Headset, circuit structure of mobile apparatus, and mobile apparatus

The present invention relates to headset cables, headsets, circuit structures of mobile devices, and mobile devices.

Electronic devices with a TV broadcast reception function have traditionally been equipped with a nested antenna, which needs to be stretched when trying to watch TV. For mobile devices such as mobile phones or multimedia players, such an approach may be convenient for assembling and manufacturing portable devices.

<p num="0003"> However, the appearance design and circuitry of mobile devices will be constrained by nested antennas. The present invention is directed to headset cables, headsets, circuit structures of portable devices and portable devices that are not constrained by antennas.</p>

<p num="0004"> According to certain aspects of the invention, headset cables are provided. The headset cable includes a television signal receiving antenna and a plurality of audio lines. According to another aspect, a headset is provided. The headset includes a headset cable and an audio plug. The headset cable includes a television signal receiving antenna and a plurality of audio lines.</p><p num="0005"> In yet another aspect, the headset includes at least one earphone, a microphone, an audio plug, and a headset cable. The audio plug includes a connector with multiple contacts. The microphone and at least one earphone are connected to the corresponding contacts of the audio plug via a headset cable. The headset cable includes a ground wire, a microphone wire, at least one audio wire, and an antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal. The television broadcast signal receiving antenna is connected to one of the contacts connected to the ground line, the microphone line and at least one audio line. One of the contacts to which the television broadcast signal receiving antenna is connected also functions as a radio frequency contact that provides the television broadcast signal and the audio broadcast signal.</p><p num="0006"> According to another aspect of the invention, a circuit structure for a portable device is provided. The circuit structure includes a broadcast receiving unit and multiple signal paths extending from the audio jack. In certain embodiments, the circuit structure of the mobile device includes an audio jack, a plurality of inductive devices, an audio processing unit, a radio tuner, and a digital television tuner. The voice jack includes a ground terminal and a plurality of signal terminals for a microphone line and at least one voice line, one of which is further used as a radio frequency terminal for a television broadcast signal and a voice broadcast signal. Also works. The audio processing unit is connected to the signal terminal of the audio jack via an inductive device. The radio tuner is connected to a radio frequency terminal to receive an audio broadcast signal. A digital TV tuner is connected to a radio frequency terminal to receive a TV broadcast signal.</p><p num="0007"> According to another aspect of the invention, a mobile device is provided. The portable device includes a circuit structure and an audio jack. The portable device includes a voice jack, a plurality of induction devices, a voice processing unit, a radio tuner, a digital TV tuner, a display unit, and a processing unit. The voice jack includes a ground terminal and a plurality of signal terminals for a microphone line and at least one voice line, one of which is further used as a radio frequency terminal for a television broadcast signal and a voice broadcast signal. Also works. The audio processing unit is connected to the signal terminal of the audio jack via an inductive device. The radio tuner is connected to a radio frequency terminal to receive an audio broadcast signal. A digital TV tuner is connected to a radio frequency terminal to receive a TV broadcast signal. The processing unit allows the digital television tuner to receive a television broadcast signal to display the television on the display unit in response to a television display request.</p>

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows the portable device in the state which the headset is inserted according to the embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is a block diagram which illustrates the state which the headset is inserted into the voice plug of a mobile device.</figref><figref num="3A">It is a block diagram which illustrates the state which another headset is plugged into the voice plug of a mobile device.</figref><figref num="3B">An embodiment of a cross-sectional view of the headset cable 25B cut along the lines A1-A1 of FIG. 3A is shown.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a state in which the headset illustrated in FIG. 3A is inserted into an audio plug of a portable device having another circuit structure.</figref><figref num="5A">It is a block diagram which shows the state which another headset is inserted into the voice plug of the portable device shown in FIG. 3A.</figref><figref num="5B">An example of the cross-sectional view of the headset cable 25C cut along the line A2-A2 of FIG. 5A is shown.</figref><figref num="6">It is a figure which shows the portable device by a certain embodiment.</figref>

In the following detailed description, a number of specific details will be described for the sake of illustration so that the embodiments of the present invention may be fully understood. However, it will be clear that one or more embodiments can be implemented regardless of these particular details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown to simplify the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile device with a headset plugged in according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, the mobile device 1 can be embodied as any mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, multimedia player, game console, or the like. The portable device 1 has a function of receiving a radio (eg, FM radio) and a television broadcast signal (eg, a digital TV broadcasting system such as One Seg, DVB-H or any portable TV standard), and reproduces audio and / or video. To do.

