Patent Publication Number: US-2005130594-A1

Title: Walkie-talkie pen

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO EXISTING APPLICATION  
      This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/530,209, filed Dec. 16, 2003, the disclosure of which application is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to communications devices, particularly miniature two-way radios.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Two-way radios (i.e., radios capable of alternately transmitting and receiving communications signals on the same frequency) have been known in the art for a number of years. Such radios, commonly referred to as “walkie-talkies”, have traditionally been equipped with a relatively large housing so as to contain the electronic components necessary to generate the desired frequency, and an antenna mounted to the housing and protruding therefrom. Typically, walkie-talkie devices on the market have operated at the 27 MHz or 49 MHz frequencies.  
      The length of a walkie-talkie&#39;s antenna is a function of its transmitting frequency. In particular, according to the formula L a =984/F, a full-wavelength antenna for a walkie-talkie operating at a transmit frequency F of 27 MHz would be required to have a length L a  of 36 feet. For this reason, walkie-talkies operating at this frequency and other similar frequencies are often equipped with relatively shorter ⅛ wavelength antennas mounted to their housings. While still relatively long, such antennas can improve the portability and practicality of the walkie-talkie units in which they are incorporated.  
      Advances in electronics have enabled the development of progressively smaller walkie-talkie devices that may be installed in the housings of common personal items. Unfortunately, however, due to the above-described minimum length requirements, the antennas of such devices are still somewhat long. To the extent such devices have been made of compact size for the purpose of concealing their communications function within the housing of a personal item, the high visibility of long antennas mounted to the respective personal item housings is a clear drawback. Novel apparatus and methods for equipping common personal items with well-concealed walkie-talkie functionality are therefore both necessary and desirable.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention provides a walkie-talkie incorporated within the housing of a writing pen such that the walkie-talkie function of the device is well concealed and the appearance of the device is substantially similar to that of many conventional ball-point pen writing devices. More particularly, the antenna of the walkie-talkie to which the walkie-talkie circuitry is coupled for transmission and reception of communications signals is concealed by being entirely enclosed within the pen housing. Examples of the invention include a combination pen and walkie-talkie device in which the walkie-talkie circuitry operates at a transmit/receive frequency within a range of from about 462 MHz to about 467 MHz, including at least one such device which operates at about 462 MHz. Other examples include similar devices in which the transmit/receive antenna is a half-wavelength antenna, e.g., a half-wavelength antenna having a free length greater than one foot, and/or in which the transmit/receive antenna comprises wire wound into a coil having a finished length of less than about 1.5 inches.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of three exemplary embodiments of the present invention, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a walkie-talkie/pen constructed in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the arrangement of the electronic components of the walkie-talkie/pen shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a rear elevational view of the walkie-talkie/pen of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a walkie-talkie/pen constructed in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a rear elevational view of the walkie-talkie/pen of  FIG. 4 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a rear elevational view similar to  FIG. 5 , except that the rear cover of the walkie-talkie/pen has been removed so as to expose certain interior components;  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the arrangement of the electronic components of the walkie-talkie/pen shown in  FIGS. 4-6 ;  
       FIG. 8  presents a graph of antenna length vs. frequency; and  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a walkie-talkie/pen constructed in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      As will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter, the present invention involves the incorporation of walkie-talkie functionality in a “ball-point pen” writing instrument, wherein all of the walkie-talkie components of the device, including the transmit-receive antenna, fit within the pen&#39;s housing. At least in part because of the relatively high frequency used for the transmission and receipt of the walkie-talkie signals, the length of the antenna used in accordance with the present invention is small enough to be entirely enclosed within the pen&#39;s housing. As such, the walkie-talkie functionality is well-concealed within a device that looks and functions as a ball-point pen.  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , a walkie-talkie/pen  10  according to the present invention includes a pen  12  and a walkie-talkie  14 . The pen  12  has a pen housing  16 , consisting of an upper barrel  18  and a lower barrel  20 . The upper barrel  18  and the lower barrel  20  are joined by means of an internal thread (not shown) to allow the upper barrel  18  and the lower barrel  20  to be separated.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , the walkie-talkie  14  includes circuitry  22  for transmitting and receiving communications signals in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter. The circuitry  22  is contained within the upper barrel  18  of the pen housing  16  along with a battery  24 , which serves as the power supply for the walkie-talkie  14 . The electrical connection between the circuitry  22  and the battery  24  is established through a single-circuit, push-button switch  26 . A test lamp  28  is provided between the switch  26  and the circuitry  22  as a power indicator. The device used as the test lamp  28  should be small in size compared to the width of the upper barrel  18 . Preferably, such a device comprises a light-emitting diode (LED). The walkie-talkie  14  is further provided with a speaker  30  and a microphone  32 , both of which are connected to the circuitry  22 . The speaker  30  and the microphone  32  are activated in alternation by a dual-circuit, push-button switch  34 . The speaker  30  and the microphone  32  may be of conventional types known in the art, appropriately sized to fit within the pen housing  16 .  
