Wrist-mounted-type antenna device and apparatus having the antenna device

A wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus includes a main body having a front surface that faces away from the user's wrist, a rear surface that faces the user's wrist when mounted around the user's wrist, a circuit board having electrical circuitry and arranged in the main body, and wrist bands connected to the main body for mounting the device around the user's wrist. The radio apparatus also includes an antenna assembly fixed in the main body and the wrist bands, and arranged in the main body so that it is positioned on a side of the circuit board facing the front surface of the main body. Because the circuit board is not disposed on the front surface side of the antenna assembly, a radiation wave generated by the antenna assembly is not disturbed. Therefore, the wrist-mounted-type antenna device has high directivity and sensitivity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a wrist-mounted-type antenna device that 
is mounted on a wrist-mounted-type apparatus that transmits and/or 
receives signals, such as a pager, a TV, a receiver, a transmitter, a 
radio, for example. In particular, the invention relates to improvements 
of the inner structure thereof. 
2. Description of Related Art 
Conventionally, a small-sized portable apparatus, such as a TV, a receiver, 
a transmitter, or a pager (hereinafter collectively referred to as a 
"radio apparatus") is generally provided with an antenna of the loop type. 
The electrical operational theory and structure of this type of antenna is 
disclosed, for example, in the paper titled "A loop antenna for a 
small-sized portable radio set" published in "National Technical Report 
Vol. 19, No. 2, Apr. 1973". It also has been known that a loop antenna is 
provided at its central portion (in the longitudinal direction of the 
loop) with a reactance element such as a capacitor. In addition, when the 
radio frequency is relatively high, an inverted F type antenna is 
sometimes utilized for the radio apparatus. 
One type of small-sized portable radio apparatus that has been developed is 
a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus capable of being mounted 
around the user's wrist. Typical examples of the wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,808 to 
Gaskill et al., wherein a loop antenna is provided, and in Japanese 
Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-211522, wherein a short dipole antenna 
is provided. 
However, when the loop antenna or the dipole antenna is utilized in the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, since the antenna is arranged 
in a state in which it contacts the user's wrist when the radio apparatus 
is mounted to the user, the directivity sensitivity of the antenna is 
degraded, and therefore satisfactory operation of the antenna cannot be 
expected. 
The present inventor has proposed to use a slot antenna for a 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus and the like. The slot antenna 
is assembled in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus so that an 
electrically conductive plate forming a part of the slot antenna is 
accommodated in the main body of the radio apparatus, while another 
electrically conductive plate forming a remaining part of the slot antenna 
is arranged in wrist bands of the radio apparatus. These electrically 
conductive plates are connected to each other to form the slot antenna. In 
this wrist-mounted-type of portable radio apparatus having the slot 
antenna as described above, the inductance value of the antenna is defined 
by the circumferential length of the slot and the width of the 
electrically conductive plate of the antenna. The inductance value of the 
antenna is not affected by the length of the wrist bands when mounted 
around the user's wrist. Therefore, this antenna is advantageous because a 
high antenna gain can be maintained even if the size of the user's wrist 
varies. In addition, when mounted around the user's wrist, the slot 
antenna is arranged such that the slot faces outwardly, and therefore, the 
slot antenna advantageously is capable of detecting magnetic field 
contents generated around the body surface or wrist of the user. 
However, because a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus having a 
higher sensitivity has been demanded, there is a problem that a higher 
sensitivity of this type of radio apparatus cannot be expected by 
assembling the slot antenna therein in a conventional manner. The reasons 
are as follows: 
First, in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus having the slot 
antenna, the radio signal receiving portion is electrically connected to 
the slot antenna. The connecting point defines the feed point of the 
antenna, which inevitably is located near the center portion of the slot 
antenna (relative to the longitudinal direction thereof). As a result, 
this feed point is situated in the main body of the radio apparatus, which 
has a variety of circuit components accommodated therein. An area around 
the center portion where the feed point is located also is the portion of 
the antenna where the radiated energy of the electrical waves is at a 
maximum. However, in the restricted space of the main body of the radio 
apparatus near this feed point, a variety of components comprised of 
dielectric materials, insulating materials, attenuation materials, 
electrically conductive materials or the like are arranged. If the 
components comprised of attenuation materials or electrically conductive 
materials are arranged along the radial direction of the electrical waves, 
the radiated energy may be insulated or degraded (damped) by these 
components, which causes deterioration of the sensitivity of the slot 
antenna. 
Second, in the restricted thin space of the main body of the radio 
apparatus, circuit components that generate noise signals adversely 
affecting the transmitting and receiving sensitivities of the radio 
apparatus are arranged around the center portion of the slot antenna. 
These circuit components include digital-signal processing circuits, 
voltage up converted circuits (e.g., a DC/DC converter), and the like. The 
noise signals become transmission noises and radiation noises, which cause 
degradation of the sensitivity of the radio apparatus. When some types of 
circuit systems are adopted, the radiation noises may cause not only the 
radio itself, but also other radio apparatus to be disturbed. 
Third, since the slot antenna is provided at its center portion with the 
reactance element (which is provided in order to resonate at a specific 
frequency), the portion of the slot antenna located in the main body of 
the radio apparatus is in a high impedance state. Thus, the value of Q of 
the antenna circuitry increases, so that the antenna impedance is 
adversely affected by the human body when the radio apparatus is mounted 
on the user's wrist. As a result, the most appropriate matching condition 
between the radio receiving section and the antenna section is 
deteriorated, whereby the transmitting and receiving sensitivity may be 
degraded. While it is possible to lower the value of Q by arranging an 
additional electrical element in the circuitry of the radio apparatus, 
this is not recommended because it prevents the down-sizing of the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus. 
Fourth, in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, because the 
slot antenna is partially fixed to the wrist bands, it must be increased 
in mechanical strength. This means that an increase in the electrical 
resistance loss of the slot antenna must be accepted. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a 
wrist-mounted-type antenna device that has a slot antenna of an improved 
structure capable of enhancing further the sensitivity of the radio 
apparatus. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a radio apparatus 
having the above wrist-mounted-type antenna device, whereby the 
sensitivity thereof can be improved. 
In order to achieve the above and other objects, according to the present 
invention, a wrist-mounted-type antenna device includes a main body having 
a front surface facing away from the user's wrist, a rear surface facing 
toward the user's wrist when mounted around the user's wrist, a circuit 
board located in the main body and having electrical circuitry thereon, 
and wrist bands connected to the main body for mounting the device around 
the user's wrist. The antenna device also has a slotted, antenna assembly 
in the wrist bands and extending across the main body. The slot extends 
along the length of the antenna device in both wrist bands and through the 
main body. The antenna assembly is arranged in the main body so that it is 
positioned on a side of the circuit board that faces toward the front 
surface of the main body. In the wrist-mounted-type antenna device 
according to the present invention, since the circuit board is not 
disposed on the front surface side of the antenna assembly, a radiation 
wave generated by the antenna assembly is not shielded by the circuit 
board. Therefore, the wrist-mounted-type antenna device according to the 
present invention has a high directivity and sensitivity. 
In order to improve the gain of the antenna assembly, a reflective member 
may be installed in the main body behind the antenna device. When a 
displaying unit is located on the front surface of the main body, the 
antenna assembly can be arranged to the sides of the displaying unit. 
Alternatively, the antenna assembly may be formed by a transparent thin 
conductive film over the displaying unit. If the main body has an outer 
frame, the antenna assembly may be disposed on the outer frame so that the 
slot extends along a peripheral surface of the outer frame. 
In order to prevent noise, thereby realizing a radio set having a high 
sensitivity, the wrist-mounted-type antenna device according to the 
present invention can have a first member connected to a reference voltage 
side of a high frequency wave amplifier, and a second member (located on 
an opposite side of the slot from the first member) connected to a signal 
(i.e., feed) voltage side of the high frequency wave amplifier. The first 
member has a low impedance and is disposed near noise sources contained in 
the circuits arranged on the circuit board. The second member has a high 
impedance and is disposed farther from the noise sources. 
In addition, the wrist-mounted-type antenna device according to the present 
invention is arranged to have an optimum electric power feeding point to 
the antenna assembly in order to obtain a high sensitivity. The 
wrist-mounted-type antenna device according to this aspect of the 
invention includes antenna elements having different lengths with respect 
to the main body. Therefore, the power feeding point can be separated from 
the connection point of the reactance element which must be located near 
the center of the antenna assembly. In particular, the reactance element 
can be arranged in the wrist band using an overlapping portion that 
projects from portions of the antenna plate located on opposite sides of 
the slot in the wrist band. 
