(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device shell for wireless communication device and more particularly, to an antenna incorporated device shell, which has an antenna circuit incorporated therein, thereby saving the surface space of the circuit board the wireless communication device.
(b) Description of the Prior Art:
Regular wireless communication devices such as cell phones, PDA, wireless earphones, radios, TVs, and etc. use an internal antenna to receive wireless signal. An antenna for this purpose is usually made in a module and bonded to the circuit board of the wireless communication device. After installation of an antenna module in a circuit board, a free surface space at the circuit board around the antenna module must be maintained for normal performance the antenna module. Therefore, the antenna module of a wireless communication device occupies much surface space of the circuit board. Due to this limitation, conventional wireless communication devices cannot be reduced further in size.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit formed integral with the shell body that is injection-molded from polymers, thereby saving much surface space of the circuit board of the wireless communication device. Further, because the antenna circuit is formed integral with the shell body, the shell body protects the antenna circuit against deformation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit directly formed in the shell body and then packaged with a compound material of polymers and dielectric ceramic, enhancing the stability of the performance of the antenna.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit embedded in the shell body, with metal contact pins or springs thereof exposed to the outside of the shell body for contacting respective contacts at the circuit board of the wireless communication device.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit formed in the shell body in a smooth, curved, three-dimensional or any of a variety of irregular shapes subject to the configuration of the shell body.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit directly formed in the shell body by molding or insert molding.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit formed in a ceramic substrate, polymer substrate, or ceramic and polymer compound substrate, and then bonded to the shell body by molding or insert molding.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit formed in the shell body by: screen-printing or spray-coating a conducting compound material of polymer and metal on the surface of the shell body and then employing an electroplating or electroforming technique to form the designed antenna circuit.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has the antenna circuit formed in the shell body by electroplating or electroforming subject to the application of a masking technique.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an antenna incorporated device shell, which has an antenna circuit bonding member molded from a conducting polymer or polymer and metal compound on the shell body that is molded from polymer, subject to the configuration of the shell body, and has the designed antenna circuit form in the antenna circuit bonding member, and then has a packaging layer bonded to the shell body and covered over the antenna circuit and the antenna circuit bonding member.
Referring to
The shell body 1 is injection molded from polymers in a predetermined shape subject to the wireless communication device for which the shell body 1 is used. Further, the shell body 1 can be made having a smooth, curved, or three-dimensional outer appearance.
The antenna circuit 2 can be made having one single or multiple input ends in a detoured configuration. Further, the antenna circuit 2 can be embedded in the shell body 1 (see
Because the antenna circuit 2 is formed in the shell body 1, it does not occupy the surface space of the circuit board 3 of the wireless communication device, and the surface space of the circuit board 3 can be fully utilized for the arrangement of other electronic component parts without causing interference. Therefore, the design of the present invention allows diminishing the size of the wireless communication device.
Further, because the antenna circuit 2 is formed in the shell body 1, the shell body 1 well protects the antenna circuit 2 against deformation.
After installation, the contacts 21 of the antenna circuit 2 are kept in close contact with the respective contact pins 31 of the circuit board 3 (see
During fabrication, the antenna circuit 2 can be formed in a ceramic substrate, polymer substrate, or ceramic polymer compound substrate and then packaged in the shell body 1 by molding or insert molding.
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Although particular embodiment of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.