      Returning to  FIG. 1 , the upper barrel  18  is provided with a chamber  36  that encloses the speaker  30 , which is protected by a cover  38  made of metal or plastic. Openings  40  in the cover  38  allow sound from the speaker  30  to be heard without being significantly muffled by the cover  38 . The microphone  32  is located in a microphone housing  42  at a top end  44  of the upper barrel  18  and is situated so as to allow the user the grasp the upper barrel  18  and speak directly into the microphone  32 . Two push-button type control buttons  46 ,  48  are located directly below the chamber  36 . The lower control button  46  is a power on/off control button that operates the switch  26  to alternately connect and disconnect the battery  24  ( FIG. 2 ) from the walkie-talkie circuitry  22 . The upper control button  48  is a talk function button that operates the switch  34  to alternately activate the microphone  32  and the speaker  30 . The test lamp  28  is located in the upper barrel  18  directly above the chamber  36 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , the lower barrel  20  is provided with a nib housing  50  containing a typical ball-point pen nib  52 , which is connected to a ball-point ink supply (not shown) contained within the lower barrel  20 . The lower barrel  20  is further provided with a soft rubber feel coating or surface  54  to provide a comfortable grip. Additional soft rubber feel surfaces  56  are attached to the upper barrel  18 . The upper barrel  18  is also provided with a typical pen clip  58  opposite the speaker cover  38 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , to activate the walkie-talkie  14 , the user connects the battery  24  to the walkie-talkie circuitry  22  by depressing the power on/off button  46 . This causes the test lamp  28  to light. The user then presses the talk function button  48  to activate the microphone  32  and speaks into the microphone housing  42 . To listen to a reply, the user releases the talk function button  48 , deactivating the microphone  32  and activating the speaker  30 . To deactivate the walkie-talkie  14 , the user again presses the power on/off control button  46 , disconnecting the battery  24  from the walkie-talkie circuitry  22 .  
      It should be appreciated that the walkie-talkie/pen  10  provides numerous advantages. For example, all of the externally visible features of the walkie-talkie  14 , including the speaker cover  36 , the microphone housing  42 , and the switch buttons  46 ,  48  are of low profile, such that they blend in with the surrounding pen housing  16 . At the same time, the pen  12  of the walkie-talkie/pen  10  is fully functional. Also, the lack of an externally visible antenna further conceals the walkie-talkie function. For example, the walkie-talkie/pen  10  can be equipped with a transmit/receive antenna that is entirely enclosed within the pen housing  16 , as will be described in more detail hereinafter in connection with additional embodiments of the present invention.  
      It should also be noted that the walkie-talkie/pen  10  of the present invention can have numerous modifications and variations. For instance, additional exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in  FIGS. 4-9 . Elements illustrated in  FIGS. 4-9  which correspond substantially to the elements described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-3  have been designated by corresponding reference numerals increased by one or more increments of one thousand. The embodiments of the present invention shown in  FIGS. 4-9  operate and are constructed in manners consistent with the foregoing description of the walkie-talkie/pen  10 , unless it is stated otherwise.  
