Timepiece with internal antenna

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9720385-B2
Application number	US-201615333349-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 25, 2016
Priority date	Sep 1, 2009
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A timepiece includes a case that is made of a conductive material, a bezel that is made of a nonconductive material, a patch antenna that is disposed inside the case and at the back side of the dial, and a bezel that is made of a ceramic.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A timepiece, comprising:
a case that is made of a conductive material;
a dial that is made of a nonconductive material;
a patch antenna that is disposed inside the case and at a back side of the dial;
a bezel that is made of ceramic; and
a receiver that is disposed on a circuit board and that processes a signal received by the patch antenna;
wherein the patch antenna is disposed on an antenna substrate that is separate from the circuit board.

2. The timepiece described in claim 1 , wherein:
the patch antenna has a ceramic dielectric body and a conductive antenna part disposed on the dielectric body.

3. The timepiece described in claim 1 , further comprising:
a battery;
wherein the battery is disposed at a space where the circuit board is not disposed and the battery and the circuit board overlap in lateral view.

4. The timepiece described in claim 1 , further comprising:
a solar panel;
wherein the solar panel has a space at a position overlapping the patch antenna in plan view.

5. The timepiece described in claim 4 , wherein:
the space is rectangular.

6. The timepiece described in claim 1 , wherein:
the case is made of SUS or titanium alloy.

7. The timepiece described in claim 1 , wherein:
the dial is made of polycarbonate.

8. The timepiece described in claim 1 , further comprising:
a crystal disposed on an inside circumference side of the bezel.

9. The timepiece described in claim 1 , further comprising:
a back cover that is made of a conductive material.

10. A timepiece, comprising:
a case that is made of a conductive material;
a dial that is made of a nonconductive material;
a patch antenna that is disposed inside the case and at a back side of the dial;
a bezel that is made of ceramic; and
a controller that is disposed on a circuit board and that controls a drive mechanism;
wherein the patch antenna is disposed on an antenna substrate that is separate from the circuit board.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Fujisawa Teruhiko

Classifications

• G04R20/04

  Tuning or receiving; Circuits therefor · CPC title

• H01Q1/52

  Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure (absorbing means H01Q17/00) · CPC title

• H01Q9/0407

  Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna (dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40) · CPC title

• G04G21/04

  using radio waves (radio-controlled time-pieces G04R) · CPC title

• G04R60/12 Primary

  inside metal cases · CPC title