JPH05119146A - Receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly perform varying operation of a direction of a receiving part without applying excess force to a power supply line by connecting the power supply line from the receiving part to a main body via a rotating support point for making the direction of the receiving part variable. CONSTITUTION:A portable GPS(global positioning system) receiver comprises a receiving part 10 and a device body 20 for attaching the receiving part 10 with its direction variable. The receiving part 10 includes a plane antenna 1 inside. A power supply line 30 is connected to the body 20 via a receiving part rotating support 40. Thus even if the direction of the receiving part 10 is changed toward the sky, no excess force is applied to the power supply line 30 and no excess bending occurs. As a result, smooth varying operation is possible while a display device 2 is tilted toward an angle for easy observation as well as the direction of the receiving part 10 is changed toward the sky.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receiver, and more particularly to a portable GPS (GlobalPos) for receiving a radio wave from a plurality of artificial satellites and knowing the current position of a mobile body.
Editioning System) Receiving device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the global positioning system (GPS-G
A GPS positioning device (GPS) is used to know the current position of a moving body by receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites belonging to the global Positioning System.
Receiving device) is known. In this GPS receiver, various moving bodies such as humans, ships, airplanes, and automobiles receive radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites, and confirm or determine their current position, moving body speed, and the like. Useful for.

The positioning operation performed using such a GPS receiver is usually performed by receiving radio waves from three or more artificial satellites. That is, radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites are simultaneously received on the mobile body side. Then, a predetermined correction process is performed on a time shift caused by a difference in accuracy between the timepiece device provided on the plurality of artificial satellites and the timepiece device provided on the mobile body side. Then, the current position of the moving body is displayed by an appropriate display means. As a GPS receiving device having such a function, a portable GPS receiving device has been conventionally proposed.

Here, portable GPS receivers tend to be smaller and lighter year by year. With this, portable GPS
It has become possible for the user to frequently tilt the receiving device so that it is easy to see. When the GPS receiver is tilted in this way, the antenna that is the receiver also tilts. However, the antenna must be placed so that it always faces the sky. That is, in a GPS receiver that receives radio waves from three or more GPS satellites and positions the current position based on the propagation time difference between the GPS satellites, generally, the larger the area of the polygon connecting the receiving satellites, the more the positioning becomes. Higher accuracy. Therefore,
When the antenna is tilted and radio waves from a receiving satellite located at a low elevation angle cannot be received, the measurement accuracy decreases or positioning itself becomes impossible. To prevent this from happening, the antenna must always be placed so that it faces the sky.

Therefore, conventionally, a portable GPS receiving device has been proposed in which the receiving portion using a planar antenna is variable. In this portable GPS receiving device in which the receiving unit is variable, in order to make the receiving unit using a planar antenna variable, the receiving unit and the apparatus main body are connected by a power supply line. However, the portable GPS receiving device having a variable receiving unit has a problem that the power supply line is excessively bent depending on the use condition to shorten its life extremely. In addition, there is a problem that the variable operation of the receiving unit cannot be smoothly performed due to excessive bending of the power feeding line. Especially in the GPS system, the frequency used is about 1.5.
GH _Z and high frequency. For this reason, it is necessary to use a coaxial cable as a power supply line that connects the antenna of the receiving unit and the apparatus body. Since this coaxial cable is less flexible than a general communication cable, there is a problem in that the variable operation of the receiving section including the antenna is significantly hindered.

Therefore, in order to prevent the coaxial cable from being excessively bent, a portable GPS receiving apparatus has been proposed in which a receiving section in which an antenna and a high frequency processing section are integrated is made variable. FIG. 7 shows the proposed conventional portable G
It is the perspective view which showed the PS receiver.

Referring to FIG. 7, the proposed conventional G
The PS receiving device includes a receiving unit 110, and a device main body unit (operation unit) 120 attached so that the receiving unit 110 can change its direction. The receiver 110 includes a receiver rotation fulcrum 140 that is attached to the apparatus body 120 so that its orientation can be changed.

The device main body 120 includes a display device (LCD) 103 for displaying the current position of the moving body, and a keyboard unit 104. The receiving section 110 and the apparatus main body section (operation section) 120 are connected by a power supply line 130.

FIG. 8 shows the conventional portable GPS shown in FIG.
It is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a receiving device. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, receiving unit 110 includes a planar antenna 101 and a high frequency processing unit 102 inside. Further, the device main body (operation unit) 120 has a display device 103 corresponding to an LCD formed on the surface inside thereof.
And a data processing device 105.