When space can be maintained between the antenna assembly and the human 
body, the above effects from the human body can be reduced. Therefore, the 
wrist-mounted-type antenna device has holes, an increased thickness, 
raised areas and the like on the rear surface side of the wrist band near 
the position that corresponds to the high impedance part of the antenna 
assembly to increase the spacing or provide a smaller area of the antenna 
assembly in that area. 
In addition to the above features, the wrist-mounted-type antenna apparatus 
according to another aspect of the invention can have structure for 
reducing the loss of resistivity at the distal end of the antenna 
assembly, thus further upgrading the sensitivity. The wrist-mounted-type 
antenna device can have a high dielectric material layer on the surface of 
the antenna assembly to catch a longer wave length radiation wave without 
increasing the length of the antenna assembly. 
The above and other objects and advantages will be apparent from reading 
the following description in connection with the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
While the present invention will be described with reference to the 
preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the present invention is 
not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover 
all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within 
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims. 
First Embodiment 
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1B shows 
an antenna assembly arranged in the radio apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates 
the arrangement of a slot antenna in a main body of the radio apparatus of 
FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main body of the 
wrist-mounted-type radio apparatus of FIG. 1. 
Referring to these figures, the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
has a main body 1a, a pair of wrist bands 2a, 2b connected to both sides 
of the main body 1a, and an antenna assembly 13 arranged in the main body 
1a and the wrist bands 2a, 2b. The wrist bands 2a and 2b are releaseably 
connected at their distal ends with each other by means of a clasp 1f. 
As shown in FIG. 1B, the antenna assembly 13 is comprised of an antenna 
plate 11A fixed in the wrist band a, an antenna plate 11B fixed in the 
other wrist band 2b, and a pair of electrically conductive plates 4a, 4b 
arranged in and extending through the main body 1a for electrically 
connecting the antenna plates 11A and 11B with each other. Further, the 
antenna elements 11a and 11c are electrically connected at their ends, and 
similarly the antenna elements 11b and 11d also are electrically connected 
at their ends, whereby a slot 13c is defined by the above elements 
comprising the antenna assembly 13. Although the wrist bands 2a and 2b are 
connected by the clasp 1f, it is not necessary for the antenna plates 11A 
and 11B to be electrically connected to each other at their ends. However, 
the distal ends of plates 11A and 11B could be electrically connected. 
The main body 1a of the radio apparatus 1 has a front surface 1A and a rear 
surface 1B. When the radio apparatus 1 is mounted around the user's wrist, 
the rear surface 1B is positioned to face and contact the user's wrist, 
while the front surface 1A is positioned opposite from the user's wrist 
and faces away from the wrist. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 1a of the radio apparatus 1 has a data 
displaying unit such as LCD 3, and the electrically conductive plates 4a, 
4b, both arranged at the side near the front surface 1A of main body 1a. 
In the main body 1a of the portable radio apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 3, 
the displaying unit 3, the electrically conductive plates 4a, 4b, a 
circuit board 5, an electrically-conductive reflective plate 6, and a 
battery 8 are arranged in that order when viewed from the front surface 1A 
to a rear case 9 of the main body 1a. The circuit board 5 has respective 
circuit portions mounted thereon and a wire pattern for a high frequency 
ground (not shown) formed thereon. When a multi-layered circuit board is 
utilized as the circuit board 5, the wire pattern for a high frequency 
ground is formed in an inner-layered portion thereof. The reflective plate 
6 is connected to one of the poles of the battery 8 via a terminal plate 7 
so that a property of the high frequency ground at the rear side of the 
electrically conductive plates 4a, 4b is surely maintained appropriate. 
The battery 8 easily can be replaced by a new battery by removing the rear 
case 9. The rear case 9 is electrically connected to the other pole of the 
battery 8 and also electrically connected to the circuit board 5 via a 
terminal plate (not shown). The circuit board 5 is electrically connected 
to the reflective plate 6 by means of a pair of connectors 12b, 12b. 
In the present embodiment, the circuit board 5 is arranged at the rear side 
of (i.e., beneath) the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b of the 
antenna assembly 13, and is connected electrically thereto by a pair of 
terminal plates 12a, 12a. These connecting portions define a feed point to 
the antenna assembly 13, or a connecting point for a reactance element. 
Therefore, in the antenna assembly 13, portions of the antenna plates 11a, 
11b (or 11c, 11d) adjacent to the feed point and the electrically 
conductive plate 4a (or 4b) are the portions of the antenna that exhibit 
high frequency impedance and radiate electric waves of the strongest 
magnitude compared to the other portions of the antenna assembly 13. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 1 as constructed above, 
a radio wave is transmitted and received through the front surface 1A on 
which the displaying unit 3 is mounted. Therefore the antenna assembly 13 
is constructed to have the directivity on its front surface 1A, thereby 
reducing loss. 
Namely, the circuit board 5 and the reflective plate 6, both attached to 
the high frequency ground, are arranged on the rear side of (i.e., 
beneath) the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b so as to exert their 
reflective ability, thereby focussing the directivity toward the front 
surface 1A. In addition, when the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 1 is mounted on the user's wrist, the wrist contacts the rear 
case 9 thereof. However, the antenna assembly 13 is shielded from the 
user's wrist by the rear case 9 and the reflective plate 6. Therefore, the 
antenna assembly 13 is not affected by the human body so that its 
impedance does not deviate and its sensitivity remains high. 
Details of the above advantages will now be explained referring to FIGS. 
4A, 4B and FIG. 5 with respect to the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus operation. 
FIG. 4A illustrates the general directivity of a slot antenna. FIG. 4B 
illustrates the directivity of the present antenna. FIG. 5 is a block 
diagram showing a circuitry arrangement using the present 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus as a personal pager portable 
radio apparatus. 
In FIGS. 4A and 4B, the antenna assembly 13 has the slot 13c disposed along 
the center line thereof. A capacitor 18 that functions as a reactance 
element is arranged near the center of the slot and connects conductive 
portions of the antenna across the slot 13c. When the capacitor 18 has an 
appropriate capacitance, the antenna assembly 13 operates as a slot 
antenna. The capacitor 18 is mounted on the circuit board 5. 
In FIG. 4A, an arrow H shows a polarization surface magnetic field of a 
wave radiated from the slot antenna, and an arrow E shows an electrical 
field thereof. In FIG. 4A, a property of the radiation pattern of the slot 
antenna is shown using two solid lines 17, which have perpendicular 
components relative to the slot 13c and extend in two opposite directions. 
A radiation center of the wave from the slot antenna is located at the 
center portion of the slot 13c. As is well known in this art, a property 
of radiation of a dipole antenna remains the same when the direction of 
the magnetic field and the direction of the electrical field of the slot 
antenna are changed relative to each other. 
However the present antenna assembly 13 is a magnetic field affecting 
antenna in addition to being a slot antenna. Therefore, if an earth plate 
(a grounded plate) 10 is provided near the center of the antenna 13 
parallel to the antenna, a property of radiation of the antenna 13 
improves as shown in FIG. 4B by solid line 19. Additionally the gain of 
antenna 13 increases. In the present wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 1, because the circuit board 5 and the reflective plate 6 are 
arranged at the rear surface side of the antenna assembly 13, and 
especially at the rear surface side of the electrically conductive plates 
4a and 4b, circuit board 5 and reflective plate 6 function as a ground 
plate 10. Accordingly, the radiation wave from the antenna 13 to the front 
surface is not blocked by the reflective plate 6 and the circuit board 5. 
Because the ground plate 10 comprised of the circuit board 5 and the 
reflective plate 6 has an image effect and acts as a reflector, a gain of 
directivity of the antenna assembly 13 becomes about twice that of 
conventional slot antennas. In addition, when the wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus is mounted on the user's wrist, the wrist is 
located under the circuit board 5 and the reflective plate 6. Therefore, 
the user's wrist can be used as a part of the ground plate 10, namely, by 
the present wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, a magnetic field 
around the human body can be used actively. 
One of the terminals of the capacitor 18 is connected to a high frequency 
amplifier circuit 14 and the other terminal thereof is connected to a 
ground 15. The high frequency amplifier circuit 14 is part of a radio 
transmitter portion and/or receiver portion 102 of a circuit 100, which is 
shown in FIG. 5. The circuit 100 has the radio transmit/receive portion 
102 connected to the antenna assembly 13, a wave shaping circuit 103, a 
power control circuit 104 for supplying electric power to the above 
circuits, and a control circuit 105 for controlling the power control 
circuit 104. The circuit 100 also has a P-ROM (programmable read only 
memory) 106 for storing an assigned call number to be referenced by the 
control circuit 105, a RAM (random access memory) 109 for storing received 
information that follows the assigned call number, an LCD (liquid crystal 
display) 112 of a data display portion 3 for displaying information, an 
LCD driving circuit 110 for controlling LCD 112, and an oscillator circuit 
111 for supplying a clock signal for controlling the LCD driving circuit 
110. A message processing portion 114 is constituted by the power control 
circuit 104, the control circuit 105, the RAM 109, the LCD driving circuit 
110 and the oscillator circuit 111. The LCD 112 displays the message 
processed in the message processing portion 114. The circuit 100 also has 
an alarm generating circuit 107 for announcing that the message is located 
in memory, an alarm 108 such as a buzzer or an LED, vibrator and the like, 
and an outer switching portion 113. 
