Expandable Modular Internet of Things Device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention discloses an extensible modular Internet of Things device. The above device includes: a first substrate, a first processor on the first substrate, a first Internet of Things sensor on the first substrate, and a connector for connecting additional electronic components.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal, and more particularly, to an expansion method for an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Background Art

[0002] The so-called Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the Internet between things or the Internet of Objects between individuals, which is an environment for sharing information created by inherently identifying things through the Internet. This is a concept developed from the existing USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network) and M2M (Machine to Machine), and then gradually expanded to the Internet of Things and the Internet of Everything (IoE).

[0003] This IoT can be applied not only to home appliances and electronic devices, but also to multiple fields such as healthcare, remote meter reading, smart home, and smart cars to connect things through a network and complete information sharing.

[0004] With the development of IoT technology, in order to meet various needs of consumers, research on expanding and utilizing multiple IoT sensors is increasing. For this purpose, it is necessary to easily connect and expand components related to a single IoT, but there are problems as described below when connecting and expanding in a conventional IoT terminal.

[0005] Figure 1 It is a conceptual diagram for explaining the process of expanding a battery on an existing IoT terminal.

[0006] Refer to Figure 1 , in order to expand and apply the power supply on the IoT device 100 including the processor 120, the IoT sensor 1 (130), and the battery 1 (140), when an additional battery 2 needs to be installed, in the existing technology, usually the battery 1 (140) and the battery 2 (150) are simultaneously arranged inside the IoT device 105 to expand the supply in a stacked form. As described above, for the IoT device 105 with the newly added battery 2 (150), since it is not in the form of simply adding a certain component, it is inevitably necessary to change the structure of the entire device when making changes, which is very inconvenient. In addition, when the existing IoT device 100 passes various certification tests, there are also the following inconveniences in the existing IoT device: the new IoT device 105 after excessive design changes needs to be re-certified.

[0007] Figure 2This is a conceptual diagram used to explain the process of expanding IoT sensors on existing IoT terminals. Figure 2 The situation is also related to Figure 1 The situation is similar.

[0008] Reference Figure 2 , when it is necessary to Figure 1 When adding a sensor to an IoT device 100 of the same form as the IoT device 100 in the left figure to expand the device function, the prior art is to add an IoT sensor 2 (160) to the first substrate 110 of the IoT device 105 to achieve the expanded application. In this case, since the device is not formed in a simple combination form, the entire first substrate 110 needs to be newly developed, and thus the entire IoT device 105 also needs to be newly developed. This will cause the burden of changing the overall structure, and if Figure 1 As shown, in the case where the existing IoT device 100 has passed various certification tests, the existing IoT device still has the following inconvenience: the new IoT device 105 that has undergone a major design change needs to undergo a new certification test.

[0009] Summary of the invention

[0010] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, an object according to one aspect of the present invention is to provide an expandable modular Internet of Things device, which can create new products by modularizing the Internet of Things device and combining modules with required functions according to the direction of commercial development.

[0012] Means of solving the problem

[0013] According to one form of the present invention, an expandable modular IoT device for achieving the above-mentioned purpose may include: a first substrate; a first processor on the first substrate; a first IoT sensor on the first substrate; and a connector for connecting additional electronic components.

[0014] The above-mentioned device also includes: a first battery arranged in the above-mentioned Internet of Things device.

[0015] The above-mentioned additional electronic components may include a second battery, and the above-mentioned Internet of Things device also includes a power management circuit (Power Management Circuit) to control the power from the above-mentioned second battery. The above-mentioned power management circuit (i) supplies the power from the above-mentioned first battery to the above-mentioned processor when connected only to the above-mentioned first battery, and (ii) supplies the power from the above-mentioned second battery to the above-mentioned processor when connected to the above-mentioned second battery arranged independently of the above-mentioned Internet of Things device and the above-mentioned connector.

