Antenna for use in a wearable device

Abstract

An earpiece includes a housing, a first short range transceiver for far field communication disposed within the housing, and a second short range transceiver for near field communication disposed within the housing. The second short range transceiver for near field communications comprises an antenna formed from a plurality of coil turns. There is a battery disposed within the housing. The earpiece further includes a first generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing and a second generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing. There is a flexible connector between circuit boards. The battery is positioned between the first generally planar printed circuit board and the second generally planar printed circuit board. The antenna is mounted perpendicularly to the plurality of components mounted on the first generally planar printed circuit board to thereby reduce electromagnetic interference.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to antenna. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to an antenna for use in a wearable device such as an ear piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Various types of wireless communication linkages exist. However, there can be numerous issues when used in particular environments and/or applications. For example, in the case of wearable devices where a left earpiece is to communicate with a right earpiece there may be issues using Bluetooth wireless transceivers due to a combination of factors involving attenuation, reliability in varied environments and sensitivity. An alternative approach is to use near field magnetic induction (NFMI). NFMI is unaffected by body tissues and demonstrates improved sensitivity. However, use of NFMI introduces additional problems. For example, the placement of the antenna may be problematic. Magnetic fields induced by the PCB limits the areas of the wearable device capable of providing optimal electromagnetic field generation. In addition, there are concerns regarding the possibility of additional interference generated from other related electronic components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to improve over the state of the art.

It is a further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide for an improved wearable device.

It is a still further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide an antenna for NFMI suitable for use in a wearable device to allow for communication with other wearable devices.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to provide an antenna for induction which avoids magnetic fields induced by the printed circuit board and other electronic components associated with a wearable device.

Yet another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to provide for improved placement of an antenna within a wearable device for improved orientation of the electromagnetic field.

A further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to provide for an antenna that is sufficiently powerful for expected tasks and is straightforward in its manufacturing and assembly.

A still further object, feature or advantage of the present invention is position an antenna relative to a Bluetooth antenna to facilitate enhancement of Bluetooth reception by the Bluetooth antenna.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to position an antenna in the posterior superior segment of a wearable to allow for reliable bilateral transmission of audio and data to another wearable device.

Yet another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to provide a common ground plane between two wearable devices to allow for expansion of the electromagnetic field.

A further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to provide for antenna contact with the skin of a user wearing the wearable device in order to extend the electromagnetic field.

A still further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to allow for coils to be positioned in various places.

Another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to orient an antenna perpendicular to other electronic components to minimize electromagnetic interference with the other components.

Yet another object, feature, or advantage of the present invention is to orient an antenna at the perimeter of a PCB in order to limit the electromagnetic field interference.

One of these and/or other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims that follow. It is to be understood that different embodiments are disclosed herein and that no embodiment need meet each and every object, feature, or advantage as set forth herein. Different embodiments may have different objects, features, or advantages.

According to one aspect an earpiece is provided. The earpiece includes a housing, a first short range transceiver for far field communication disposed within the housing, and a second short range transceiver for near field communication disposed within the housing. The second short range transceiver for near field communications comprises an antenna formed from a plurality of coil turns. There is a battery disposed within the housing. The earpiece further includes a first generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a first plurality of components mounted thereto and a second generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a second plurality of components mounted thereto. There is a flexible connector between the first generally planar circuit board and the second generally planar circuit board for providing electrical connections therebetween. The battery is positioned between the first generally planar printed circuit board and the second generally planar printed circuit board. The antenna is mounted perpendicularly to the plurality of components mounted on the first generally planar printed circuit board to thereby reduce electromagnetic interference. The antenna may be mounted at a posterosuperior portion of the earpiece device. The antenna may be mounted between the first generally planar printed circuit board and the second generally planar printed circuit board along an edge of the battery. The plurality of coil turns may be wrapped around a ferrite material such a structure formed from a sheet of ferrite material. The coil turns may be wrapped around the battery or wrapped around a spacer which is positioned around the battery. The ear piece may include a balanced armature speaker and the coil turns may be wrapped around the balanced armature speaker. The coil turns may instead be wrapped around a portion of the housing such as a tip portion of the housing. The first short range transceiver may be a Bluetooth transceiver and the second short range transceiver may be a near field magnetic induction (NFMI) transceiver. The earpiece may further include a memory for storing audio files, the memory disposed within the housing and the audio files may be played back through the earpieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system including two wearable devices in the form of left and right ear pieces which bi-directionally communicate with each other.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a wearable device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a printed circuit board of the wearable device positioned relative to an induction circuit/antenna.