As described above, in the conventional portable GPS receiving apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the plane antenna 101 and the high frequency processing unit 102 are integrated to form the receiving unit 110, so that the power feeding line 130 is obtained. There is no need to use coaxial cable.

However, various LCs are received from the receiving unit 110.
Signals for D display and the like are transmitted to the apparatus main body section (operation section) 120.
Therefore, a general communication cable is required as the power supply line 130. Therefore, in the structure as shown in FIG. 7, depending on the inclination of the receiver 110 with respect to the apparatus main body 120, an unreasonable force may be applied to the power supply line 130 or excessive bending may occur. As a result, it is difficult to smoothly perform the operation of changing the orientation of the receiving unit 110. Thus, in the past, the user had to perform positioning in a state where the operability was extremely poor.

Further, as an application example of a portable GPS receiver, it has been proposed to remove only the receiver 110 and attach it to the roof of various moving bodies. In this case, the device body 1
The user can carry and operate 20. However, as shown in FIG.
A flat antenna 101 and a high frequency processing unit 102
And are integrally formed. Therefore, the receiving unit 110
When installing the unit on the roof of a moving body, the high frequency processing unit 10
It is necessary to compensate for temperature characteristics including up to 2. As a result, the price was even higher.

[0013]

As described above, in the conventional portable GPS receiving apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the communication cable 130 is connected between the receiving section 110 and the apparatus main body section 120. Therefore, when the direction of the receiving unit 110 is variably changed, there is a disadvantage that an excessive force is applied or excessive bending occurs. As a result, the display device 103
It was difficult to perform a smooth variable operation when the receiver 110 was variably operated to face the sky while being tilted to an angle that is easy to see.

Also, conventionally, there has been proposed a device in which a receiving unit including an antenna and an apparatus main body unit are integrated. Figure 9
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an appearance of another proposed conventional portable GPS receiver. Referring to FIG. 9, in this other conventional proposal example, a planar antenna 201 which is a receiving unit,
A display device (LCD) 202 and a keyboard portion 203 are integrally formed. In this conventional example, since the communication cable is not used as in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the communication cable 130 (see FIG. 7) does not interfere with the variable operation of the receiving unit 110. However, the portable GP having the antenna 201 integrated in this way
When positioning is performed using the S receiver, the user must always orient the entire GPS receiver toward the sky. In this case, the display device 202 also faces the sky, and there is a problem that the user has to obtain positioning information from the display device (LCD) 202 having a narrow viewing angle. Considering this problem, the receiving unit including the antenna also
It is preferable that the direction of the device main body including the display can be changed.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and does not apply an unreasonable force to a power supply line (communication cable) that connects the receiving means and the apparatus main body, and the direction of the receiving portion can be changed. An object of the present invention is to provide a receiving device capable of smoothly performing a variable operation.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving device for receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites and knowing the current position of a mobile body. Receiving means for receiving, and display means for displaying the radio wave information received by the receiving means,
An information processing means for outputting the radio wave information received by the receiving means to the display means, the receiving means includes a rotation fulcrum part for variably setting its direction, and the power supply line from the receiving means rotates. It is connected to the apparatus main body section including the display means and the information processing means via the fulcrum section.

[0017]

In the receiving device according to the first aspect, the receiving means includes a rotation fulcrum portion for movably setting its direction,
Since the power supply line from the receiving means is connected to the device main body including the display means and the information processing means via the rotation fulcrum part, an unreasonable force is applied to the power supply line connecting the receiving means and the device main body. No additional bending occurs.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a portable G according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is the perspective view which showed the PS receiver. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the portable GPS receiving apparatus of the present embodiment includes a receiving section 10 and an apparatus main body section 20 attached to the receiving section 10 so that its orientation can be freely changed. ..

The receiving section 10 includes the planar antenna 1 therein. The device body 20 has a display device (LCD) 2 for displaying the current position of the moving body on its surface.
And a keyboard unit 3, and inside thereof, a display device 2 corresponding to an LCD formed on the surface, a data processing device 4, and a high frequency processing unit 5 are included. In addition, an adapter terminal 6 for 12V and a brightness adjustment unit 7 for adjusting the brightness of the display device 2 are formed on the side surface of the device body 20.

A power supply line 30 made of a coaxial cable is connected between the receiving section 10 and the apparatus main body section 20.