[0016] When the above connector is connected to a charging USB (Universal Serial Bus), the above power management circuit uses the above charging USB to supply power to the above processor at a second voltage, which is higher than the first voltage of the above first battery or the above second battery.

[0017] In response to the situation where the above connector is connected to the above charging USB and the above first battery exists, the above power management circuit can supply power to the above processor at the above second voltage and activate the mode of charging the above first battery.

[0018] The above additional electronic component may include a second substrate and a second Internet of Things sensor on the above second substrate. When the above second substrate and the above second Internet of Things sensor are arranged inside the above Internet of Things device, the above connector is a first internal connector arranged on the above first substrate, and a second internal connector is also arranged on the above second substrate. According to the connection of the above first internal connector and the above second internal connector, the above first substrate and the above second substrate are modularized and communicate inside the above Internet of Things device.

[0019] The above connector can be a first external connector for connecting to a second Internet of Things device arranged independently of the above Internet of Things device. The above second Internet of Things device also includes a second processor, a second Internet of Things sensor, and a second external connector. The above first external connector is connected to the above second external connector so that the above first processor and the above second processor communicate.

[0020] The communication method using the above connector may include at least one of UART (Universal Asynchronous Receive / Transmit), I2C (Inter Intergrated Circuit), and SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface).

[0021] The communication method between the above first processor and the above first Internet of Things sensor may be to use a first communication method. The communication method using the internal connector between the above first substrate and the second substrate inside the above Internet of Things device is to use a second communication method. And the communication method using the external connector with the second Internet of Things device is to use a third communication method to send and receive data.

[0022] According to another form of the scalable modular Internet of Things device of the present invention for achieving the above object, it may include: a first substrate; a processor on the first substrate; a first Internet of Things sensor on the first substrate; and an antenna linked to the processor. Among them, in addition to the first substrate, the processor, and the first Internet of Things sensor, derivative electronic components can also be installed inside the Internet of Things device.

[0023] In a horizontal direction from the bottom surface of the Internet of Things device, a component arrangement prohibited area with an area above a reference value may be provided in a certain area on the side of the antenna. When expanding and linking the derivative electronic components, no components are provided in the component arrangement prohibited area, so that the RF (Radio Frequency) performance of the processor and the antenna is not affected.

[0024] In a horizontal direction from the bottom surface, the antenna may be arranged above the processor. The antenna is arranged around the first substrate in the horizontal direction, and the length of the antenna is formed to be shorter than the length of the first substrate by more than a reference length. Thus, the component arrangement prohibited area is formed in the margin part between the length of the first substrate and the length of the antenna in a manner to ensure a certain area.

[0025] The device may form a fixed area, which includes the antenna, the processor, the first Internet of Things sensor, and the first substrate. The derivative components are formed in an extended area and are linked as a single Internet of Things device. The extended area is formed in the side of the fixed area in the horizontal direction.

[0026] The extended area may have a space limited in such a way that it cannot be extended by more than a reference value in terms of height.

[0027] The derivative components may include at least one of a second substrate, a second Internet of Things sensor, and a battery.

[0028] Effects of the Invention

[0029] According to the scalable modular Internet of Things device of the present invention, it has the effect of minimizing the necessity for new product development and the certification process through modular processing.

[0030] In addition, it can quickly respond to the needs of various Internet of Things markets.

[0031] In addition, since it can be connected to third parties that have been developed (3 rdThe application is completed by the (party) sensor terminal / board, thus having the effect of providing effective product scalability. That is, by connecting the communication module to a third-party sensor terminal, the construction of the Internet of Things integration solution can be easily completed without developing new communication modules / antennas / servers / networks / application programs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the process of expanding a battery on an existing Internet of Things terminal.

[0033] Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the process of expanding an Internet of Things sensor on an existing Internet of Things terminal.

[0034] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an expandable modular Internet of Things device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 4 is for explaining on Figure 3 the block diagram of the structure for expanding a battery on the expandable modular Internet of Things device.

[0036] Figure 5 is for explaining on Figure 4 the conceptual diagram of the method for controlling the power path according to the power supply in the case of the battery expansion structure.

[0037] Figure 6 is for explaining on Figure 3 the block diagram of the structure for expanding an Internet of Things sensor on the expandable modular Internet of Things device.

[0038] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating the structure for expanding the Figure 6 Internet of Things sensor inside the device.

[0039] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the Figure 7 Internet of Things device combining with an external Internet of Things device.

[0040] Figure 9 is a block diagram for explaining the necessity of additional development for a modular Internet of Things device based on an external connector structure.

[0041] Figure 10 and Figure 11 are a cross-sectional view and a plan view of an expandable modular Internet of Things device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figures 12 to 14 is an exemplary illustration of in Figure 10 and Figure 11Schematic diagram of a structure for expanding connections to additional Internet of Things-related components on an Internet of Things device. Detailed implementation

[0043] The present invention can undergo various changes and has multiple embodiments. Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be exemplified and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] However, this does not mean that the present invention is limited to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, or substitutes within the technical idea and technical scope of the present invention.

[0045] Terms such as first, second, etc. can be used to describe various structural elements, but the above structural elements cannot be limited by the above terms. The use of the above terms is only for distinguishing one structural element from other structural elements. For example, without departing from the scope of the rights of the present invention, the first structural element can be named the second structural element. Similarly, the second structural element can also be named the first structural element. The term "and / or" includes combinations of multiple related recorded items or one of multiple related recorded items.

[0046] When referring to a certain structural element being "connected" or "coupled" to other structural elements, it can be directly connected or coupled to other structural elements, but it should be understood that there may be other structural elements in between. On the contrary, when referring to a certain structural element being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to other structural elements, it should be understood that there are no other structural elements in between.

[0047] The terms used in the present invention are only for explaining specific embodiments, and their purpose is not to limit the present invention. A singular expression can also include a plural meaning if there is no clear difference in context. In the present invention, terms such as "including" or "having" should be understood as being used to specify the features, numbers, stages, actions, structural elements, components, or combinations thereof described in the specification, without precluding the existence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, stages, actions, structural elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[0048] Unless otherwise defined, the meanings of all terms, including technical or scientific terms, used herein are the same as those understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The meanings of similar terms defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as ideal or overly formal meanings unless clearly defined in this application.

[0049] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. When describing the present invention, in order to better understand the overall content, the same reference numerals are used for the same structural elements in the drawings, and the repeated description of the same structural elements will be omitted.

[0050] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an expandable modular Internet of Things device illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 3 shown, an expandable modular Internet of Things device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a substrate 210, a processor 220, an Internet of Things sensor 230, and a battery 240.

[0051] Referring to Figure 3 the left drawing, the Internet of Things device 200 has the following structure: the processor 220 and the Internet of Things sensor 230 are arranged and electrically connected to each other on the substrate 210, and the battery 240 is electrically connected to the substrate 210 and provides power.

[0052] Here, the substrate 210 can be implemented using a bread board, an Arduino substrate, a PCB substrate, etc.

[0053] The processor 220 can be implemented using a microprocessor and / or a microcontroller unit (MCU). The processor 220 may include a communication module. The MCU and the communication module may be implemented by one processor or by independent processors. At this time, the communication module may support radio frequency (RF) methods of various technologies. For example, it can support not only short-range communications such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi, but also broadband communications such as LTE and 5G. More preferably, it can support communication methods such as LoRa and NB-IoT, which are communication methods for the Internet of Things. The processor 220 may operate based on source code containing Internet of Things operation information. The processor 220 may be connected to other computing devices, and as the user inputs source code related to the Internet of Things operation information through input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, it executes various control functions.

