustic input unit 122 may be mounted on the inner surface of the first body 101 and side keys 131 and an external interface 170 may be provided on the side surface thereof.

The keypad 132 and the side key 131 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner. For example, the operation unit may be implemented by a dome switch or a touch screen, a touch pad, or a wheel, a jog type, a joystick, or the like, As shown in FIG.

In terms of functionality, the keypad 132 is for inputting commands such as inputting letters, numbers, starting, ending, scrolling, etc., and the side key 131 is for inputting adjustable state amounts (volume, brightness, And as a hot-key for performing a special function such as control of the image input unit 121, activation of the image input unit 121, and the like.

The external interface 170 is a path for allowing the portable terminal 100 related to the present invention to exchange data with an external device. For example, the external interface 170 may be at least one of a connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, an IrDA port, and a wireless LAN port in a wired or wireless manner. The external interface 170 may be a card socket that accepts an external card such as a SIM (subscriber identification module) or a UIM (user identity module), a memory card for information storage, and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first body 101 and the second body 102 are connected by a hinge 108. The hinge 108 allows the second body 102 to implement openings at a certain angle relative to the first body 101, e.g., about 130 degrees during a call, 90 degrees for taking pictures, etc. [ An elastic unit (see reference numeral 109 in FIG. 3) may be installed on the hinge 108 to control the opening angle of the second body 102 due to elasticity, or a stopper device may be installed to adjust the stop angle .

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. 2, showing a state in which covers constituting the first body and the second body are separated.

3, the first body 101 includes a circuit board 201 on which various components such as a processor including a wireless processing module are mounted. The circuit board 201 may have a multilayer structure when viewed from the side, or may be formed into a plurality of structures when viewed in plan view.

A first antenna 210 is provided on the opposite side of the hinge of the circuit board 201. The first antenna 210 may be configured to operate in multiple wireless communication bands provided by the portable terminal 100 (multi-band). The first antenna 210 may be disposed at an end portion of the first body 101 so as to minimize interference or hand effect with other components.

The first antenna 210 may be formed in various types of deformations, including a press type shown in Fig. 3 (which is formed by pressing a radiator formed of a thin metal plate on a surface of a dielectric carrier).

Another antenna that feeds the circuit board 201 together with the first antenna 210 is a second antenna 230 in which the radiator 235 is disposed in the second body 102. The first antenna 210 and the second antenna 220 form a smart antenna system for implementing MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Out).

The radiator 235 of the second antenna 230 is spatially placed in the volume of the second body 102 rather than in the structure of the first antenna 210 together with the first antenna 210, And the spatial diversity of the antenna.

The second antenna 230 includes a plug 231, a flexible PCB 232 and a radiator 235. Hereinafter, description will be made in order.

The plug 231 is formed so as to be insertable into the circuit board 201 so that the signal of the radiator 235 can be fed to the circuit board 201 by the plug 231. The plug 231 may be configured to be inserted into a mobile switch (not shown) provided on the circuit board 201. In this case, since a separate receptacle structure for connecting the plug 231 is not required, space can be saved and a small portable terminal can be designed.

The flexible PCB 232 is configured to pass through the hinge 108 which is a narrow passage mechanically connecting the first body 101 and the second body 102. The flexible PCB 232 is configured to pass through the hinge 108, And is formed to have durability so as to maintain a stable connection state. The flexible PCB 232 can provide a stable feed structure for the radiator 235 and can be expected to be easily manufactured and assembled.

3 shows that the radiator 235 is formed directly on the flexible PCB 232. That is, the radiator 235 is formed in a specific pattern using the copper foil on the flexible PCB 232, so that the radiator 235 and the flexible PCB 232 are integrally handled as a whole. In this case, since the second antenna is formed in the process of manufacturing the flexible PCB 232, the connection (power supply) structure required when the second antenna 230 is formed separately from the flexible PCB 232 is omitted Which is advantageous in terms of parts and cost.