      A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 4-7 . Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the walkie-talkie/pen  1010  includes a pen  1012  having a pen housing  1016  and a walkie-talkie  1014  within the pen housing  1016 . To use the pen  1012  of the walkie-talkie/pen  1010 , a user rotates the nib housing  1050  located at the bottom of the lower barrel  1020 , causing the ball-point pen nib  1052  to extend from within the nib housing  1050  to the fully extended position outside the nib housing  1050  shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . To use the walkie-talkie  1014 , the user operates the power on-off control button  1046  for main power activation and deactivation (as indicated by the test lamp  1028 ), and the talk function button  1048  for alternating between generating and/or transmitting walkie-talkie signals, and receiving and/or monitoring walkie-talkie signals. The upper barrel  1018  is equipped with a rear cover  1059  onto which the pen clip  1058  is secured, and an easily removable battery door  1060  which, for safety, is secured to the rear cover  1059  with a screw  1061 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , internal components of the walkie-talkie/pen  1010  are viewable with the rear cover  1059  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the upper barrel  1018  removed. The microphone  1032  of the walkie-talkie  1014  is located below the speaker  1030  in accordance with the present inventive embodiment. In use, the user holds the walkie-talkie/pen  1010  in hand, speaks into the microphone  1032  through microphone holes  1062  (see  FIG. 4 ) formed in a front side  1063  of the upper barrel  1018 , and listens to the return message passing from the speaker  1030  and out of the openings  1040  (see  FIG. 4 ) in the cover  1038 . Two such walkie-talkie/pens  1010  separated by a distance of less than one mile may be used by individuals for direct, two-way personal communications, whereby the communications signals transmitted by one of the walkie-talkie/pens  1010  are received directly by the other of the walkie-talkie/pens  1010 , and vice-versa. A battery compartment  1064  is provided within the pen housing  1016  containing four button cell batteries  1066 , which generate six volts DC for powering a circuit board  1068  of the walkie-talkie  1014 , and which are replaceable via the battery door  1060  (see  FIG. 5 ). For the sake of clarity, the components on the circuit board  1068  which make up the walkie-talkie circuitry  1022  (see  FIG. 7 ) are not illustrated.  
      The walkie-talkie circuitry  1022  operates at an effective radiated power no greater than about 0.5 Watts (e.g., less than or equal to about 0.5 Watts in accordance with FCC regulations regarding “the Family Radio Service” or FRS), transmits at an FRS frequency of about 462 MHz, and receives signals at the same frequency via an internal antenna  1070 . The internal antenna  1070  is a half-wavelength wire antenna having a free length of approximately 12-13 inches, and wound into a coil having a finished length of approximately 1.25 inches and a diameter of approximately 0.25 inches. Because of the relatively high frequency at which the walkie-talkie  1014  operates, the antenna  1070  can be of a relatively short finished length not extending past (i.e., beyond, out of, outside of, etc.) the pen housing  1016 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the walkie-talkie circuitry  1022  includes an R-L-C circuit  1072  for creating the 462 MHz frequency.  
      Additional bands within the allocated range of 462-467 MHz are available for use in creating similar devices for facilitating private conversations in accordance with the FCC&#39;s Family Radio Service rules. Higher frequencies may be employed as bandwidth allocations are made available by the FCC. A graph of antenna length vs. frequency is provided in  FIG. 8 , indicating that as the frequency of operation is increased, the required antenna length decreases.  
      A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 9 , which illustrates a walkie-talkie/pen  2010  including a pen  2012  having a pen housing  2016  and a walkie-talkie  2014  within the pen housing  2016 . The walkie-talkie  2014  has all the functionality of the walkie-talkie  1014  described hereinabove, except that the power on-off control button  2046  and the talk function button  2048  are mounted to one side of an upper barrel  2018  along a rubber feel surface  2056 .  
      It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such variations and modifications, including those discussed above, are therefore intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto.