Method and apparatus for selective shielding of fabric antennas

Abstract

A method and apparatus for selective shielding of fabric antennas incorporates the fabric antenna into the body of wearable garments and provides protection for wearers of the garment while allowing wearers to displace a portion of the garment body selectively, so as to render the antenna active or inactive. To protect wearers of the garment from the RF field that may be generated when an antenna is in use, a metallic fabric shielding layer is positioned in the body of the garment between the antenna and the body of a wearer. Another layer of metallic shielding fabric mounted to a layer of protective fabric formed as a displaceable layer of the garment body. The disclosed embodiments of the invention show displaceable layers in the form of foldable cuffs on sleeves, epaulets, decorative pocket-like flaps, and faux seams. Any of these displaceable layers may be retained in either “active” or “inactive” position, or both, by known retention devices, including snap fasteners, zippers, buttons, and hook-and-loop fasteners. In one embodiment, inherent tension in the structure of the garment is relied upon to maintain the shielding layer in the “active” position with the fabric antenna surface exposed, while the tension of the garment structure is overcome by a partially separable zipper device, to retain the shielding layer in its “inactive antenna” position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.