FIG. 4 illustrates a core.

FIG. 5 illustrates a core with coil turns thereon.

FIG. 6 illustrates printed circuit boards on opposite sides of a battery with an antenna wrapped around the battery.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a battery with antenna coils wrapped around the battery.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a spacer positioned around a battery with antenna coils wrapped around the space.

FIG. 10 illustrates a balanced armature speaker with antenna coils wrapped around the balanced armature speaker.

FIG. 11 illustrates a portion of an earpiece housing with antenna coils wrapped around tips of the ear piece housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a wearable device such as an earpiece having an antenna. Although generally described herein with respect to a near field magnetic induction (NFMI) antenna for use in an ear piece within a set of ear pieces, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to that specific application and may be used as an antenna for induction in other types of devices including other types of wearable devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system 10 which includes a first wearable device 10A in the form of an ear piece and a second wearable device 10B also in the form of an ear piece, each having an ear piece housing 12 with a central portion 13 with an upper portion 16 and a lower portion 18. A light guide assembly 20 is shown operatively connected to the housing to provide for selective illumination to provide feedback to a user. FIG. 2 provides an exploded view of the wearable device 10A. A waterproof pad 24 and protection mesh 26 are shown. In addition in the central or main portion 13 of the wearable device 10A a first printed circuit board 40 is shown with a plurality of electronic components 42 mounted thereto. The plurality of electronic components 42 may include a memory circuit such as for storing audio files which may be played back by the earpiece or a set of ear pieces. The plurality of electronic components 42 may also include a short range transceiver configured for far field communications such as a wireless radio such as a Bluetooth transceiver, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), an ultra-wideband (UWB), or other type of transceiver. A transceiver such as a near field magnetic induction (NFMI) transceiver may be mounted at an edge or perimeter of the printed circuit board 40. The transceiver 50 may be mounted at a posterosuperior portion of the wearable device 10A.

The system 10 allows for near field communication of audio channels between the left and right-sided wearable devices 10A, 10B. Other types of data may also be communicated between the left and right-sided wearable devices 10A, 10B if desired including sensor information or other data.

FIG. 3 illustrates another view of the first printed circuit board 40 with electronic components 42. A transceiver 50 is shown mounted at an edge or perimeter of the printed circuit board 40. The printed circuit board is generally planar. Note that the transceiver 50 is mounted perpendicularly or orthogonally to the top surface of the printed circuit board 40 and the plurality of components 42 mounted thereto. Positioning the transceiver 50 in this relationship provides for reducing electromagnetic interference. The transceiver 50 may be formed of a plurality of coils wrapped around a ferrite material. For example, the ferrite material may be a ferrite sheet formed into the structure shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the transceiver 50 may be positioned along an outside of a battery 54.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transceiver 50 has a plurality of coil turns 60 wrapped around the ferrite material 52. As shown in FIG. 4, the coil turns 60 may be tightly wrapped with respect to one another and thus separation between individual coil turns is not shown. The transceiver 50 may be positioned adjacent to the battery 54. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of coil turns 60 may be wrapped around the ferrite material 52. The transceiver 50 is positioned adjacent a battery 54.

In one embodiment NFMI may be used for the communication and audio channels between the left and right sided wearable devices. Placement of the coil at the perimeter of the wearable improves the electromagnetic field, avoiding degradation from adjacent onboard electronics. This allowed for optimal placement of the magnetic field for transmission and reception between the left and right wearable. The preferred embodiment allows for precise positioning within the device for optimal orientation for the electromagnetic field. Further, the preferred embodiment also allows for an NFMI antenna that is sufficiently powerful for the expected tasks, is straightforward in its manufacturing and assembly.