[0054] The Internet of Things sensor 230 refers to a sensing device that senses or measures physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, light, sound, etc. or their changes and converts them into electrical signals. Here, it includes: optical sensors, proximity sensors, moisture sensors, ultrasonic sensors, water quality sensors, water level sensors, motion sensors, gyro sensors, image sensors, heat / smoke sensors, infrared sensors, chemical sensors, vibration sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, gas sensors, sound sensors, quartz crystal microbalances (QCM), Langmuir probes, magnetic probes, spectroscopy, or ion species mass spectrometers, etc., but is not limited thereto. Depending on the situation, it may also include digital input / output peripheral devices such as LEDs, switches, and / or pulse width modulation (PWM) input / output peripheral devices such as DC motors, servo motors, etc.

[0055] Referring to Figure 3 the right side drawing, in order to change the hardware specification, components such as a battery and / or an Internet of Things sensor can be added to the Internet of Things device 200. At this time, the added electrical components may include a battery, an Internet of Things sensor, and may also include various electronic components (such as a memory).

[0056] First, in order to expand the power function, a device 2 (202) including a battery 250 can be connected. At this time, a connector can be used, and power can be supplied to the Internet of Things device 200 at V BAT voltage without requiring excessive design changes. For this purpose, the Internet of Things device 200 (device 1) also includes a connector (not shown) and is formed in a modular form to enable the reception or output of other power. Additionally, preferably, the device 2 (202) also includes a connector and is modularized. Thus, the connector of the Internet of Things device 200 and the connector of the device 2 (202) are combined with each other to BAT send and receive power.

[0057] In another example, in order to expand the sensing function, the Internet of Things device 200 can be connected to a device 3 (204) including an Internet of Things sensor 2 (265). For this purpose, additional connectors in a different form or different communication method from the connectors for power can be arranged. The device 3 (204) can be formed in a form in which the Internet of Things sensor 2 (265) is electrically connected on the second substrate 260, and includes an external connector and has a modular form. Thus, the Internet of Things sensor 265 can be combined through the above-mentioned additional connector of the device 1 (200) and the connector of the device 3 (204). The connection between the above connectors can be achieved by at least one of UART (Universal Asynchronous Receive / Transmit), I2C (Inter Intergrated Circuit), and SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). UART is an asynchronous communication, which is a communication method using a method instead of a synchronous signal (Clock) to smoothly achieve data transmission and reception. UART does not share a clock, so in order to correctly complete data decoding, it is best to form the same timing (Baud Rate) and make it consistent. I2C communication is a method of transmitting and receiving data through a line (SDA) for transmitting and receiving data and a clock line (SCL) for synchronizing the transmission and reception timing. It consists of a master device and one or more slave devices, and up to 127 slave devices can be connected. The SPI method is a synchronous communication method that supports 1:N communication. It must have a master device and one or more slave devices. Since there are separate lines for transmitting and receiving data, transmission and reception can be performed simultaneously. This is faster than I2C communication which consists of one line for transmission and reception. Therefore, it is preferably used in places where high speed is required, such as Ethernet communication.

[0058] According to another embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the battery and the Internet of Things sensor, other Internet of Things-related components can also be modularized in a form that can be combined through connectors. For example, electronic components such as a memory, other processors, an encoder / decoder, a converter / inverter, etc. can also be modularized and combined through connectors. At this time, if the device 1 has a female connector, then the device 2 preferably has a corresponding male connector. For example, if one device has a protruding pin, then the other device preferably has a connector in a shape for accommodating the protruding pin. Modularization means that by including internal or external connectors, a component can be formed in a form that can be combined with other devices or other components without special processing, and multiple components can also be formed.

[0059] According to an additional embodiment of the present invention, when viewing the Internet of Things device 200 from a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, power-related connectors can be arranged along the left and right side directions to achieve the connection of power-related modular devices such as batteries, and data transmission / reception function connectors (connectors based on UART, I2C, SPI) including sensors can be arranged along the upper and lower directions to achieve the connection of modular electronic components. It doesn't matter if the arrangement method is reversed. At this time, multiple connectors can be arranged on one surface. Not only the device 202 related to the battery of the Internet of Things device 200, but also the device 204 related to electronic components can arrange one or more connectors on the left and right sides and / or the upper and lower sides, so that while being combined with the Internet of Things device 200, it can also achieve connection with other devices. Through this setting, a modular form that can be infinitely expanded by connecting a variety of Internet of Things devices can be achieved. Therefore, multiple battery modules and / or multiple Internet of Things sensor modules can be combined on one surface.

[0060] In addition, the connectors can be arranged on the upper side or the lower side along a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Therefore, the connectors can be arranged on both sides, enabling more flexible connection.

[0061] Figure 4 It is used to illustrate Figure 3 the structure of expanding a battery on an expandable modular Internet of Things device.

[0062] Referring to Figure 4 , on the first substrate 310, a processor 320 (including an MCU and a communication module) and an Internet of Things sensor 330 are arranged. Further, for the Internet of Things device 300 including a battery 1 (340), when developing a new product that expands according to the battery function, without changing the overall structure of the device, the connection with the modular device 2 (302) including a battery 350 can be simply achieved. At this time, a power connector can be used, and without too many design changes, it can be in a V BATVoltage supplies power to the IoT device 300. At this time, one of the power connectors of the two devices 300 and 302 can be formed by a plurality of protruding pins, and the other can be formed in a shape to accommodate the protruding pins. In addition, to improve the degree of freedom in the assembly and connection of such hardware, connectors can be provided on different surfaces. For example, when a connector is provided on the upper surface of device 1 (300), a connector can be provided on the lower surface of device 2 (302) so that they can be easily loaded and unloaded from each other. As described above, since the two devices 300 and 302 are set as modular types so that they can be easily expanded with each other, even if the hardware specifications are changed due to the expansion of the battery, no additional communication module needs to be developed, and various certifications can be omitted. That is, only the parts changed through device 2 (302) need to be additionally developed and then installed after being modularized.

[0063] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method of controlling a power path according to a power source in the case of a battery expansion structure of Figure 4 .

[0064] Referring to Figure 5 , when various power sources are extended and connected to the IoT device 400, appropriate control of the power is required. First, as described above, the IoT device 400 sets a processor 420 on a substrate. Here, the power management circuit 422 controls the power path so that V SYS voltage flows into the processor 420. The power management circuit 422 is configured to be connected to the internal battery 440 and / or the connector 424, so that it can receive power from the outside, and according to the connection relationship, perform the function of supplying the power V SYS to the processor 420 according to an appropriate scenario.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power management circuit 422 controls the power path according to the connected power source, so that with one connector 424, not only can the internal battery 440 be charged, but also a structure capable of expanding the battery can be formed.

[0066] First, when only the internal battery 440 is connected, the power V SYS supplied to the processor 420 becomes the power from the internal battery 440. At this time, the voltage V SYS can be the voltage V BAT of a built-in small battery, that is, 3.7V.

[0067] Second, when only connected to the external battery 450 through the connector 424, the power V SYS supplied to the processor 420 becomes the power from the external battery 450. At this time, the voltage V SYS can be the voltage V BAT, i.e., 3.7V.

[0068] In addition, when only connected to the charging USB 470 through the connector 424 and receiving power through the charging USB 470, the power V supplied to the processor 420 SYS becomes the power from the charging USB. At this time, even if the voltage of the charging USB is 5.0V, for stable power supply, the power management circuit 422 can convert the above voltage V SYS to 4.2V and supply it to the processor 420.

[0069] In addition, when the internal battery 440 and the external battery 450 through the connector 424 are connected together, the power V supplied to the processor 420 SYS becomes the power from the external battery 450. At this time, if the internal battery 440 is also charged, the auxiliary external battery 450 will bear a large load, so the charging mode is controlled to maintain an inactive state.

