Information processing device

The heat sink-antenna unit made of conductive materials combines heat dissipation and communication functions to solve the problems of independent antennas and heat dissipation devices in the on-board information processing system, achieving volume savings, cost reduction and communication quality improvement.

CN119210486APending Publication Date: 2024-12-27VALEO INTERIOR CONTROLS (SHENZHEN) CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310775185.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-06-27
Publication Date
2024-12-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the on-board information processing system, the antenna device with the communication function and the heat dissipation device with the heat dissipation function are usually independent, resulting in a large system size, high manufacturing cost, and poor communication quality when the antenna device is arranged in the housing.

Method used

The heat sink-antenna unit made of conductive materials has both heat dissipation function and communication function. It connects to the circuit board through the feed pin to realize the transmission of radio signals, and prevents static interference through the ground pin to form a combination of Components with heat dissipation and communication functions.

Benefits of technology

It realizes the volume saving of information processing devices, reduces manufacturing costs, and improves communication quality and reliability, avoids electrostatic interference, and is suitable for wireless communications such as WiFi and Bluetooth.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes: a housing; the circuit board is arranged in the shell; and the radiating fin-antenna unit is arranged on the shell, and the radiating fin-antenna unit is integrally made of a conductive material.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, and more particularly, to an information processing device operating in a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In most in-vehicle information processing systems, the antenna device with communication function and the heat sink with heat dissipation function are two independent devices, arranged in two different positions, which makes the volume occupied by the information processing system larger and also increases the manufacturing cost of the information processing system. In some in-vehicle information processing systems, although the antenna device with communication function is arranged together with the heat sink with heat dissipation function, the antenna device is arranged in the shell and can only communicate with the outside through the opening on the shell, resulting in poor communication quality, and the antenna device and the heat sink are still two components, which increases the manufacturing cost.

[0003] In order to solve the above problems in the prior art, the present invention proposes an information processing device. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing device, comprising: a housing; a circuit board arranged inside the housing; a heat sink-antenna unit arranged on the housing, the heat sink-antenna unit being integrally made of a conductive material.

[0005] According to this solution, the heat sink has the communication function of the antenna in addition to the heat dissipation function. In this way, the information processing device has both the heat dissipation function of the heat sink and the communication function of the antenna through one component, thereby saving the volume occupied by the information processing device and reducing its manufacturing cost.

[0006] In some aspects, the heat sink-antenna unit may include a plate-like structure and be formed as part of the housing.

[0007] In some embodiments, the housing includes a main body and a cover, wherein the circuit board is disposed in the main body, the heat sink-antenna unit is disposed on the cover, and the heat sink-antenna unit and the cover are formed together by insert molding.

[0008] According to this solution, the split design of the shell makes the information processing device easier to process and manufacture.

[0009] In some embodiments, the heat sink-antenna unit also includes: a feeding pin, through which the heat sink-antenna unit is electrically connected to the circuit board to feed the signal in the circuit board into the heat sink-antenna unit, and / or a grounding pin, through which the heat sink-antenna unit is electrically connected to the ground of the circuit board, wherein the feeding pin and / or the grounding pin are respectively integrally constructed with the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit or welded and fixed to the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit.

[0010] According to this solution, the circuit board can provide an excitation signal to the heat sink-antenna unit through the feed pin, so that the heat sink-antenna unit transmits a radio signal to the surroundings to achieve the communication function. And the heat sink-antenna unit is grounded so that it can effectively prevent interference and damage caused by static electricity, thereby improving the reliability of the information processing device.

[0011] In some solutions, the feeding pin and / or the grounding pin may have a resilient contact section, and the resilient contact section is electrically connected to the circuit board.

[0012] In some embodiments, the heat sink-antenna unit can be integrally constructed by a die-casting process and / or a stamping process.

[0013] In some aspects, at least a portion of the circuit board is arranged opposite to the heat sink-antenna unit, the heat sink-antenna unit includes a recessed portion, the recessed portion is recessed toward the circuit board, and the recessed portion of the heat sink-antenna unit is in thermal contact with the circuit board.