As shown in FIG. 6A, when the radio transmit receive portion 102 uses the 
single super heterodyning method, it has an RF amplifier 201, which is the 
high frequency wave amplifier 14, a mixer 202, and an IF amplifier 203, 
these elements being connected sequentially from the antenna assembly 13. 
In the radio transmit/receive portion 102, according to a demultiplier 
rate signal generated from a CPU 206 to a pre-scaler 207 of a PLL 
(phase-lock-loop) 200 corresponding to a desired frequency, the pre-scaler 
207 demultiplies a current frequency in VCO (Voltage Control Oscillator) 
208. By this process, for example, the VCO 208 outputs a 51 kHz square 
wave signal to a phase comparator 209. A reference oscillator 210 
connected thereto oscillates constantly to generate, for example 50 kHz. 
Since there is a 1 kHz deviation between the 51 kHz square wave signal and 
the reference oscillator 210, the phase comparator 209 generates a square 
wave signal having a pulse width corresponding to the deviation. A low 
pass filter 211 connected to the phase comparator 209 converts the signal 
to a new voltage signal having an almost direct current component. The 
direct current signal is supplied to the VCO 208 for varying the desired 
frequency supplied to the mixer 202. According to the above, in the single 
super heterodyning method, a received high frequency wave signal is mixed 
by the oscillator output in the mixer 202, and is converted to a middle 
level frequency signal corresponding to the deviation thereof and then is 
regenerated as a received signal. The middle level frequency signal 
generally has a frequency of 455 kHz. The reference oscillator can 
generate the signal having, for example, 2 to 3 MHz. The wave shape 
circuit 103 of FIG. 5 is a detector 204 as shown in FIG. 6A. The control 
portion 105 is constituted by a decoder 205 and the CPU 206. 
When the radio transmit/receive portion is a direct conversion method as 
illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 6B, it has a RF amplifier 301, 
which is the high frequency RF (radio frequency) wave amplifier 14, a 
mixer 302, a low pass filter 303, a detector 304, a decoder 305, and a CPU 
306, these elements being connected sequentially from the antenna assembly 
13. In the direct conversion method, a received signal is not converted to 
an intermediate frequency (IF) signal; this is a difference from the 
single super heterodyning method. Put another way, it can be understood 
that the intermediate frequency (IF) becomes 0 Hz. Mixer 302 receives the 
output of RF amplifier 301 and the output of a local oscillator 307, which 
can be, for example, a quartz crystal oscillator. The low pass filter 303 
passes the signal having a base band frequency of 0 to 10 kHz. In the 
direct conversion method, the circuit frequency is the same as an 
oscillated frequency from the local oscillator 307, and under such 
conditions a signal having the base band frequency passes. 
The RF amplifiers 201 and 301 shown in FIG. 6A and 6B correspond to the RF 
amplifier 14 shown in FIG. 20, to be referenced later. An output terminal 
of the RF amplifiers 201 and 203 corresponds to the terminal 16 shown in 
FIG. 20. 
In FIG. 5, a transmitted signal having some circuit frequency is received 
via antenna assembly 13 and demodulated at the radio transmit/receive 
circuit 102, the signal then is converted to a square wave in the wave 
shape circuit 103. The control circuit 105 and power control circuit 104 
supply the electrical power to the wave shape circuit 103 and to the radio 
transmit/receive portion 102 during a time only when they receive signals. 
The control circuit 105 generates a battery saving timing signal for 
controlling such power supply condition and for controlling the power 
control circuit 104. The control circuit 105 also performs a bit 
synchronization and a frame synchronization using the received signal. In 
addition, in the control circuit 105, the assigned call number stored in 
the P-ROM 106 is compared with the received signal supplied from the wave 
shaping circuit 103 with error correction so as to determine whether the 
assigned call number has been received. The control circuit 105 also has a 
counting function for generating the signal using oscillator circuit 111 
comprised of a reference signal source such as a quartz crystal 
oscillator. 
After the call is confirmed, message data, which follows the assigned call 
number, is received and is stored in the RAM 109. The alarm device 108 
announces receipt of the message to the user under the control of the 
alarm driving circuit 107. According to a control at the outer operating 
portion 113, which is comprised of a switch and the like, the message 
stored in the RAM 109 is supplied to the LCD driving circuit 110 via the 
control circuit 105. For example, upon hearing the buzzer, the user 
presses a button so that the message is displayed. The LCD driving circuit 
110 displays the message on the LCD 112 using the clock signal supplied by 
the oscillator circuit 111. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, because the antenna 
assembly 13 has a power supply point at its center, a part having the 
maximum radiation wave energy (i.e., the power supply point) is located in 
the narrow main body 1a. In the main body 1a, there is arranged many other 
components made from materials such as insulated material, dielectric 
material, attenuation material, and electrically conductive material. 
These materials are located, for example, in the circuit board 5. 
Therefore, when the circuit board 5 and the like are disposed in the 
radiating path of the wave radiated from the antenna assembly 13, as in 
conventional radio apparatus, its radiation pattern is divided into four 
parts, as is shown in FIG. 7 by solid line 21, and its sensitivity is 
rather poor. 
In the present wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, as shown in 
FIG. 8, the circuit board 5 is disposed on the rear side of the antenna 
assembly 13 so that circuit board 5 does not block the wave radiation from 
antenna assembly 13. Therefore, the radiation energy of the wave is not 
shielded or lost. The circuit board 5 and the reflective plate 6 disposed 
on the rear side of the antenna assembly have the effect of upgrading the 
directivity. Accordingly, the radiation pattern of the present 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus has a high directivity towards 
the front surface side of the main body 1a as is shown by solid line 20 in 
FIG. 8. The circuit board 5 and the reflective plate 6 disposed on the 
rear side of the antenna assembly can shield the affect from the human 
body so that the impedance matching between the radio transmit/receive 
portion and the antenna portion does not deviate. 
Second Embodiment 
In the first embodiment, in order to locate the circuit board 5 on the rear 
side of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b, these plates 4a and 
4b were disposed between the circuit board 5 and the display portion 3. 
In the second embodiment, as is shown in FIG. 9, the electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b are disposed on the front side of the data 
displaying device 3 so that these plates 4a and 4b are located on the rear 
surface of the case 1c composing the front surface 1A of the main body 1a. 
In order to keep an open area over the data displaying device 3, as is 
shown in FIG. 10, the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are 
arranged generally along the side edges of the data displaying device 3, 
and are disposed on the outer side of the displaying device 3. Therefore, 
neither circuit board 5 nor data displaying device 6 are arranged on the 
front surface side of the antenna assembly 13. Accordingly, there is no 
loss affecting the radiation wave from either of these components so that 
the radiation energy level can remain high. 
The electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b in the main body 1a can be 
connected to the antenna elements 11a to 11d in the wrist band 2a and 2b 
around the periphery of the main body 1a. Also, an antenna assembly can be 
used in which the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b with the 
antenna elements 11a to 11d are integrated in the wrist bands. As is shown 
in FIG. 11A, the antenna elements 11a to 11d can be connected to projected 
terminals 4g of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b, which 
project from the main body 1a into the wrist band 2a and 2b. 
As is shown in FIG. 11B, when the main body 1a has an outer frame 1b, an 
integrated plate containing the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b 
can be installed along the inner side of the outer frame 1b. 
Third Embodiment 
In FIG. 12, the plan view of a main body of a third embodiment of the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 30 is shown. The basic 
construction of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 30 
including that of the other embodiments (4th-18th embodiments) explained 
hereinafter is generally the same as that of the first embodiment. 
Therefore the same reference numerals will be applied to the elements 
having the same function so as to focus further explanation on the 
differences between each embodiment. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 30 has a main body 1a 
containing an analog clock having needles. The main body 1a has needles 23 
showing the time, a number plate 24 (dial), a crown 25, and the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b disposed on the front surface 
side (bezel portion) of the outer frame 30a of the number plate 24. The 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are electrically connected to the 
antenna elements 11a to 11d in there respective wrist bands 2a and 2b. The 
antenna assembly 13, which is a slot antenna having the slot 13c, is 
constituted by the electrically conductive plates 4a, 4b, and antenna 
elements 11a to 11d. 