[0070] In another example, when the internal battery 440 and the charging USB 470 through the connector 424 are connected together, the power V supplied to the processor 420 SYS becomes the power from the charging USB 470. Therefore, the voltage V SYS can be converted to 4.2V and then supplied to the processor 420. At this time, the charging USB 470 can receive stable power, so it is preferably possible to also charge the internal battery 440. Thus, when the voltage V SYS is converted to 4.2V and stably supplied, the charging mode of the internal battery 440 can also be activated to charge the internal battery 440 together.

[0071] Figure 6 is used to illustrate Figure 3 the block diagram of the structure of expanding the IoT sensor on the expandable modular IoT device.

[0072] Referring to Figure 6 , the modular IoT device 500 having the same structure as the IoT device Figure 3 can be used by combining the device 504 to expand functions. At this time, the IoT device 500 can be connected through a connector (not shown). The device 504 is modularized based on a connector (not shown) having a shape corresponding to the connector of the IoT device 500 and is connected to the IoT device 500. The device 504 includes the IoT sensor 2 (565) on the second substrate 560. And the connection between the two connectors can be at least one of the ways of UART, I2C, and SPI.

[0073] According to the forms of the two modular devices 500 and 504 as described above, even when it is necessary to develop a product for a new function, only the changed part needs to be developed and connected as a module, without the need for excessive design changes, because it can improve the product development efficiency and also be profitable in terms of development costs.

[0074] Figure 7 It is a block diagram showing the structure of the Internet of Things sensor expanded inside the device. Figure 6

[0075] Referring to Figure 7 , the expansion of the device does not only mean connecting electronic components to the outside of the device, but also internal connections can be made. That is, the modular Internet of Things device 600 can be designed in a built-in sensor manner.

[0076] More specifically, in the Internet of Things device 600, a processor 620 (which may include an MCU and a communication module) and an Internet of Things sensor 630 are arranged on a first substrate 610, and the first substrate 610 includes an internal connector 626. At this time, the processor 720 and the Internet of Things sensor 630 in the Internet of Things sensor device 700 can be connected to each other in at least one of the ways of UART, I2C, and SPI, and data can be sent and received.

[0077] In addition, the Internet of Things device 600 includes an Internet of Things sensor 665 and an internal connector 628 on a second substrate 660. The two substrates 610 and 660 can be connected to each other in at least one of the ways of UART, I2C, and SPI, and data can be sent and received. The communication method can be selected in the processor 620 based on whether it supports the communication method of the Internet of Things sensor 665. The internal connectors 626 and 628, as connectors for sending and receiving data, can have corresponding shapes to each other.

[0078] Figure 8 It is a block diagram showing the structure of the Internet of Things device combined with an external Internet of Things device in Figure 7

[0079] Referring to Figure 8 , Figure 8 The Internet of Things device 700 on the left has the same structure as the Figure 7 Internet of Things internal expansion type Internet of Things device 600. Here, a third-party Internet of Things sensor device 702 that has been developed can be connected. The above-mentioned Internet of Things sensor device 702 includes a processor 772 and an Internet of Things sensor 3 (774) on a third substrate 770. The processor 772 and the Internet of Things sensor 3 (774) in the above-mentioned Internet of Things sensor device 702 can also be connected to each other in at least one of the ways of UART, I2C, and SPI, and data can be sent and received. ​​

[0080] In addition, the connection between the two devices 700 and 702 can be achieved through the external connectors 724 and 722. The Internet of Things device 702 is connected to the device through the external connector 724, so that an Internet of Things integration solution can be built by connecting to the Internet of Things device 700 without developing additional communication modules, antennas, servers, networks, and applications. At this time, the internal connectors 726 and 728 and the external connectors 724 and 722 can be connectors of different forms or different communication methods. The communication method can select at least one of UART, I2C, and SPI in the Internet of Things device 700 according to whether the processor 772 of the Internet of Things device 702 supports the MCU.