[0014] According to this solution, the heat generated by the circuit board during operation can be transferred to the external environment through the recessed portion of the heat sink-antenna unit.

[0015] In some solutions, thermally conductive silicone is disposed between the recess and the circuit board.

[0016] According to this solution, the thermally conductive silicone further improves the heat dissipation efficiency of the circuit board through the recessed portion of the heat sink-antenna unit.

[0017] In some aspects, the information processing device may be a WiFi antenna device or a Bluetooth antenna device.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising the information processing device according to the first aspect of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an information processing device with a housing removed according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0021] Figure 3 A graph showing the frequency characteristics of electromagnetic radiation of an antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 shows a directional characteristic diagram of electromagnetic radiation of an antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0024] Figure numerals: 100 information processing device, 110 housing, 112 cover, 114 main body, 120 circuit board, 130 heat sink-antenna unit, 131 feeding pin, 132 ground pin, 134 recess, 136 thermal conductive silicone, 500 vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the purpose, scheme and advantages of the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the drawings of the specific embodiments of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the terms used herein have the usual meanings in the art. The same reference numerals in the drawings represent the same components.

[0026] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein Figure 1 The information processing device 100 is shown without removing the housing 110. Figure 2 The information processing device 100 shown has the housing 110 removed. The information processing device 100 mainly includes the housing 110, the circuit board 120 disposed in the housing 110, and the heat sink-antenna unit 130 disposed on the surface of the housing 110. In this arrangement, generally, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is only a heat sink, and the antenna is disposed on the circuit board 120 in the form of a patch antenna, for example. In other words, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 can only play the role of dissipating heat for the circuit board 120 disposed in the housing 110. However, in the solution of the present invention, the heat sink is slightly improved so that the heat sink becomes a heat sink-antenna unit 130 that has a communication function on the basis of having the function of dissipating heat for the circuit board 120. The specific implementation method is described in detail as follows.

[0027] like Figure 2As shown, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is made of an integral conductive material and can be electrically connected to the circuit board 120 via a feeding pin 131 to feed a signal in the circuit board 120, such as a radio frequency signal, into the heat sink-antenna unit 130, so that the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is stimulated by the feeding signal and emits a radio signal outward, thereby enabling the heat sink-antenna unit 130 to communicate with the outside on the basis of its original heat dissipation function. In other words, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 of the present invention is a heat sink with a heat dissipation function on the one hand, and an antenna with a communication function on the other hand. It should be understood that although Figure 2 Only one feed pin 131 is shown, but the information processing device 100 may also include two or three or more feed pins 131, and the present invention is not intended to limit the number of feed pins 131. By replacing two independent components (heat sink and antenna) with one component (heat sink-antenna unit 130), while having the heat dissipation and communication functions of the prior art, the space occupied by the corresponding components is saved and the manufacturing cost of the corresponding components is reduced. In addition, compared with the situation in which the antenna is arranged in the shell in some prior arts, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is arranged on the surface of the shell 110, avoiding the shielding effect of the shell on the radio signal emitted by the antenna, thereby improving the communication quality.