In the above wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 30, the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are arranged on the front surface 
side 1A of the main body 1a. The number plate 24 is made of a non-metallic 
material so that the radiation wave from the electrically conductive 
plates 4a and 4b is not shielded thereby. The electrically conductive 
plates 4a and 4b are disposed at the front surface side (the number plate 
side) of the main body 1a with respect to the circuit board 5 disposed in 
the main body 1a. According to the arrangement of the present portable 
radio apparatus 30, the power feeding point to the antenna assembly 13, 
which has the maximum radiation energy, is the center of the longer side 
of the assembly 13, which is located on the electrically conductive plates 
4a and 4b. Since the radiation from the electrically conductive plates is 
not shielded, the energy of the radiation wave can be maintained at a high 
level. The circuit board 5 and the other parts arranged on the rear side 
of the antenna assembly 13 act as a reflector so that the directivity of 
the present antenna assembly is upgraded. The circuit board 5 and the 
other parts also can shield the affect of the human body, so that the 
impedance matching between the radio transmit/receive portion and the 
antenna assembly does not deviate. 
Fourth Embodiment 
In FIG. 13, the plan view of a main body of a wrist-mounted-type portable 
radio apparatus 35 according to a fourth embodiment is shown. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 35, the main body 1a has 
outer frame 35a on which electrically conductive plates 4c to 4f are 
provided. Two rows (an array) of thin film conductive patterns 29a and 29b 
also are provided on a display surface 3a of the data displaying device 3 
in order to form a part of the antenna assembly 13 in the main body 1a. 
The electrically conductive plates 4c to 4f are electrically connected to 
corresponding ones of the conductive patterns 29a and 29b to form paths 
through main body 1a. The antenna assembly 13, which is a slot antenna 
having the slot 13c, is constituted by the conductive patterns 29a and 
29b, the electrically conductive plates 4c to 4f, and antenna elements 11a 
to 11d. On the surface of the data displaying device 3, in addition to the 
conductive patterns 29a and 29b, segment electrodes 32 and the circuit 
patterns 31 for applying a driving voltage to segment electrodes 32 are 
arranged. 
Since the display surface 3a of the displaying unit 3 is positioned on the 
front surface of the main body 1a, the conductive patterns 29a and 29b are 
also positioned on the front surface of the main body 1a. Hence, the 
circuit board 5 and other components in the main body 1a are arranged on 
the rear side of the conductive patterns 29a and 29b. The conductive 
patterns 29a and 29b can be made from a thin film that is optically 
transparent. Therefore, if these patterns cover a large area of the data 
displaying unit 3, the function for the data indication is not affected. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 35, the electrical 
feeding point to the antenna assembly 13 is located on the conductive 
patterns 29a and 29b, and is arranged at a center portion of the antenna 
assembly 13. Since the portion having the maximum radiation energy of the 
wave is disposed on the front surface of the main body 1a the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 35 also maintains the 
radiation energy at a high level. In addition, the image effect 
(reflectivity) of the circuit board 5 disposed at the rear side of the 
antenna assembly 13 upgrades its directivity. The effect from the human 
body can be shielded according to the same process of the first embodiment 
so that the impedance matching between the radio transmit/receive portion 
and the antenna assembly of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus does not deviate when it is mounted on a user's wrist. 
The conductive patterns 29a and 20b can be arranged on the top layer of a 
multi layer circuit pattern disposed on the data displaying unit 3. The 
conductive pattern 29a and 29b also can be arranged as a middle layer or 
as a lower layer thereof. 
Fifth Embodiment 
In FIG. 14A, the plan view of a main body of a wrist-mounted-type portable 
radio apparatus 38 of the fifth embodiment is shown. FIG. 14B shows a 
sectional view. 
The main body 1a of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 38 is a 
needle type clock or watch and has needles 23 for indicating the time, a 
number plate 24, a crown 25, and an antenna assembly 39 arranged on the 
outer surface of an outer frame 38a of the number plate 24. 
The antenna assembly 39 is, as shown in FIG. 14B, a slot antenna having a 
slot 39c facing to the outer surface from the outer frame 38a. Wrist bands 
2a and 2b, which connect to the main body 1a do not have any antenna 
elements. Both ends 39d and 39e of the antenna assembly 39 are located on 
the side of the outer frame 38a adjacent to band 2b, with the assembly 39 
extending around the periphery of the outer frame 38a. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 38, the antenna assembly 
39 is arranged on the outside around the side surface of the main body 1a. 
Therefore nothing is located outside of the antenna assembly 39 for 
shielding the wave generated therefrom. The power feeding point to the 
antenna assembly 39 is located at the center along the longer edge of the 
slot, the center being disposed on the side near band 2a. Nothing is 
arranged on the power feeding point for shielding the wave generated from 
the feeding point. Therefore, according to the wrist-mounted-type portable 
radio apparatus 38, the radiation energy of the wave is not attenuated. 
The image effect of the circuit board arranged in the main body 1a and the 
outer frame 38 itself upgrades the sensitivity. 
Sixth Embodiment 
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an outline of a wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus 40 according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 16 is a 
sectional view taken along line 16--16 of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a sectional 
view taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 15. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 40 has wrist bands 2a and 
2b connecting to the main body 1a thereof for mounting it on a user's 
wrist. The data displaying device 3 and one or more switches 1s are 
disposed on the front surface of the main body 1a. The wrist band 2a has a 
clasp 67 at its distal end, which functions as a connecting means of wrist 
bands 2a and 2b. The wrist band 2b has plural joining holes 69 into which 
a lock pin 68 can be inserted. The wrist band 2a also has a band holder 2g 
for holding a residual part of the wrist band 2b. 
The above connection mechanism is a popular one in the art used for a wrist 
watch. However, the conventional wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus having a loop antenna cannot have the above mechanism because 
distal ends of wrist bands must be electrically connected with each other 
to form the loop antenna (i.e., the clasp must form an electrical 
connection between the antenna portions in each band). On the other hand, 
since the present wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus has the slot 
antenna in its wrist band that does not require the clasp to be used to 
connect the antenna portions, the above popular mechanism for connection 
of the wrist bands can be applied thereto. 
In the conventional wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus having the 
loop antenna, since the distal end of the wrist bands are mechanically 
connected by the clasp to each other to form the loop antenna, static 
electricity is transferred to the main body from the clasp portion. 
Therefore, some countermeasure is required for protection from the affects 
of the static electricity. However, since the present wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus has the clasp 67 installed at the distal end of 
the wrist band, which clasp is electrically insulated from the antenna 
assembly 13, no countermeasure for the static electricity is required. 
Therefore, the present wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus can be 
designed using a popular clasp for the wrist watch. 
The wrist band 2a and 2b has, as shown in FIG. 16, the antenna elements 11a 
to 11d therein. The antenna elements 11a and 11b are connected to the 
electrically conductive plate 4a disposed in the main body 1a. The antenna 
elements 11c and 11d are connected to the electrically conductive plate 4b 
disposed in the main body 1a. The detailed construction will be explained 
hereafter. 
As is shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the main body la has a case 401, the 
circuit board 5 horizontally disposed in the case 401, an electrically 
conductive rubber member 406 disposed on the circuit board 5, and the 
switch 1s connected to the circuit board 5 via the conductive rubber 
member 406. The main body 1a also has a panel frame 3a on the front side 
of the circuit board 5, the data displaying unit 3 disposed between the 
panel frame 3a and the circuit board 5. The displaying unit 3 has a panel 
3b electrically connecting to the circuit board 5 via an electrically 
conductive rubber member 407. The main body 1a has a protective lens 3d 
disposed on the front surface side of the panel 3b, and an optical 
reflective plate 3c for the panel 3b located between the panel 3b and the 
circuit board 5. 
On the front surface side of the circuit board 5, the electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b are arranged. Ends of conductive plates 4a, 4b 
are electrically connected to the edges of the antenna elements 11a to 11d 
via connecting pins 405, which penetrate the case 401. The electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b are connected to the front surface side of the 
circuit board 5 via terminal board 12a. In FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a part of 
the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are shown. The electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b are arranged along the internal surface of 
case 401 to connect the antenna elements 11a and 11b, and the antenna 
elements 11c and 11d respectively. A part of the electrically conductive 
plates 4a, 4b are shown at the upper corner to the panel frame 3a in FIG. 
17. 
In the main body 1a, a battery 8 is installed in a battery case 403 
disposed on the rear surface side of the circuit board 5. The negative 
side of the battery 8 is connected to the ground (earth) pattern of the 
circuit board via an electrode 404. The main body also has a rear case 9 
arranged on the rear surface side of the case 401 for closing it. 