[0081] Figure 9 It is a block diagram for explaining the necessity of additional development of a modular Internet of Things device based on the external connector structure.

[0082] Refer to Figure 9 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, the Internet of Things device 800 having a plurality of external connectors 824 and 826 can be connected to the Internet of Things device 802 and the Internet of Things device 804 by using the external connector 822 and the external connector 828 in the case where new products need to be developed due to changes in hardware specifications.

[0083] In particular, referring to Figure 9 the right side drawing, for the modular Internet of Things device configured to be connected to the external connector, the devices 802 and 804 are made in a form corresponding to the Internet of Things device 800. At this time, there will be a burden of developing the housing of the Internet of Things device 802, the second substrate 860, the battery 865, the housing of the Internet of Things device 804, the third substrate 870, and the Internet of Things sensor 2 (875).

[0084] In particular, at the joint part 1 between the Internet of Things device 800 and the Internet of Things device 802 and the joint part 2 between the Internet of Things device 800 and the Internet of Things device 804, reliability problems such as waterproofing, dustproofing, and durability may occur. In addition, it is inevitable that the product size increases as the joint part is strengthened. In addition, for the performance of the antenna, the radiation pattern is different according to the internal components and mechanism forms, resulting in performance differences. Therefore, there is a problem that the antenna performance of the Internet of Things device 800 is affected by the increase of the new mechanism of the Internet of Things device 802.

[0085] As a result, the external connector mounting type is not effective in terms of product miniaturization and antenna radiation efficiency. Specifically, when designing an IoT device, very important considerations are miniaturization, waterproofing, dustproofing, and RF performance. Therefore, when deriving a derivative product, it is preferable to minimize the development and study of the above considerations to minimize development costs and time. If an external connector is applied, it will result in a waste of 20% to 30% or more of the space of the small product size, so the application of an integrated mechanism is relatively suitable. That is, it is preferably modularized inside the mechanism.

[0086] Figure 10 and Figure 11 are a cross-sectional view and a plan view of an expandable modular IoT device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] Referring to Figure 10 , from the cross-sectional view, the IoT device 900 includes a battery 940, a first substrate 910, a processor 920, an IoT sensor 930, and an antenna 905. At this time, the battery 940 is arranged at the lowermost end, and the first substrate 910 is arranged above it. The processor 920 is arranged on one side surface of the first substrate 910, and the IoT sensor 915 is arranged on the other side surface in an electrically connected manner. The processor 920 and the IoT sensor 915 can be arranged side by side on the first substrate 910. The antenna 905 can be arranged with a gap on the processor 920. Among them, the processor 920 can be a communication module and is connected to the antenna 905 to transmit and receive wireless signals. In this arrangement, preferably, a component arrangement prohibited area 915 is provided in the side area of the antenna 905 of the IoT device 900 to prohibit the arrangement of any electronic components. That is, it is preferably configured to prevent the arrangement of any electronic components so as not to affect the RF performance of the processor 920 and the antenna 905.

[0088] Referring to Figure 11, in terms of the plan view, the processor 920 can be arranged on the left side of the first substrate 910, and the IoT sensor 930 can be arranged on the right side. Moreover, the antenna 905 can be arranged around the first substrate 910 in a form that surrounds it. The antenna 905 can be arranged on the upper and lower parts of the first substrate 910, or on one of the left or right sides. Since the antenna 905 is connected to the processor 920 and operates, it is arranged on the side corresponding to the processor 920. Therefore, when the antenna 905 is arranged to bias towards the left side of the first substrate 910, the component arrangement prohibited area 915 can be located on the right side of the antenna 905. In particular, when comparing the length of the first substrate 910 and the length of the antenna 905, the component arrangement prohibited area 915 can be arranged in the margin part. At this time, it preferably has a certain area above the reference value of the component arrangement prohibited area 915. To ensure the above reference area, preferably, the length of the antenna 905 is formed to be shorter than the length of the first substrate 910 by more than the reference length. The component arrangement prohibited area 915 is preferably configured to be at least 4 cm 2 or more area.

