Antenna for hand-held communication user terminal

摘要

A communication terminal including a communication unit, a longitudinal antenna enclosed in a radome, and a pivot connecting the antenna to the unit for pivoting about an axis with an RF connection to the unit. The unit is in a box-shaped enclosure having a front face with a keypad and connected to a rear face by top and bottom faces, and two side faces. One of the unit front and rear faces is non-planar from top to bottom with the spacing between the front and rear faces varying from top to bottom. The spacing between the radome front and rear faces varies to substantially match the varied spacing between the unit front and rear faces so that the radome and unit front and rear faces define a uniform profile when the radome is adjacent one unit side face. The unit top face lies on one side of a first plane and at least one unit side face lies on one side of a second plane perpendicular to the first plane. An L-shaped support secured to the unit supports a pivot shaft defining the pivot axis substantially parallel to both of the planes and spaced on the other side of both of the planes by distances allowing the antenna to pivot through a 270 degrees range. A plurality of detents are spaced about the pivot shaft, and a detent mechanism secured to the antenna engages one of the pivot shaft detents in each of a plurality of pivoted positions. The radome has two shells connected substantially along a plane, with longitudinally spaced ribs supporting the antenna in a position spaced from the shell outer walls.