In order to realize the radio transmit/receive portion 102 shown in FIG. 5 
or FIG. 6, the circuit board 5 has a decoder 503, a CPU 504, a digital 
circuit part 506 and other elements on the front surface side thereof to 
define a digital circuit 5a. The circuit board 5 has, in order to realize 
the high frequency amplifier circuit 14 (RF amplifier), a circuit element 
14a, a RF-IC 513, analog circuit parts 519 and other elements disposed on 
the rear surface side thereof. As shown in FIG. 17, the circuit board 5 
has, in order to realize an analog circuit 5b, a chip capacitor 514, a 
tantalum capacitor 515, the RF-IC 513, a local oscillator element 512a 
covered with shield case 48 and the like on the rear surface side thereof. 
The local oscillator 512a is arranged on a circuit board 512b. The 
arrangements of the above parts are explained hereunder. 
FIG. 18 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the front 
surface side of the circuit board 5. FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view 
showing the arrangement of the rear surface side of the circuit board 5. 
As shown in FIG. 18, on the front surface side of the circuit board 5, the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are arranged along the outer edge 
thereof. The edge of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are 
connected to the circuit board 5 at terminal points 16a to 16d. A 
capacitor 18 is connected between terminal points 16c and 16d. On the 
front surface side of the circuit board 5, for constructing the digital 
circuit 5a, there are arranged the chip capacitor 505, decoder 503, CPU 
504, DC-DC converter 501, EEPROM 502 and other elements. In the digital 
circuit 5a, all of following circuits for processing digital data are 
provided: a data decoding circuit, a central processing circuit (CPU), a 
data storage circuit (memory), a data displaying circuit, a phase 
controlling circuit, and a phase comparing circuit. On the same side of 
the circuit board 5, terminals 407 for panel driving of the data 
displaying unit 3 are arranged. The DC-DC converter 501 is located on the 
left side of the circuit board 5 closer to the electrically conductive 
plate 4a than to the plate 4b. 
On the rear surface side of the circuit board 5, as shown in FIG. 19, for 
constructing the analog circuit 5b, there are arranged the tantalum 
capacitors 515, the high frequency wave amplifier 14, the chip capacitors 
514, the RF-IC 513, the local oscillator 512 covered with shield case 48, 
and a quartz crystal oscillator 511. The local oscillator 512 and the 
quartz crystal oscillator 511 are disposed on the left side of the circuit 
board 5. On the rear surface side of the circuit board 5, there also are 
arranged a terminal point 16e for the high frequency wave amplifier 14, 
and a terminal point 16f connected to the ground 15 via a capacitor 46a. 
The high frequency wave amplifier output 16 is connected to the RF-IC 513. 
Since the terminal point 16e is connected to the terminal point 16a 
located on the front surface side of the circuit board 5 via a through 
hole, the high frequency wave amplifier 14 is connected electrically to 
the electrically conductive plate 4b. Since the terminal point 16f is 
connected to the terminal point 16b located on the front surface side of 
the circuit board 5 via a through hole, the ground potential is supplied 
to the electrically conductive plate 4a. On the rear surface side of the 
circuit board 5, a buzzer 516 and a battery backup capacitor 519 also are 
provided. 
In FIG. 20, the pertinent features of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 40 are shown. In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
40, the antenna assembly 13, which is a slot antenna having the slot 13c, 
is comprised of the antenna elements 11a to 11d fixed in the pair of bands 
2a and 2b, and the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b arranged in 
the main body 1a and connected to the antenna elements 11a to 11d 
respectively, the slot 13c being located between the pair of above 
members. The electrically conductive plate 4a is connected via the 
terminal point 16b to the ground 15 of the circuit board 5. The 
electrically conductive plate 4b is connected via the terminal point 16a 
to the high frequency wave amplifier 14. Hence the high frequency wave 
amplifier 14 is connected to the electrically conductive plate 4a through 
the ground 15 of the circuit board 5. Therefore, the voltage of the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b is unbalanced, and these plates 
4a and 4b have different voltage levels. 
In the digital circuit 5a, since the DC-DC converter 501 might be a noise 
source, it is located near the electrically conductive plate 4a. In the 
analog circuit 5b, the quartz crystal oscillator 511 having a natural 
frequency of 90 MHz in this embodiment, and the local oscillator 512, both 
might be noise sources, and are disposed near the electrically conductive 
plate 4a. Therefore, the electrically conductive plate 4b is located 
rather far from the noise sources such as the quartz crystal oscillator 
511, the local oscillator 512 and the DC-DC converter 501. Accordingly, in 
the above arrangement, even if noise is generated from the local 
oscillator 512, the DC-DC converter 501 and the like, the electrically 
conductive plate 4a is not affected by such noise, because the plate 4a 
has the low impedance at the high frequency wave band due to the 
connection to the ground 15. The electrically conductive plate 4b has a 
high impedance at the high frequency band. However, the plate 4b is not 
affected by the noise generated due to its location far from the noise 
sources. 
In the portable apparatus such as a radio, TV, receiver, pager, etc. 
adopting the direct conversion detecting method such as the direct 
conversion circuit and the like, the locally oscillated frequency is 
substantially equal to that of the receiving frequency. Therefore, the 
antenna assembly 13 tends to catch its local oscillation signal as noise 
that interferes with the transmitting and receiving among the portable 
radio apparatus. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 40, the local oscillator 
512 is disposed, along with the DC-DC converter 501, in the digital 
circuit 5a near the electrically conductive plate 4a having the low 
impedance at the high frequency band, and far from the electrically 
conductive plate 4b having the high impedance at the high frequency band. 
Therefore, the noise generated from the local oscillator 512 does not 
radiate outwardly. 
In addition to the DC-DC converter 501 and the local oscillator 512, the 
message processing portion 114, P-ROM 106, the alarm driving circuit 107 
and the other some circuits among the circuit 100 shown in FIG. 5 might be 
a noise source. Therefore, these circuits may be disposed far from the 
electrically conductive plate 4b having the high impedance at the high 
frequency band so that the noise does not have an adverse affect. 
In FIG. 21, the typical points of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 40 are shown using a sectional view. The main body 1a has, as in 
the first embodiment, the circuit board 5 containing the high frequency 
ground pattern thereon disposed on the rear surface side of the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b and acts as a reflector. When the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 40 is mounted on a user's 
wrist, the rear case 9 thereof is contacted with the user's wrist. 
However, the antenna assembly 13 of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 40 is shielded by the rear case 9 and the reflective plate 6 
from the wrist, and can prevent adverse affects of the human body. 
Seventh Embodiment 
FIG. 22A shows a partial plan view of a wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 45 according to a seventh embodiment of the invention. 
As in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 1 of the first 
embodiment, the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 45 has the 
antenna assembly 13, which is a slot antenna having the slot 13c, 
comprised of the antenna elements 11a to 11d fixed in the pair of wrist 
bands 2a and 2b arranged on both sides of the main body 1a, and the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b installed in the main body 1a and 
connected with the antenna elements 11a to 11d. In the main body 1a, the 
circuit board 5 having the high frequency ground pattern thereon and the 
reflective plate 6 are disposed on the rear surface side of the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b in order to exert their 
reflective ability to focus the directivity of the antenna assembly to its 
front surface side. When the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
45 is mounted on a user's wrist, the rear case 9 thereof is contacted with 
the user's wrist. However, the antenna assembly 13 of the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 45 is shielded by the rear 
case 9 and the reflective plate 6 against the wrist, and can prevent the 
adverse affects from the human body. 
The electrically conductive plate 4b is, as in the wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus 40 of the sixth embodiment, connected at the 
terminal point 16a to the high frequency amplifier 14, which is connected 
to the ground 15 of the circuit board 5. The electrically conductive board 
4a is connected via the point 16b to the ground 15 of the circuit board 5. 
The electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are unbalanced in their 
voltage level. Accordingly, the electrically conductive plate 4a is 
disposed closer than the plate 4b to the noise sources such as the DC-DC 
converter 501 in the digital circuit 5a. 
The electrically conductive plate 4a is divided into two portions in the 
main body 1a. Both ends 4h and 4i of the plate 4a are connected to the 
negative side (grounding side) of the battery 8 (e.g., a button type 
battery). Therefore, the impedance level of the electrically conductive 
plate 4a becomes low. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 45, noise sources such 
as the DC-DC converter 501, are included in the digital circuit 5a. 
However, as in the above embodiments, the electrically conductive plate 4a 
having the low impedance is disposed near the digital circuit 5a. On the 
contrary, the electrically conductive plate 4b having the high impedance 
is disposed far from the digital circuit 5a. Therefore, the electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b are arranged to prevent adverse affects of 
noise generated from the digital circuit 5a. In addition to the above, the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 45 has the same effect as 
described in the sixth embodiment. 
From the view point of the circuit for processing the high frequency wave, 
both edges 4h and 4i of the electrically conductive plate 4a can be 
connected to the positive side of the battery 8. To use the above 
connecting arrangement, a capacitor that functions as the reactance 
element having a low impedance at the high frequency band should be 
inserted between the point 16b of the electrically conductive plate 4a and 
the ground 15 as shown in FIG. 22A by dotted line 46. 
Eighth Embodiment 
FIG. 22B is a sectional plan view of an eighth embodiment of the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 47. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 47, as in the sixth 
embodiment, the electrically conductive plate 4b is connected via the 
point 16a to the high frequency amplifier circuit 14, which is connected 
to the ground 15 of the circuit board 5. The electrically conductive plate 
4a is disposed near the noise sources in the digital circuit 5a and in the 
analog circuit 5b. 
The electrically conductive plate 4a is divided into two parts in the main 
body 1a as in the seventh embodiment. Both ends 4h and 4i of the plate 4a 
are connected to the shielding case 48a for shielding the noise source 6a 
located in the digital circuit 5a and in the analog circuit 5b. 
Accordingly, the impedance of the electrically conductive plate 4a becomes 
low. The shield case 48a can be connected to either the negative side 
(cathode) or to the positive side (anode) of the battery 8. If the shield 
case 48a is connected to the positive side of the battery, a capacitor 
having a low impedance should be inserted between the point 16b and the 
ground 15. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 47, if the noise leaks 
from the shielding case 48a, such noise may not adversely affect the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b because the plate 4a having the 
low impedance is disposed near the shielding case 48a and the plate 4b 
having the high impedance is disposed far from the shielding case 48a. 
For example, in the conventional wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus, if the super heterodyning method is applied as shown in FIG. 
6A, a noise having the frequency of n times the signal frequency generated 
from the reference oscillator 210, for example 50 kHz (50.times.n), is 
generated. If the direct conversion method is applied as shown in FIG. 6B, 
a noise is generated by the quartz crystal oscillator of the local 
oscillator 307. This noise is shown in FIG. 23 by solid line 50. In FIG. 
23, the solid line 51 shows the level of the other digital noise generated 
in the digital circuit. Both noises 50, 51 in the FIG. 23 are at 
relatively high levels. When the direct conversion method is applied, 
since the tuning frequency of the antenna assembly 13 should be the same 
as the oscillation frequency of the local oscillator, the oscillated 
signal from the local oscillator may enter easily into the antenna 
assembly 13. However the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus as 
explained in the above embodiment 6 to 8 has the electrically conductive 
plate 4b with the high impedance at the high frequency band disposed far 
from the noise sources. Therefore the noise cannot be caught easily by the 
antenna assembly 13. Consequently, the noise level caught by the antenna 
assembly 13 can be reduced to the level shown in FIG. 23 by solid line 52. 
Ninth Embodiment 
FIG. 24 is a vertical sectional view of the main body of a 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 55 according to a ninth 
embodiment. 
In order to protect the antenna assembly 13 from the noise generated in the 
local oscillator 512 in the main body 1a, the wrist-mounted-type portable 
radio apparatus 55 has the local oscillator 512 disposed on the rear 
surface side of the circuit board 5, and the ground pattern surface 500 
provided either on the front surface or the rear surface of the circuit 
board 5 for covering the front surface facing portion of the local 
oscillator 512. In addition, the rear surface area of the local oscillator 
512 is covered by the battery 8. Since the rear surface of the battery 8 
that faces the rear case 9 is its positive side, the rear surface area of 
the local oscillator 512 is covered by the negative side (ground side) 
thereof. Using the above arrangement, the local oscillator 512 can be 
covered by the components having the same electrical potential level to 
obtain a better shielding effect against the noise generated in the local 
oscillator. 
Tenth Embodiment 
In FIG. 25, the outline of a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 60 
according to a tenth embodiment is illustrated. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 60 has a main body 1a, and 
wrist bands 2a and 2b attached on the main body 1a for mounting it on the 
wrist as in the sixth embodiment. The wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus 60 also has the clasp 67 on the distal end of the band 2a, and 
the holes 69 on the band 2b for receiving the lock pin 68 of the clasp 67. 
The holes 69 are arranged on the slot 13c of the antenna assembly 13 
installed in the band 2b. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 60 has the antenna assembly 
13 constructed of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b installed 
in the main body 1a, and the antenna elements 11a to 11d fixed on the 
bands 2a and 2b, which are electrically connected to each other by the 
electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b. 
In this wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 60, the length of the 
wrist band 2b is longer than that of the band 2a so that the antenna 
elements 11b and 11d fixed in the band 2b are longer than the elements 11a 
and 11c fixed in the band 2a. However in the antenna assembly 13, the 
length L1 of a portion 67a including the antenna elements 11a, 11c and the 
electrically conductive plates 4a, 4c is equal to the length L2 of a 
portion 67b including the antenna elements 11b and 11d. The portions 67a 
and 67b are joined on an edge 1a' of the main body 1a at which the wrist 
band 2b is connected, and which is the six o'clock position in the wrist 
watch. Therefore, the capacitor 18 which must be provided on the center of 
the antenna assembly 13, can be connected to the antenna assembly 13 in 
the main body 1a at its edge 1a'. 
The wrist band 2a is Joined on the main body 1a at the other edge 1a" which 
is the twelve o'clock position. At the edge 1a" in the main body 1a, the 
electrically conductive plate 4a is connected to the ground 15, and the 
other electrically conductive plate 4b is connected to the high frequency 
wave (RF) amplifier circuit 14. The connecting point to the RF amplifier 
circuit 14 is the electrical power feeding point 66b. Therefore, in the 
wrist-mounted-type radio apparatus, the power feeding point 66b is moved 
away from the connecting point of the capacitor 18. 
The high frequency wave amplifier circuit 14 is connected to the downstream 
(following) circuits via the terminal 16. The constitution and operation 
of the downstream circuits are as shown in FIG. 5. 
Referring to FIG. 26, the operation of the antenna assembly 13 (slot 
antenna) is now explained. 
Since the antenna assembly 13 is a magnetic flow type, the voltage 
distribution is as shown by the solid line V and the current distribution 
is as shown by the solid line I. The impedance Z at the any location of 
the antenna plate 11 is determined by the following equation: 
EQU Z=V/I 
According to the above equation, the impedance of the antenna plate 11 near 
the capacitor 18 becomes very high. The input impedance of the RF 
amplifier circuit 14 is 50 to 100.OMEGA.. Therefore, in order to obtain 
impedance matching between the RF amplifier circuit 14 and the antenna 
assembly 13, the impedance of the antenna assembly 13 must be low. 
Accordingly, if the power feeding point 66b can be located at a position 
other than the position of the capacitor 18 connecting point, impedance 
matching can be made at a position having the lower impedance. 
In FIG. 27, a property of the input impedance of the antenna assembly 13 is 
shown. Using FIG. 27, the property of the input impedance of the antenna 
assembly 13 depending on the power feeding position 66b can be determined. 
For example, the solid line L20 is the property of the input impedance if 
the power feeding position 66b is located near the connecting point of the 
capacitor 18. The solid line L21 is the property of the input impedance if 
the power feeding position 66b is located near the center of the portion 
67a containing the antenna elements 11a and 11c. The solid line L22 shows 
the property of the input impedance if the power feeding position 66b is 
locate near the distal end of the antenna elements 11a and 11c. A circular 
portion (range) using a solid line L19 shows an optimum impedance range 
for the high frequency wave amplifier circuit 14. According to the above 
case studies, the property of the input impedance shown by the line L21, 
which crosses the circular portion L19, is preferable. To obtain such 
property, the power feeding position 66b should be moved from the 
connecting point of the capacitor 18 to near the middle point of the 
portion 67a containing the antenna elements 11a and 11c. 
When the power feeding point 66b is located on the position for obtaining 
the property of line L20 or line L22, additional matching circuits are 
required to equalize the impedance of the antenna assembly 13 and the high 
frequency wave circuit 14. However, the use of matching circuits results 
in problems such as additional elements and other parts for constituting a 
circuit. When the power feeding point 66b is moved from the connecting 
point of capacitor 18 to the position at which the optimum impedance can 
be obtained, impedance matching can be easily achieved without additional 
elements and other parts, thus facilitating miniaturization and reducing 
costs. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 60, using the popular wrist 
band, which has the longer wrist band 2b at the six o'clock position side 
thereof and the shorter wrist band 2a at the twelve o'clock position side 
thereof, enables the capacitor 18 to be connected near the edge 1a' and 
the feeding point 66b near the other edge 1a" in the main body 1a, thus 
facilitating movement of the power feed point away from the capacitor 18 
connecting position by the width of the main body 1a. Therefore, the 
present radio apparatus can realize both conditions that the capacitor 18 
is connected on the center of the antenna assembly 13, and the feed point 
66b is located at a position spaced therefrom. 