FIG. 6 illustrates printed circuit boards on opposite sides of a battery with an antenna positioned around the battery. A first printed circuit board 40 is shown as well as a second printed circuit board 41. There is a flexible connector 43 between the first printed circuit board 40 and the second printed circuit board 41 to provide electrical connections therebetween. The transceiver 50 is positioned at an outer portion of the battery and may be positioned adjacent or near to a radio transceiver on the printed circuit board 40.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a battery 54 with antenna coils 60 wrapped around the battery 54. In this embodiment, the battery such as the one shown in FIG. 6 is positioned between circuit boards and may be wrapped such as in a ferrite tape, but the ferrite tape need not be present. Alternatively, for example, a spacer may be used between the battery and the antenna coils with the coils wrapped around the spacer positioned around the battery. Thus, instead of the transceiver being placed next to the battery, the transceiver is formed by wrapping the coils 60 around the battery 54.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a top view of spacer 61 positioned around a battery 54. FIG. 9 illustrates the spacer 61 with antenna coils 60 wrapped around it (and thus around the battery about which the spacer 61 is positioned. Thus, instead of directly wrapping antenna coils 60 around a battery 54, antenna coils 60 may be wrapped around a spacer 61 which in turn is positioned around a battery 54.

FIG. 10 illustrates a balanced armature speaker 62 with antenna coils 61 wrapped around the balanced armature speaker 62. The armature speaker 62 may be positioned within the earpiece housing and this provides an alternative location for placement of the transceiver formed using the antenna coils 61.

FIG. 11 illustrates a portion of an earpiece housing with antenna coils 61 wrapped around a tip 64 of the ear piece housing.

In addition, the antenna coils may be positioned in other locations in the earpiece including around the earpiece housing or case or portions thereof. The various locations of the earpiece may wrapped in a ferrite tape prior to wrapping the antenna coils around the location. Generally, the location should allow for a coil with circular or substantially circular cross-section to be performed.

Testing was performed on various different locations for the coils to determine range where there was 100 percent and range where there was 0 percent reception. Testing was performed both in open air between two different NFMI transceivers as well as in active wireless earpieces. In addition, testing was performed under varying conditions such as mode of operation of the device (e.g. playing music) at different power settings. The earpiece may include as a part of the circuitry on one of the printed circuit boards a memory for storing music files which may be played back. It is noted that this circuitry as well as processing circuitry and other circuitry may be the source of interference to near field communications. The results of the testing indicate that the antenna may be placed at these various locations throughout the earpiece although different locations as well as other factors may result in different reliable ranges.

Therefore, a wearable device has been shown and described and a system including multiple ear pieces which communicate with one another has also been shown and described. It is to be understood that the present invention contemplates numerous variations, options, and alternatives. The present invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments and examples set forth herein.

Claims

1. An earpiece, comprising: a housing;a first short range transceiver for far field communication disposed within the housing;a second short range transceiver for near field communication disposed within the housing;wherein the second short range transceiver for near field communications comprises an antenna formed from a plurality of coil turns;a battery disposed within the housing;a first generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a first plurality of components mounted thereto;a second generally planar printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a second plurality of components mounted thereto;a flexible connector between the first generally planar circuit board and the second generally planar circuit board for providing electrical connections therebetween;wherein the battery is positioned between the first generally planar printed circuit board and the second generally planar printed circuit board;wherein the antenna is mounted perpendicularly to the plurality of components mounted on the first generally planar printed circuit board to thereby reduce electromagnetic interference.

2. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the antenna is mounted at a posterosuperior portion of the earpiece device.

3. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the antenna is mounted between the first generally planar printed circuit board and the second generally planar printed circuit board along an edge of the battery.

4. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around a ferrite material.

5. The earpiece of claim 4 wherein the ferrite material comprises a sheet of ferrite material.

6. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around the battery.

7. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around a spacer which is wrapped around the battery.

8. The earpiece of claim 1 further comprising a balanced armature speaker and wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around the balanced armature speaker.

9. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around a portion of the housing.

10. The earpiece of claim 9 wherein the housing includes a tip portion and wherein the plurality of coil turns are wrapped around the tip portion of the housing.

11. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the first short range transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver.

12. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the second short range transceiver is a near field magnetic induction (NFMI) transceiver.

13. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the earpiece is a right earpiece.