The headset 2 of FIG. 1 receives radio and television broadcast signals and functions as an antenna device for functioning as an ordinary headset. The headset 2 includes a headset cable 25, an audio plug 23, and earphones 271 and 272. As described in the following embodiments, the headset 2, eg, the headset cable 25, is a television broadcast for digital television, such as the One Seg or Digital Video Broadcasting (DVH) (eg, DVH-H) standard. Includes an antenna structure for receiving signals. Further, the headset 2, for example, the headset cable 25, also functions as an antenna for receiving a radio broadcast signal for, for example, FM radio.

The portable device 1 includes a circuit structure 13 for receiving a radio and television broadcast signal including a broadcast receiving unit. In the embodiment as a mobile phone or smartphone, the mobile device 1 is a processing unit (eg, single-core processor, multi-core processor, or system-on-chip), display unit (eg, LCD, OLED, etc., or display device with contact sensing function). ), Storage units, and communication units (eg, support for one or more of communication standards such as 2G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, WiFi, GPS), and multiple devices for the intended embodiment. Alternatively, it may also include a component. In some embodiments, the processing unit may enable or control the broadcast receiving unit so that it can reproduce the broadcast signal (eg, radio or TV) received by the mobile device 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit structure 13 is electrically connected to the male connector 21 of the audio plug 23 of the headset 2 via the audio jack 11 (that is, the female connector) of the portable device 1. With such a connection, the portable device 1 also causes the headset 2 to function as a television antenna and a radio antenna. Therefore, the headset 2 provides flexibility in the appearance design and circuit design of the mobile device 1. In addition, the convenience of being able to use the mobile device 1 to watch television using the headset 2 that functions as an antenna further enhances the user experience.

In some embodiments, the headset 2 may include at least an earphone, a microphone, a voice plug including a connector having multiple contacts, and a headset cable, and the microphone and at least one earphone may include a headset cable. It is connected to the corresponding contact of the voice plug via. The headset cable includes a ground wire, a microphone wire, at least one audio wire, and an antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal. The television broadcast signal receiving antenna is connected to one of the contacts connected to the ground line, the microphone line and at least one audio line. One of the contacts to which the television broadcast signal receiving antenna is connected further provides a television broadcast signal (eg, digital television broadcast) and an audio broadcast signal (eg, FM radio broadcast or digital audio broadcast). It also functions as a radio frequency contact.

Various embodiments of the structure of the headset 2 and the circuit structure 13 of the mobile device 1 are described below. &lt;Embodiment 1&gt; FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating a state in which the headset is plugged into the voice jack of a mobile device. In FIG. 2, the headset 2A includes a headset cable 25A, an audio plug 23A, and earphones 271 and 272. For various embodiments, the headset 2A may optionally also include one microphone 273 (or two for the left and right channels).

The audio plug 23A has a male connector 21A that includes a plurality of contacts. Several signal paths from the voice jack 11 to the contacts of the male connector 21A via the conductor of the voice jack 11, such as MIC (ie, microphone), GND (ie, ground), voice L (ie, voice). Each path for the left channel) and the audio R (that is, the audio right channel) may be extended. The signal path is connected to several devices or components for the corresponding function. For example, the GND path is connected to the ground. The MIC pass, the voice L pass, and the voice R pass are connected to, for example, the voice processing unit or the multimedia chipset of the portable device 1.

In addition, at least one of the signal paths can be used for receiving radio and television broadcast signals with a broadcast receiving unit. In FIG. 2, the GND pass is utilized and connected to a broadcast receiving unit including a radio tuner 131 (eg, FM tuner) and a digital television tuner 133 (eg, one-segment tuner). With respect to the circuit structure 13A of FIG. 2, the headset cable 25A of the headset 2A contains a conductor 251A as a digital television antenna (eg, for One Seg) accordingly, and the conductor 251A is at least one circuit element 252. , For example, it is connected to the GND contact of the male connector 21A via a DC (direct current) blocking device such as a capacitor. In addition, the headset cable 25A also includes a GND line as a radio antenna (eg for FM radio).

In FIG. 2, the conductor 251A also surrounds a part of the GND line, the voice line, and the MIC line. The conductor 251A has a length of 1/4 wavelength or less of the frequency for television broadcasting signals, for example, a length of λ / 4 of 470 MHz to 870 MHz in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band for 1seg. For example, the length of λ / 4 of UHF for 1seg, the conductor 251A has a length of about 150 mm. In this embodiment, the circuit structure 13A includes a radio tuner 131 and a digital television tuner 133, both connected to a GND path. To acquire the FM radio signal, the radio tuner 131 is connected to the GND path via a filter 135 (eg, a bandpass filter). The digital TV tuner 133 is connected to the GND path via a matching circuit 137, for example, an LC circuit.

With respect to the configuration of the headset 2A, the circuit structure 13A includes a plurality of inductive components such as choke coils such as chokes CK1, CK2, CK3 and CK4. For RF signals (FM or 1Seg), choke CK1 is connected to the ground to separate (or block) the RF signals. Therefore, the GND path is open when viewed from the broadcast receiving unit. However, for audio signals (DC), the choke CK1 is considered short-circuited and the choke CK1 has a small resistance (50-100 m ohms). Therefore, GND may induce a voltage drop rather than being purely grounded. This can lead to crosstalk problems on the L / R channels.

In a modified embodiment of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the conductor 251A is connected to the contact of the male connector 21A (eg, MIC, left or right audio channel, or contacts for both audio channels) instead of the GND contact. It may have been done. In addition, one of the MIC line and the audio line can be used as the audio broadcast signal receiving antenna instead of the GND line. According to this, both the radio tuner 131 and the digital television tuner 133 of the circuit structure 13A are connected to the signal path (eg, MIC path or audio path) instead of the GND path. In this way, since it is not necessary to connect the GND path of the circuit structure 13A to the choke CK1, the GND can be a pure ground potential. The problem of crosstalk on the L / R channel can be alleviated or solved. &lt;Embodiment 2&gt; FIG. 3A shows a block diagram illustrating a state in which another headset is plugged into a voice plug of a mobile device according to one embodiment. In FIG. 3A, the headset 2B includes a headset cable 25B and an audio plug 23B. Compared to the headset 2A of FIG. 2, the headset 2B of FIG. 3A has a conductor 251B connected to the contact for the L-CH line of the male connector 21B of the audio plug 23B as a TV antenna (eg, for 1Seg). It has a different configuration that it is used as a radio antenna (eg, for FM). That is, the L-CH line contact functions as a radio frequency contact.

The conductor 251B is connected to the L-CH line contact via a DC blocking device 231B such as a capacitor. In addition, each of the microphone 273 and the other channel lines of the headset cables 25B for the earphones 271 and 272 are connected to the contacts for the corresponding channel lines via the corresponding choke 232B. Further, the ground connection for the earphones 271 and 272 has a common mode configuration. That is, the two lines indicated by "L-" and "R-" have their respective signal paths and are connected to the GND contacts via their respective corresponding chokes 232B. This reduces or avoids the common impedance. In some embodiments, the choke 232B and DC blocking device may be located within the audio plug 23B.

In FIG. 3A, the conductor 251B also surrounds a portion of the GND line, audio line and MIC line. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the headset cable 25B cut along the lines A1-A1 of FIG. 3A, in which the GND line, audio line and MIC line of the headset cable 25B are within the width of the television antenna. The state which is surrounded by the conductor 251B arranged in the headset cable 25B is illustrated. The conductor 251B may have a length equal to or greater than one wavelength λ at a certain frequency in the UHF band for receiving television broadcasting, that is, one wavelength λ or more. For example, the conductor 251B has a length of about 750 mm, which is larger than one wavelength λ of UHF for one segment. As described above, the conductor 251B has a sufficient length to function as both an antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal and an antenna for receiving an audio broadcast signal. In addition, the GND line, audio line and MIC line may be longer than the width of the television antenna, i.e. the conductor 251B.