As one example using the present invention, the flexible PCB 232 may be formed with connectors 241 and 242 for connecting the circuit board 201 to the display 151 of the second body 102 and other components. In other words, the electrical connection structure of the second body 102 is combined with the feeding structure of the second antenna 230 at once using the characteristic of the flexible PCB 232, which is easy to form into multiple layers. Therefore, there is an advantage that parts can be saved, manufacturing time and cost can be reduced.

4 is a schematic plan view of a portable terminal according to the present invention. The second antenna 230 is disposed on the second body 102 instead of the first body 101 having a limited length to secure a certain distance D. Particularly, in a situation where the installation space of the antenna is limited according to the miniaturization tendency of the portable terminal, the arrangement of the first antenna 210 and the second antenna 230 reduces coupling between the first antenna 210 and the second antenna 230 and facilitates spatial diversity implementation One structure. The radiator 235 forming the second antenna 230 may be formed at the upper end of the first body 101 to increase the distance from the first antenna 210. [

The flexible PCB 232 constituting the second antenna 230 is disposed on the opposite side of the elastic module 109 for providing elasticity on the rotation of the second body 102 on the hinge 108 as shown in FIG. And may be disposed on the same side of each other for saving space.

5 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing radiation directions of the antennas in a state where the portable terminal related to the present invention is open.

The radiator 235 of the second antenna 230 related to the present invention has a certain angle? In relation to the first antenna 210 in particular. This arrangement can be used, for example, for the sake of explanation, in the direction of the radiation of the first antenna 210 traveling horizontally with respect to the first body 101 and the direction of the radiation of the second antenna 102 traveling horizontally with respect to the second body 102 230 and a certain angle (?). Therefore, the polarization characteristic of the first antenna 210 is separated from the polarization characteristic of the second antenna 230, so that the radio characteristics are improved. This arrangement can be effectively applied to LTE, HRPD, etc., which have a large amount of data to be transmitted.

6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another example of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

6, the radiator 235 of the second antenna 230 is configured to be in contact with the antenna connection portion 234 formed in the flexible PCB 232. In this case, the radiator 235 may be configured in the form of a chip antenna having a small volume or an antenna of a press type described above, unlike the one shown in Fig.

The flexible PCB includes a first flexible PCB 232 for connection of the second antenna 230 and a second flexible PCB 245 for connecting the display module 261.

7 is a plan view showing another example of the second antenna 230 related to the present invention.

The second antenna 230 in the form of a flexible PCB 232 may itself include a ground of any area. 8 shows that the second antenna 230 includes a first ground 237 formed on one side of the radiator 235 and a second ground 236 formed on one side of the plug 231. The arrangement of the grounds 236 and 237 maximizes the utilization of the flexible PCB 232 which is easy to insulate. However, the shape, arrangement, or size of the first ground 237 and the second ground 236 may be modified, and one of the first ground 237 and the second ground 236 may be omitted Do.

The grounds 237 and 236 formed on the flexible PCB 232 may improve the radio characteristics of the second radiator 235 and may be formed on other portions of the second body 102 Compared to the example, there are advantages in manufacturing and cost.

8 is a perspective view schematically showing another example of the antenna system related to the present invention. The illustrated antenna system 300 is a smart antenna for MIMO, and includes a plurality of antennas 310, 330, and 380. The first antenna 310 is supplied to the circuit board 301 through a first feed path 311 and is capable of transmitting and receiving multiple bands and the second antenna 330 and the third antenna 380 are formed 1 antenna 310 and is spaced apart from the first antenna 310 by a predetermined distance in a grouped state.

The first antenna 310 may be an antenna for all of a plurality of wavelengths and the second antenna 330 may be an antenna for relatively long waves (for example, a band near 700 to 800 MHz) The antenna 380 may be constituted by an antenna which is responsible for a relatively short wave (for example, a band near 1900 MHz). The second antenna 330 may be a flexible PCB type or a press type for a low band cover, and the third antenna 380 may be a chip antenna of a high dielectric constant, a flexible PCB type antenna, or a press type antenna . ≪ / RTI >

The first feeder 331 optimized for the second antenna 330 is connected to the second antenna 330 and the second feeder 381 optimized for the third antenna 380 is connected to the third antenna 380. [ ). The first feeding part 331 and the second feeding part 381 meet at one place to form the second feed path 332. Therefore, not only the maximum performance can be realized in the space defined by each of the first, second and third antennas, but also the generation of the resonance frequency by the combination of the second antenna 330 and the third antenna 380 .