[0089] Figures 12 to 14 is an exemplary illustration of Figure 10 and Figure 11 the schematic diagram of the structure for expanding and connecting additional IoT-related components on the IoT device.

[0090] Referring to Figure 12 , the fixed area of the IoT device (the IoT device having the basic structural elements of Figure 10 and Figure 11 in a modular form) includes the antenna 1005, the first substrate 1010, the processor 1020, the IoT sensor 1030, and the battery 1(1040). Moreover, it also includes a component arrangement prohibited area, on which no components are arranged. And, in the horizontal direction of the fixed area, an extended area is divided so that the derivative electronic components according to the new hardware specifications can only be arranged in the extended area. That is, the derivative of the device can be carried out freely and without limitation within the extended area. In Figure 12 the embodiment, the IoT mechanism including the IoT sensor 2(1052) and the battery 2(1054) on the second substrate 1050 is modularized internally, thereby expanding into a device that does not use an external connector.

[0091] In addition, referring to Figure 13 , the battery 3(1040) in the fixed area is derived to the extended area, and its width is formed in a longer form. On the extended area, there is also provided an IoT mechanism including the IoT sensor 3(1062) and the battery 4(1066) on the third substrate 1060, which is configured in a state of being modularized and extended internally.

[0092] In addition, referring to Figure 14 , on the extended area, the battery 5(1076) is configured to be modularized internally and in a form extended in one Internet of Things device.

[0093] By arranging the derivative components on the extended area outside the component arrangement prohibited area, the following advantages are achieved: there is no need to discuss issues related to miniaturization, waterproofing, dustproofing, etc., nor is it necessary to discuss issues regarding the performance of the communication module (processor) and the antenna.

[0094] In particular, preferably, in the case where there is a component arrangement prohibited area, the height of the extended area is further limited to a reference value so that the RF performance of the communication module and the antenna is not affected.

[0095] The above has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but this does not mean that the protection scope of the present invention is limited to the above-mentioned drawings or embodiments. Those skilled in the relevant technical field should understand that various deformations and combinations of the present invention can be made without departing from the idea and scope of the present invention recorded in the claims.

Claims

1. An extensible modular Internet of Things device, characterized in that, Comprising: A first substrate; A processor on the above-mentioned first substrate; A first Internet of Things sensor on the above-mentioned first substrate; A connector for connecting additional electronic components, wherein the above-mentioned additional electronic components include a second battery; A first battery arranged within the above-mentioned Internet of Things device; and A power management circuit that controls the power from the above-mentioned second battery, wherein the above-mentioned power management circuit, (i) When only connected to the above-mentioned first battery, supplies the power from the above-mentioned first battery to the above-mentioned processor, (ii) When connected to the above-mentioned second battery and the above-mentioned connector arranged independently of the above-mentioned Internet of Things device, supplies the power from the above-mentioned second battery to the above-mentioned processor, When both the above-mentioned first battery and the above-mentioned second battery through the above-mentioned connector are connected, supplies the power from the above-mentioned second battery to the above-mentioned processor and controls the mode of charging the first battery to maintain an inactive state, (iii) When the above-mentioned connector is connected to a charging USB, the above-mentioned power management circuit uses the above-mentioned charging USB to supply power to the above-mentioned processor at a second voltage, the above-mentioned second voltage being higher than the first voltage of the above-mentioned first battery or the above-mentioned second battery, In response to the situation where the above-mentioned connector is connected to the above-mentioned charging USB and the above-mentioned first battery exists, the above-mentioned power management circuit supplies power to the above-mentioned processor at the above-mentioned second voltage and activates the mode of charging the above-mentioned first battery.

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