In this structure of the headset 2B, for example, the conductor 251B, which is an antenna compliant with One Seg or China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB), is an external conductor surrounding the other wire of the headset cable 25B, and is an L-CH wire. Is connected to. With respect to the configuration of the headset 2B, the circuit structure 13B of FIG. 3A has a broadcast receiving unit connected to the L-CH signal path accordingly. Therefore, when the headset 2B is plugged into the audio jack 11, the conductor 251B is connected to a digital television reception tuner 133, such as a One Seg / CMMB tuner. In addition, the L-CH signal path of the circuit structure 13B is also connected to the radio tuner 131. Therefore, it is not necessary to use an RF choke on the GND path to block RF. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the GND signal path does not include a choke. Compared with the configuration using the GND signal path, better RF performance and better voice performance can be obtained at the same time.

In the second embodiment, instead of utilizing and connecting the L-CH line contacts for both the headset 2B and the circuit structure 13B, the headset's audio right channel (R-CH) line or microphone line contacts are used. It can also be utilized to function as a radio frequency contact to provide television broadcast signals and audio broadcast signals. &lt;Embodiment 3&gt; FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating a state in which the headset illustrated in FIG. 3A is inserted into an audio plug of a mobile device having another circuit structure according to an embodiment. Compared to FIG. 3A, the headset 2B is the same, but the circuit structure 13C has a different circuit configuration. In the circuit structure 13C, the radio tuner 131 and the digital TV tuner 133 are connected to the L-CH signal path via a switch device (eg, an RF switch such as a SPDT switch). The path between the tuner and the L-CH signal path requires a matching circuit shown as a dashed square. &lt;Embodiment 4&gt; FIG. 5A shows a block diagram illustrating a state in which another headset is plugged into the audio plug of the portable device shown in FIG. 3A. Compared to FIG. 3A, the circuit structure 13C is the same, but the headset 2C has a different antenna configuration.

In FIG. 5A, the headset 2C includes a headset cable 25C and an audio plug 23C. The L-CH line (or microphone line or R-CH line) of the headset cable 25C is used as a radio antenna. The headset cable 25C further includes, for example, an antenna 251C implemented by an external meander antenna disposed on a PCB or a flex PCB, and a coaxial cable 253C connected to a digital television antenna 251C for receiving digital broadcasts. Including the transmission line of. With reference to FIG. 5B, which is a cross-sectional view of the headset cable 25C cut along the lines A2-A2 of FIG. 5A, the coaxial cable 253C arranged in the headset cable 25C is the GND line of the headset cable 25C. The state in which it is separated from the voice line and the MIC line is shown. In addition, the GND line, audio line and MIC line may be longer than the length of the coaxial cable 253C.

For example, an electrical element 231C, such as a capacitor, may be connected between the coaxial cable 253C and the L-CH line for matching. The electric element 231C may be arranged inside the audio plug 23C shown in FIG. 5A or outside the audio plug 23C. In this structure, the antenna 251C has sufficient space and has a keepout area away from GND, so that the coaxial cable 253C has a very low loss to the television signal (eg, 1Seg) from the antenna 251C to the L-CH line. And provides excellent shielding. Therefore, it is not necessary to use an RF choke on the GND path to block RF. Thus, as in FIG. 3A, the GND signal path does not include a choke. Compared with the configuration using the GND signal path, better RF performance and better voice performance can be obtained at the same time. The antenna 251C of FIG. 5A may be covered with a plastic box 255C and connected to the L-CH line with a coaxial cable 253C. &lt;Other Embodiments&gt; In each of the embodiments of FIGS. 3-5, both the headset and the circuit structure were connected using L-CH lines, but instead to provide television broadcast signals and audio broadcast signals. , The audio right channel (R-CH) line or microphone line contact of the headset can also be used to function as a radio frequency contact.