It is also possible that the second antenna 330 and the third antenna 380 are spaced apart from each other on the circuit board 301 but the third antenna 301 may be overlapped by being disposed in the area of the second antenna 330 . In this case, since the antenna mounting area can be reduced, it can be advantageous for miniaturization of the terminal. The second antenna 330 may have a dielectric constant of 1 to 4 and the third antenna 380 may have a high dielectric constant of 6 to 20.

This embodiment of the present invention recommends that an antenna be added to implement a MIMO technique in the case of an LTE system and it is recommended to design a terminal of a larger size for a CDMA_AWS band or to add a transmitting antenna for CDMA EVDO_A It is possible to satisfy the contradictory demands of enlargement of the mounting area by the multiple antennas and downsizing of the terminal. In addition, it can be regarded as a kind of 'hybrid' antenna in that different antennas 330 and 380 are combined.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example in which the antenna system of FIG. 8 is applied, and shows an antenna system applicable to a folding type portable terminal.

In other words, unlike the first antenna 410 directly fed to the circuit board 401, the second and third antennas 430 and 480 are installed in a body different from the body where the circuit board 401 is located. The second and third antennas 430 and 480 are connected by a flexible PCB 432 and the second antenna 430 is directly formed on the flexible PCB 432 and the third antenna 480 is formed by As an example, it is shown that it is implemented in a chip form.

The arrangement of these antennas constitutes a hybrid antenna system having the advantages of the above-described space diversity and polarization diversity, and can further maximize its radio performance.

The above-described portable terminal is not limited to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be configured such that all or some of the embodiments are selectively combined so that various modifications can be made. It is possible.

1 is a perspective view showing a state where a portable terminal related to the present invention is closed;

2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the portable terminal related to the present invention is open;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG.

4 is a schematic plan view of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing radiation directions of antennas in a state where the portable terminal related to the present invention is open. FIG.

6 is a sectional view schematically showing another example of the portable terminal related to the present invention

7 is a plan view showing another example of the second antenna 230 related to the present invention.

8 is a perspective view schematically showing another example of the antenna system related to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example in which the antenna system of FIG. 8 is applied.

Claims (12)

A first body having a circuit board and a first antenna; A second body foldably connected to the first body by a hinge; And And a second antenna in which a radiator is disposed in the second body so as to realize diversity of the first antenna, The first antenna includes: The hinge being disposed at a position spaced apart from the radiator by at least a predetermined distance (D) The second antenna includes: A flexible PCB extending from the first body to the second body through the hinge; A plug formed on the first body side of the flexible PCB and connected to the circuit board; An antenna connection portion formed at the second body-side end portion of the flexible PCB to be in contact with the radiator; And And a ground formed at one side of at least one of the radiator and the plug and having a predetermined area, Wherein the first antenna and the radiator form a certain angle when the second body is in an open state and are mounted on the first and second bodies so that the polarization characteristics of the first antenna and the second antenna are separated from each other, Mobile terminal. delete delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein a display is installed on the second body, and a flexible PCB for connecting the circuit board and the display is further installed. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the flexible PCB for connecting the display is formed integrally with a flexible PCB for connecting the second antenna and the hinge. The method according to claim 1, And the radiator is disposed parallel to a plane direction of the second body. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the plug is configured to be inserted into a mobile switch formed on the circuit board. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the radiator is formed directly on the flexible PCB. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first antenna or the second antenna comprises a plurality of different antennas. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna are formed to cover different bands. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna are connected to the same feed path. 10. The method of claim 9, The plurality of antennas constituting the first antenna or the second antenna An antenna having a dielectric constant of 6 to 20, and an antenna having a dielectric constant of 1 to 4.

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