Eleventh Embodiment 
FIG. 28A illustrates the antenna assembly 13 of a wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus 70 according to an eleventh embodiment. FIG. 28B 
illustrates the construction of the holes made on the band of the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 70. 
As shown in FIG. 28A, in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
70, the antenna elements 11b and 11d are longer than the antenna elements 
11a and 11c, however a capacitor 62 is installed on the middle point of 
the length of the antenna assembly 13 (namely where the lengths L1 and L2 
shown in FIG. 28A meet). The middle point is positioned in the wrist band 
2b in which the antenna elements 11b and 11d are installed. 
As shown in FIG. 28B, in order to increase the connection strength between 
bands 2a and 2b, the holes 69 having generally the same diameter as the 
width of the slot 13c are provided on the band 2b. Additionally, the 
antenna elements 11b and 11c provided in the band 2b have wide portions 71 
that have an extended slot width. Accordingly, the antenna elements have 
narrower portions. However the sensitivity of the antenna assembly 13 is 
not decreased because the current distribution of the antenna elements is 
concentrated on the distal end 11p, which has a wider width. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 70, the antenna elements 
11b and 11d are used for installing the capacitor 62 in the wrist band 2b. 
As shown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30, in which the construction of the 
capacitor 62 is enlarged, the antenna element 11b has a step like portion 
71a, and a platform portion 71b that projects toward the antenna element 
11d. The antenna element 11d also has a step like portion 72a, and a 
platform portion 72b that projects toward the antenna element 11b. A 
dielectric material 73 is provided in the area between the platform 
portions 71b and 72b. When a surface area facing between the platform 
portions 71b and 72b is S, a dielectric constant in a vacuum condition of 
the dielectric material is .epsilon..sub.0, a specific dielectric constant 
of the dielectric material is .epsilon..sub.r, a length between platforms 
71b and 72b is d, a capacitor 62 having the capacitance C shown by the 
following equation is realized: 
EQU C=.epsilon..sub.0 .multidot..epsilon..sub.r .multidot.S/d 
Accordingly, the capacitor 62 can be disposed outside of the main body 1a. 
Hence, the capacitor 62 can be located at the center of the antenna 
assembly length even when the main body 1a is not located at the center of 
the length of the antenna assembly 13, so as to upgrade its sensitivity. 
Since the main body 1a need not be located at the center of the length of 
the antenna assembly 13, the main body 1a can be moved to locate the 
feeding point 66b at the most optimum position for impedance matching 
without any relationship to the position of the capacitor 62. 
Since the dielectric material 73 can be selected from among a hide (e.g., 
leather), silicone resin, urethane resin and the like, the material for 
the wrist band 2a and 2b also can be used as the dielectric material. 
Therefore, the capacitor 62 can be introduced into the bands 2a or 2b 
during the fabrication process of the wrist band. When the specific 
dielectric constant .epsilon..sub.r of the material for the bands 2a and 
2b is 3 to 5, the surface area S facing between the platform portions 71b 
and 72b is 25 square millimeter, and the facing distance d between the 
platform portions 71b and 72b is 0.3 mm, the capacitance C becomes 2 to 4 
pF, which is sufficient for the capacitor 62 applied to the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 70 operated under the UHF 
(ultra high frequency) band. 
Twelfth Embodiment 
FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing the construction of an antenna 
assembly installed in a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
according to a twelfth embodiment. 
The antenna assembly 13 of the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 
70 has holes 77 near the platform portions 71b and 72b for constituting 
the capacitor 62 as explained in the eleventh embodiment. A hole rate 
(i.e., the density or frequency of the holes per unit area) or a 
concentration of the small holes 77, is rather high adjacent to the 
platform portions 71b and 72b. The density of the holes 77 decreases 
towards the distal ends 11p and 11q, and finally no holes are provided at 
the distal ends 11p and 11q. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, the impedance around 
the platform portions 71b and 72b is high, so that it can be affected by 
the human body when mounted on the user's wrist. This causes miss-matching 
of impedance between the antenna assembly 13 and the high frequency 
amplifier circuit connected thereto, which decreases the sensitivity. 
However, the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus having holes 77 
on the area having high impedance reduces the area of the surface that 
faces the human body. Therefore the affects from the human body to the 
portable radio apparatus are minimized. The current distribution around 
the platform portions 71b and 72b is small so that the openings 77 do not 
cause a significant increase of resistivity. At the distal ends 11p and 
11q of the antenna assembly 13, where the current distribution is high, no 
holes 77 are made to prevent the resistivity from increasing. 
When the capacitor 62 using the platform portions 71b and 72b of the 
antenna assembly 13 is not provided, the holes 77 having the high opening 
rate at the center of the length of the antenna assembly 13 and within 
opening rate that decreases towards the distal ends 11p and 11q can 
prevent the adverse affects from the human body. 
Thirteenth Embodiment 
FIG. 33 is a plan view of the antenna assembly of a wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus of a thirteenth embodiment. FIG. 34 is a 
sectional view. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus of the thirteenth 
embodiment has all the characteristics explained for the first to twelfth 
embodiments. The wrist-mounted-type radio apparatus also has the antenna 
assembly 13 having an improved electrical property, and an antenna plate 
11 by which such improvement is realized also has an optimized 
construction for facilitating manufacturing. 
The antenna plate 11 is made of a stainless material or from other 
materials having a sufficient stiffness (i.e., strength) and resistance to 
rust. The antenna plate 11 is manufactured by a rolling process in which 
the material is pulled under a pressurized condition. Therefore, the 
antenna plate 11 has raised and lowered portions on its surface. In FIG. 
33, the raised and lowered portions introduced on the surface are shown by 
dotted lines 80a corresponding to the raised portions. When the high 
frequency signal passes through the antenna plate 11, the corresponding 
current flows through the surface or skin of the antenna plate 11 
according to the skin effect. The skin depth .delta., which is the depth 
by which the current permeates into the antenna plate 11, is calculated 
using the following equation based on a magnetic permeability in vacuum 
condition .mu.o of the material, a frequency f of the high frequency 
signal, and an electrical conductivity .sigma. of the material: 
EQU .delta.=1/.sqroot.(.pi..multidot.f.multidot..mu.o.multidot..sigma.) 
Accordingly, the loss of resistivity of the antenna plate is decreased in 
this embodiment because the direction of the raised and lowered portions 
80a is equal to the current arrow 80b. 
The present antenna plate 11 has, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper layer 83 and 
a lower layer 84 in both the distal end portions 11p. The direction of the 
raised and lowered portions shown by the dotted line 80a made by the 
rolling process coincides with the direction of the current shown by the 
arrow 80b. In a middle layer 85, the direction of the raised and lowered 
portions crosses (i.e., is perpendicular to) the direction of current 
shown by arrow 80b. That is, the present antenna plate 11 has the upper 
layer 83, the middle layer 85 and the lower layer 84, each having 
different rolling directions so that the bending strength of the antenna 
plate 11 is high. The antenna plate 11 does not break even if a large 
force is repeatedly applied when the wrist-mounted-type portable radio 
apparatus is mounted on the wrist. 
Fourteenth Embodiment 
In order to keep the stiffness of the antenna assembly 13 high and to 
reduce its resistivity loss, as shown in FIG. 35, the portion 11r of the 
antenna plate 11 at which a large force is applied when the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus is mounted on the wrist, is 
made of a plate member 86 having the raised and lowered portions created 
during the rolling process so that they extend in the longitudinal 
direction. The distal portion 11p at which the electrical distribution is 
large is made of the plate member 87, with raised and lowered portions 80a 
extending in the same direction as the current shown by the arrow 80b. 
Fifteenth Embodiment 
In order to maintain the stiffness of the antenna assembly 13 high and to 
reduce its loss of resistivity, as shown in FIG. 36, the portion 11r of 
the antenna plate 11 at which a large force is applied when the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus is mounted on the wrist is 
made of a plate member 88 having a high strength, while the distal portion 
11p at which the electrical distribution is large is made of the plate 
member coated (plated) by a highly conductive layer 89 such as copper and 
silver. The thickness of the coated layer 89 must be higher than the skin 
depth .delta., which is the depth by which the current permeates into the 
antenna plate 11. 
Sixteenth Embodiment 
FIG. 37 illustrates the construction of the rear surface of the wrist band 
of a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus according to a sixteenth 
embodiment. FIG. 38 is its sectional view. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus has a plurality of raised 
areas 91a across the length of the wrist band 2b on its rear surface 
between its proximal end 2s, which is connected with the main body 1a, and 
near its distal portion 2t having the holes 69. The height of the raised 
portions 91a gradually decreases from the proximal end 2s toward the 
distal end 2t of the wrist band 2b. In addition, the wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus has features explained in the previous 
embodiments 1 to 15. 