[0028] The communication performance of the radiator-antenna unit 130 was tested. Figure 3 The frequency characteristic diagram of the electromagnetic radiation of the radiator-antenna unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein the horizontal axis represents the frequency of the radio signal and the vertical axis represents the return loss. The return loss is the ratio of the reflected signal to the incident signal. The larger the value, the greater the proportion of the input signal being reflected, which means the worse the performance of the antenna; and the smaller the value, the greater the proportion of the input signal being transmitted forward, which means the better the performance of the antenna. Figure 3 As shown, the radiator-antenna unit 130 has a smaller return loss in a frequency range of about 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz, that is, has a better antenna performance. Figure 4 The directional characteristic diagram of the electromagnetic radiation of the radiator-antenna unit 130 according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown, and it can be seen that the radio signal emitted by the radiator-antenna unit 130 is basically evenly distributed in all directions in space. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The test results shown verify the feasibility of the radiator-antenna unit 130 as an antenna for communication, and Figure 3It shows that the radiator-antenna unit 130 is suitable for communicating at a frequency near 2.4 GHz, which is basically consistent with the operating frequency band of wireless communications such as WiFi and Bluetooth, so that the information processing device 100 of the present invention is suitable for wireless communication methods such as WiFi and Bluetooth. In other words, the information processing device 100 of the present invention can be used as a WiFi antenna device or a Bluetooth antenna device. Of course, those skilled in the art can also think that by changing the specific size of the above-mentioned radiator-antenna unit 130, the information processing device 100 of the present invention can be made suitable for other operating frequency bands. In other words, the information processing device 100 of the present invention can also be, for example, a long-term evolution (LTE) antenna device, a 5G antenna device, a remote control key RKE antenna, a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna device, and any other applicable antenna device type, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0029] Preferably, if Figure 2 As shown, the information processing device 100 further includes a ground pin 132, and the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is electrically connected to the ground of the circuit board 120 via the ground pin 132. The heat sink-antenna unit 130 is grounded via the ground pin 132, so that the static electricity accumulated on the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is released in time, avoiding the adverse effects of static electricity on the information processing device 100, and ensuring the electromagnetic compatibility of the information processing device 100.

[0030] Alternatively, if Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 may have a plate-like shape and be formed as a part of the housing 110, and at least a portion of the circuit board 120 is arranged opposite to the heat sink-antenna unit 130, which can further improve the space utilization rate and facilitate the miniaturization of the information processing device 100. Optionally, the feed pin 131 and the ground pin 132 may be formed integrally with the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit 130 or be welded and fixed to the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit 130, respectively, so that the electrical connection between the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and the circuit board 120 is more reliable, thereby improving the reliability of the information processing device 100, and also improving the production efficiency of the information processing device 100.

[0031] Optionally, the feed pin 131 and / or the ground pin 132 may have an elastic contact section, and the elastic contact section is electrically connected to the circuit board 120. Therefore, during the assembly process of the information processing device 100, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and the circuit board 120 can be directly aligned, without the need for an additional process of arranging an additional elastic connector between the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and the circuit board 120, which significantly reduces the number of components required for the information processing device 100 and the difficulty of assembly.

[0032] Optionally, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 may be integrally constructed by a die-casting process and / or a stamping process.

[0033] Preferably, if Figure 2 As shown, when processing the heat sink-antenna unit 130, a die-casting process can be used to conveniently stamp the conductive material into an integrated heat sink-antenna unit 130 having a feeding pin 131, a grounding pin 132, a plate-like structure and / or a recess 134 described below. Here, for example, by arranging additional springs at the feeding pin 131 and the grounding pin 132 of the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and welding and fixing them to the circuit board 120, a reliable electrical connection and mechanical connection between the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and the circuit board 120 can be achieved.

[0034] In addition, preferably, when processing the heat sink-antenna unit 130, a stamping process can also be used to conveniently stamp the conductive material into an integrated heat sink-antenna unit 130 having a feed pin 131, a ground pin 132, a plate-like structure and / or a recess 134 described below. Preferably, the elastic contact section of the feed pin 131 and / or the ground pin 132 can also be constructed integrally with the feed pin 131 and / or the ground pin 132 through a stamping process. As a result, only a stamping process is required to realize a heat sink-antenna unit 130 having several structures, especially an elastic contact section, saving additional shrapnel and the process of arranging additional shrapnel, significantly reducing the processing complexity of the heat sink-antenna unit 130, and significantly reducing the number of components required for the information processing device 100 and the difficulty of assembly.