Here, in the present embodiment, the power supply line 30 is connected to the apparatus main body section 20 via the receiving section rotation fulcrum 40 provided in the receiving section 10. As described above, in the present embodiment, the power feeding line is derived from the receiver rotation fulcrum 40, which is the movable center of the receiver 10.
Even if the direction of is changed to face the sky, no excessive force acts on the power supply line 30 and excessive bending does not occur. As a result, even when the display device 2 is tilted at an easy-to-see angle and the receiver 10 is variably operated to face the sky, a smooth variable operation can be performed. Further, since the power supply line 30 is not subjected to an unreasonable force or excessive bending, it is possible to configure the receiving unit 10 only with the planar antenna 1 as in the present embodiment and use a coaxial cable as the power supply line 30. That is, the GPS signal including the high frequency component can be guided to the apparatus main body 20 via the coaxial cable 30.

FIG. 3 is a development view ((A), (B), (C)) for explaining the detailed structure of the receiving section 10 shown in FIG.
Is. Referring to FIG. 3, the receiving unit 10 includes a planar antenna body 13, a microstrip pattern 15 attached to the antenna pattern side of the planar antenna body for improving reception efficiency, and a ground side of the planar antenna body 13. Ground surface 1 made of attached aluminum die cast
4, a power feeding connector 16 attached to the center of the recess of the ground surface 14, and a power feeding line 30 connected to the power feeding connector 16.
Wire clip 17 for attaching the antenna to the ground surface, the upper antenna exterior 11 serving also as a radome, and the lower antenna exterior 12
Includes and. A rotation fulcrum portion 11a forming a rotation fulcrum 40 of the receiving portion (see FIG. 1) is formed on the radome / antenna outer casing 11, and a rotation fulcrum portion 12a is similarly formed on the antenna outer lower portion 12. ..

As the material of the planar antenna main body 13, a plate having a very low reception loss such as BT resin, ceramic, epoxy resin containing glass fiber, or the like is used. The thickness of this plate is a few mm. Further, the ground surface 14 only needs to have a metal body on one surface, and even if the shape is uneven, it hardly affects the reception performance of the antenna. Therefore, metal film deposition, plating, metal plates, etc. have been conventionally used in consideration of production costs. However, in the present embodiment, the ground plane 14 is shown in FIG.
By using an aluminum die-cast having a shape as shown in (1), it is configured so as to have a bilaterally symmetrical shape about the rotation fulcrums 11a and 12a. That is, both ends of the grounding surface 14 are thicker than the other grounding portions, so that the balance operation is performed by its own weight. That is, the planar antenna that is the receiving unit is configured to always face the sky regardless of the usage state of the apparatus main body.

In the present embodiment, the power supply line 30 is exposed to the outside of the apparatus main body 20, but may be shaped so as to be covered by the outer frame portion of the apparatus main body due to design and function.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows the portable G shown in FIG.
It is a side view in the state where the receiving part was inclined in the PS receiver.

With reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, in the portable GPS receiver according to the present embodiment, the device main body 20 is displayed on the surface of the display with the receiver 10 facing the sky. The operation is performed such that the device 2 is tilted at an angle that is easy to see.

[0028]

According to the invention as set forth in claim 1, the receiving means includes a rotation fulcrum portion for variably installing its direction, and the power feeding line from the reception means is displayed via the rotation fulcrum portion. By connecting to the apparatus main body including the means and the information processing means, an unreasonable force is not applied to the power supply line connecting the receiving means and the apparatus main body, and excessive bending does not occur. Thus, while tilting the main body of the display device so that the display device is easy to see, the receiving unit can be smoothly variably operated when performing the variable operation such that the receiving unit is directed to the sky.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a portable GPS receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a development view (A, B, C) for explaining a detailed structure of a receiving unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable GPS receiving device shown in FIG.

5 is a side view of the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the portable GPS receiver shown in FIG.
It is a side view of the state where the receiving part was inclined.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional portable GPS receiver.

8 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the conventional portable GPS receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another conventional portable GPS receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Planar antenna 2: Display device (LCD) 3: Keyboard part 4: Data processing device 5: High frequency processing part 6: Adapter terminal 7: Brightness / darkness adjustment part 10: Reception part 11: Above the antenna for dual radome 11a: Rotation fulcrum part 12: Under the antenna exterior 12a: Rotation fulcrum part 13: Planar antenna main body 14: Ground plane 15: Microstrip pattern 16: Power feeding connector 17: Power feeding line clip 20: Device main body 30: Power feeding line 40: Receiving part rotation fulcrum In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A receiving device for receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites and knowing the current position of a mobile body, comprising: receiving means for receiving radio waves from the plurality of artificial satellites; Display means for displaying the radio wave information received by the means, and information processing means for causing the display means to output the radio wave information received by the receiving means, and the receiving means is capable of changing its direction. A receiving device including a rotation fulcrum part for installation, wherein a power supply line from the receiving means is connected to an apparatus main body part including the display means and the information processing means via the rotation fulcrum part.