Since the portions of antenna elements 11b and 11d located on the proximal 
end 2s of the wrist band 2b have the relatively high impedance, it tends 
to be affected by the human body. However, in the present embodiment, the 
wrist band 2b has the raised areas 91a on its proximal end 2s so as to 
maintain a predetermined space between the antenna elements 11b and 11d 
and the user's wrist 90. Since the impedance at the distal end 2u of the 
wrist band 2b is low and the affects of the human body are negligible, no 
(or smaller) raised areas 91a are prepared thereon so that the user can 
apply the wrist bands easily. Since the proximal end 2s of the wrist band 
2b has a larger curvature than other parts thereof when it is mounted on 
the wrist, the higher raised areas 91a prepared on the proximal end 2s of 
the band makes it easy to bend. 
In the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, wherein the portions of 
the antenna elements 11b and 11d having the high impedance are positioned 
to maintain the space against the user's wrist 90, the impedance shift of 
the antenna assembly can be prevented. Therefore, the present portable 
radio apparatus has high sensitivity. 
Seventeenth Embodiment 
A wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus according to a seventeenth 
embodiment has a wrist band 2b having a plurality of generally 
hemispherical projections 92a, as shown in FIG. 39 and FIG. 40, on its 
rear surface instead of the raised areas 91a extended across the length as 
in the previous sixteenth embodiment. As in the sixteenth embodiment, the 
projections 92a are arranged on the proximal ends 2s of the band 2b, which 
is connected with the main body 1a and contains the portions of elements 
11b, 11d having a large impedance. The projections 92a maintain a 
predetermined space between the human wrist 90 and the antenna elements 
11b and 11d so as to prevent the adverse affects from the human body. 
Therefore, in the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus, the affects 
from the user's wrist 90 to the portion having the highest impedance among 
the antenna plate 11 is prevented. Therefore, the antenna impedance does 
not shift, and the antenna has a high sensitivity. The relatively higher 
projections prepared on the proximal end of the wrist band makes it easy 
to bend the band. 
Eighteenth Embodiment 
FIG. 41 is an exploded view of the main body of a wrist-mounted-type 
portable radio apparatus 95 according to an eighteenth embodiment. FIG. 42 
is a sectional view. 
The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 95 has a pair of wrist 
bands (not shown in the figure) attached on both ends of the main body 1a. 
The main body la has a data displaying unit 3 for displaying information 
on the front surface thereof, a panel frame 3a around the data displaying 
unit 3, and electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b on both outer sides 
of the frame 3a. The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 95 has an 
antenna assembly 13 comprised of an antenna plate 11 having a plurality of 
antenna elements 11a to 11d fixed on the wrist band, a plurality of 
contact plates 96a attached on each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d, 
and a plurality of fixing pins 96b attached to the proximal end of each 
antenna element 11a to 11d to be electrically contacted to a plurality of 
spring plates 96c attached to each end of the electrically conductive 
plates 4a and 4b. The electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b, and each 
antenna element 11a to 11d are fixed to each other by screws, for example, 
using a plurality of screw holes 96d made on the contact plate 96a on each 
antenna element 11a to 11d. 
The main body 1a contains the following parts from its front surface side, 
as shown in FIG. 42: the data displaying unit 3, a circuit board 5, a 
battery frame 97, a battery 8, and a rear case (not shown in the figure). 
The electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b are disposed on sides of the 
data displaying unit 3, and the circuit board 5 is located on a rear 
surface side of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b. A piece 5f 
fixes the conductive plates 4a and 4b to the circuit board 5. 
The main body 1a has a high dielectric material layer 98 on the rear 
surface side of the electrically conductive plates 4a and 4b made of 
BaO--TiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.4, BaO.sub.3, a low loss dielectric ceramic layer, 
and the like. High dielectric material layers 99 made of BaO--TiO.sub.2, 
TiO.sub.4, BaO.sub.3, a low loss dielectric ceramic layer and the like, 
are disposed on the front surface side and rear surface side of the 
antenna elements 11a to 11d, and the dielectric material layers 99 also 
are injected into the slot 13c between the respective antenna elements 11a 
to 11d. Ceramic such as BaO-TiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.4, BaO.sub.3, and the like, 
has a specific dielectric constant of 8 to 40, which is higher than that 
of polyester resin (specific dielectric constant is 3.2 to 4.8) or of 
silicone resin (specific dielectric constant is 3) for making the band. 
Since the wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 95 has the circuit 
board 5 disposed on the rear surface side of the electrically conductive 
plates 4a and 4b, it has the same advantages detailed earlier, such as the 
radiation wave can be radiated therefrom without being shielded by the 
circuit board 5. The wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus 95 also 
has the high dielectric material layer 98 and 99 around the electrically 
conductive plates 4a and 4b, and the antenna elements 11a to 11d. The wave 
length .lambda.' in such a high dielectric material can be determined by 
the following equation using a wave length A and a specific dielectric 
constant .epsilon. of the dielectric material: 
EQU .lambda.'=.lambda./.sqroot..epsilon. 
Therefore, the wave length .lambda.' is shortened if the dielectric 
constant .epsilon. in the dielectric material is large. 
Accordingly, when the dielectric constant .epsilon. in the dielectric 
material is large, the antenna assembly 13 has an effect as if the length 
of the slot 13c is increased. Therefore, the wrist-mounted-type portable 
radio apparatus can have the antenna gain for the radiation wave for 
longer wave lengths without increasing the length of the slot 13c, namely 
without increasing the length of the antenna assembly 13. 
Further Embodiments 
The high dielectric material layers 98 and 99 can be applied to the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus of the embodiments previously 
explained. 
A wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus can be provided that has any 
combination among the features explained above in each embodiment. For 
example, a wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus having the features 
of embodiments 1, 6, 10, 13 and 16 can have the effect that the radiation 
wave from the antenna assembly is not shielded because the circuit board 
is not disposed on the front surface side of the antenna assembly. Since 
the antenna assembly has the high impedance side arranged far from the 
noise source of the other circuits, and the low impedance side arranged 
near the noise source, noise entering the antenna assembly can be 
prevented. Since the antenna assembly has a pair of different length 
portions connected to the portable radio apparatus, the optimum location 
of the power feeding point can be selected. The antenna assembly also has 
a high impedance part located adjacent to the thicker rear side of the 
wrist band, therefore the adverse affects from the human body can be 
reduced. At the same time, the resistive loss of the antenna assembly can 
be reduced. According to the above combination of features, the 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus in accordance with the present 
invention can have a high sensitivity. 
As explained above, according to one aspect of the invention, the antenna 
assembly is disposed on the front surface side of the circuit board in the 
main body. Therefore, the above arrangement eliminates the circuit board 
and other elements from the front surface side of the antenna assembly, 
preventing the shielding effect to the radiation wave output/received from 
the antenna assembly. 
The antenna assembly may be disposed on the outer frame of a 
wrist-mounted-type portable radio apparatus so that the antenna slot 
extending along the length of the antenna assembly faces toward the 
outside. By this arrangement, no member is located on the front surface 
side of the antenna assembly so that the sensitivity of the antenna can be 
increased. 
When the side portion of the antenna assembly that is connected to the 
reference voltage side of the high frequency wave amplifier circuit is 
disposed near the noise source, and another portion that is connected to 
the signal (i.e., feed) voltage side of the high frequency wave amplifier 
circuit is disposed far from the noise source, the noise does not enter 
into the antenna assembly so that the sensitivity of the portable radio 
apparatus can be upgraded. Especially when the direct conversion method is 
applied, since the tuning frequency of the antenna assembly must be the 
same as the oscillation frequency from the local oscillator, its noise 
tends to enter the antenna assembly. However, as explained above, if the 
local oscillator is installed distant from the part of the antenna 
assembly having the high impedance at the high frequency band, the adverse 
affects of the noise to the radio itself and to other radios can be 
reduced. 
When the antenna assembly has a different length antenna elements on each 
side of the main body located in the wrist band, high sensitivity can be 
realized if the feeding point in the main body can be set at an optimum 
position spaced from the reactance element. 
Introducing a high density of holes near the connecting point of the 
reactance element, or making the rear surface of the wrist band thick 
adjacent to this portion, can moderate the adverse affects from the human 
body so as to maintain impedance matching at a fine level for enhancing 
sensitivity. 
Additionally, the antenna assembly can be constructed so as to reduce the 
resistivity loss of the high frequency current at the distal end of the 
antenna assembly, providing an antenna device having a high sensitivity. 
While this invention has been described in conjunction with specific 
embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications 
and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, 
the preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are 
intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made 
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in 
the following claims.