[0035] In addition, preferably, the conductive material can be composed of, for example, copper, stainless steel, electrolytic sub-lead galvanized steel sheet (SECC), generally cold-rolled carbon steel sheet and strip (SPCC) or any other metal material suitable for stamping, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not impose specific restrictions on this. According to an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness of the conductive material constituting the heat sink-antenna unit 130 can be, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. Thus, in the case where the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is formed and arranged on the cover body, for example, by insert molding, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 can also be used as a part of the cover body to well protect the internal components of the information processing device 100.

[0036] Preferably, if Figure 2As shown, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 may include a recessed portion 134 that is recessed toward the circuit board 120, and the recessed portion 134 of the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is in thermal contact with the circuit board 120 through a thermally conductive silicone rubber 136 disposed therebetween. The heat sink-antenna unit 130 is close to the circuit board 120 at its recessed portion 134, and the heat generated by the circuit board 120 during operation can be transferred to the external environment through the recessed portion 134 of the heat sink-antenna unit 130, which is more conducive to achieving its heat dissipation function. In addition, the thermally conductive silicone rubber 136 further improves the heat dissipation efficiency of the circuit board 120 through the recessed portion 134 of the heat sink-antenna unit 130. In addition, the part of the circuit board 120 that needs the most heat dissipation can be disposed near the recessed portion 134 of the heat sink-antenna unit 130 to better meet the heat dissipation requirements of the circuit board 120.

[0037] Optionally, the housing 110 may include a main body 114 and a cover 112, wherein the circuit board 120 is disposed in the main body 114, and the heat sink-antenna unit 130 is disposed on the cover 112. This split design of the housing 110 makes the information processing device 100 easier to manufacture. In addition, the heat sink-antenna unit 130 may be formed together with the cover 112 by insert molding, so that the fixed connection between the heat sink-antenna unit 130 and the housing 110 is more reliable.

[0038] The present invention also provides a vehicle, comprising the above reference Figures 1 to 4 The information processing device 100. Figure 5 A vehicle 500 according to the present disclosure is shown. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more information processing devices according to the present disclosure may be arranged at appropriate locations outside the roof or inside the cabin of the vehicle 500 according to the type of antenna device of the information processing device 100 and the signal coverage requirement. The vehicle has features and advantages corresponding to the above-mentioned information processing device 100, which will not be described in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0039] This document describes in detail several exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to preferred embodiments. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, without departing from the concept of the present invention, various modifications and variations may be made to the above-mentioned specific embodiments, and various technical features and structures proposed in the present invention may also be combined without exceeding the protection scope of the present invention, which is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An information processing device, characterized in that: include: case; A circuit board is arranged inside the housing; The heat sink-antenna unit is arranged on the housing, and the heat sink-antenna unit is integrally constructed of conductive material.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that The heat sink-antenna unit comprises a plate-like structure and is formed as a part of the housing.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The housing comprises a main body and a cover body, wherein the circuit board is arranged in the main body, the heat sink-antenna unit is arranged on the cover body, and the heat sink-antenna unit and the cover body are formed together by insert molding.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that The heat sink-antenna unit also includes: A feed pin, the heat sink-antenna unit is electrically connected to the circuit board through the feed pin to feed the signal in the circuit board into the heat sink-antenna unit, and / or A ground pin, the heat sink-antenna unit is electrically connected to the ground of the circuit board through the ground pin, The feed pin and / or the ground pin are respectively integrally constructed with the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit or are welded and fixed to the plate-like structure of the heat sink-antenna unit.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The feed pin and / or the ground pin has an elastic contact section, and the elastic contact section is electrically connected to the circuit board.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that At least a portion of the circuit board is arranged opposite to the heat sink-antenna unit, the heat sink-antenna unit comprises a recessed portion, the recessed portion is recessed toward the circuit board, and the recessed portion of the heat sink-antenna unit is in thermal contact with the circuit board.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: Thermally conductive silica gel is arranged between the recess and the circuit board.

8. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The heat sink-antenna unit is integrally constructed by a die-casting process and / or a stamping process.

9. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The information processing device is a WiFi antenna device or a Bluetooth antenna device.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: The invention comprises the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.