For both the headset and circuit structure of FIGS. 2 and 5A, both the L-CH line and the R-CH line are used for the radio antenna, and the TV antenna is one of the L-CH line and the R-CH line. It can also be carried out by connecting to a book. In this case, the radio tuner 131 is connected to both the L-CH signal path and the R-CH signal path of the circuit structure 13A or 13B.

FIG. 6 shows a circuit structure of a mobile device according to an embodiment. This circuit structure includes a ground terminal and an audio jack 11 having a microphone wire and a plurality of signal terminals for at least one audio line, such as nodes N1, N2 and N3. One of the signal terminals (eg, audio channel node N3) also functions as a radio frequency terminal for television broadcast signals and audio broadcast signals. This circuit structure also includes a plurality of inductive devices such as chokes CK2, CK3 and CK4. The circuit structure further includes an audio processing unit 610, a radio tuner 131, and a digital television tuner 133. The audio processing unit 610 is connected to the terminal of the audio jack 11 via an inductive device such as chokes CK2, CK3 and CK4. The radio tuner 131 is connected to a radio frequency terminal (eg, node N3) in order to receive an audio broadcast signal. The digital television tuner 133 is connected to a radio frequency terminal (eg, node N3) in order to receive a television broadcast signal.

In other embodiments, the circuit structure may also include an analog circuit 640. A digital television tuner and a radio tuner are connected to radio frequency terminals via an analog circuit 640. Further, the analog circuit 640 may include a filter (for example, the filter 135 of FIG. 2) for enabling the radio tuner 131 to receive the audio broadcast signal. The analog circuit 640 may further include an impedance matching circuit for the digital television tuner 133 (eg, 137, 137B, 137C of FIGS. 2, 3A, 4 or 5A). The analog circuit 640 may include a radio frequency terminal, a radio frequency switch (eg, SW in FIG. 4) connected to the digital broadcast tuner 133 and the radio tuner 131. The analog circuit 640 may also include other circuit equipment, such as a capacitor, the DC blocking device 136 of FIG. 3A, FIG. 4 or FIG. 5A.

A portable device can be realized by the embodiment of the circuit structure illustrated above. The portable device further includes a processing unit (eg, single-core or multi-core processor, or system-on-chip) 600 and a display unit 620 (eg, liquid crystal display, organic light emitting display, etc.). In response to a television display request, the processing unit 600 allows the digital television tuner 133 to receive television broadcast signals to display television on the display unit 620, for example by transmitting a command or logic signal. .. The television display request may be made, for example, from the user interface displayed by the display unit 620, or from a physical or virtual switch or button on the mobile device.

In another embodiment of a portable device comprising an analog circuit 640 including a radio frequency terminal, a digital television tuner and a radio frequency switch connected to the radio tuner, the processing unit 600 further wirelessly responds to a request for television display. The frequency switch may be capable of outputting a television broadcast signal to the digital television tuner 133 so that the display unit 620 displays the television.

Regarding the portable device shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the headset illustrated in the above embodiment is inserted into the voice jack 11 of the mobile device, the radio frequency contact of the headset (eg, the contact of the right channel line of the headset) is carried. It is connected to the radio frequency terminal of the device (eg, node N3 of the right channel path) to provide a television broadcast signal and an audio broadcast signal to the circuit structure of the mobile device. That is, the circuit structure of the portable device can make the headset an antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal and an antenna for receiving an audio broadcast signal. As described above, since it is not necessary to embed the TV antenna in the main body of the mobile device, the circuit design of the mobile device can be simplified.

In addition, the mobile device can include other components or units as required for the functionality of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the mobile device can be realized as a smartphone or tablet and communication unit 630 that supports some wireless or network communication, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi or GPS. Note that FIG. 1 is for illustration purposes only. According to the above embodiments, various types of headsets may be implemented, such as single earphones or double earphones. The headset may or may not have a microphone. For headsets with microphones, the microphones may be external or internal. The headset may be an overhead headset, a back arm headset, an ear-hook headset, or a convertible headset. In other embodiments, the headset may also include a headset controller and may include one or more buttons or other control devices and / or microphones. For example, the headset may include control equipment for enabling or disabling television display or channel settings.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments disclosed above. The examples herein are intended to be considered merely exemplary. The true claims of the disclosure are indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.