Electronic device

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic device. The electronic equipment comprises an equipment main body, an antenna module and a middle frame, the antenna module is assembled on the device body. The middle frame is assembled on the equipment body, the side portion, located on the side edge of the equipment body, of the middle frame comprises a metal structure, the first surface, facing the antenna module, of the metal structure comprises a functional side face forming a preset included angle with the arrangement direction of the antenna module, and the functional side face and the antenna module form a reflection face structure facing the space to be radiated. And the functional side surface and the antenna module form a reflecting surface structure facing the space to be radiated. The metal structure does not interfere with the antenna performance, and a reflecting surface structure formed by the functional side surface of the metal structure and the antenna module can enhance the directivity of the antenna, so that a beam convergence effect is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to electronic devices. Background Art

[0002] In related technologies, in order to reduce the space occupied by the antenna module, various devices of the antenna RF front end and the antenna are usually integrated together to design a packaged antenna module. The use of high-performance chips and packaging processes (such as AiP process, Antenna in package process) can produce an antenna with small size and space occupation while ensuring antenna performance.

[0003] However, although this solution has greatly reduced the size of the antenna module, when faced with electronic devices with extremely limited internal space or high requirements for thinness and lightness, the above-mentioned antenna module still has problems in the assembly and stacking process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides an electronic device to solve the related technical problems.

[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, including:

[0006] Equipment body;

[0007] An antenna module, assembled on the device body;

[0008] A middle frame is assembled to the device body; the side of the middle frame located on the side of the device body includes a metal structure, and the first surface of the metal structure facing the antenna module includes a functional side surface that is at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module, and the functional side surface and the antenna module form a reflecting surface structure facing the space to be radiated.

[0009] Optionally, the functional side surface is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body.

[0010] Optionally, in the thickness direction of the device body, the height of the metal structure forming the functional side is half of the height of the side.

[0011] Optionally, the antenna module includes a radiating surface, and an angle between the radiating surface and the functional side surface includes an obtuse angle.

[0012] Optionally, the first surface includes a first side surface that is inclined relative to a thickness direction of the device body, and the functional side surface includes at least a portion of the first side surface.

[0013] Optionally, the antenna module includes a radiating surface, and the first side surface is perpendicular to the radiating surface.

[0014] Optionally, the first surface further includes a second side surface arranged perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body, and the functional side surface further includes at least a portion of the second side surface.

[0015] Optionally, the antenna module is arranged to be inclined relative to the thickness direction of the device body.

[0016] Optionally, the middle frame further includes a plastic structure combined with the first surface; the plastic structure is provided with a mounting groove, and at least a portion of the antenna module is assembled in the mounting groove.

[0017] Optionally, a first groove wall of the mounting groove is arranged to be inclined relative to a thickness direction of the device body, and the antenna module abuts against the first groove wall.

[0018] Optionally, the mounting groove includes a second groove wall arranged opposite to the first groove wall, and an air gap is formed between the second groove wall and a radiation surface of the antenna module facing the second groove wall.

[0019] Optionally, the antenna module includes a millimeter wave antenna module.

[0020] Optionally, at least a portion of the antenna module is embedded in the metal structure.

[0021] Optionally, the metal structure includes a second surface located outside the electronic device, and the first surface and the second surface are connected.

[0022] Optionally, the metal structure includes a groove-shaped notch arranged along the length direction of the side portion, and the first surface includes a bottom surface of the groove-shaped notch;

[0023] The electronic device comprises at least two antenna modules; the at least two antenna modules are matched to the functional side surface of the metal structure of the same side portion and are arranged along the length direction of the side portion;

[0024] And / or, the middle frame includes a plurality of side portions.

[0025] The technical solution provided by the present disclosure can at least achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0026] The metal structure of the middle frame of the electronic device disclosed in the present invention includes a functional side surface that is at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module, and the functional side surface and the antenna module form a reflective surface structure facing the space to be radiated. The above metal structure will not only not interfere with the antenna performance, but the reflective surface structure formed by the functional side surface of the metal structure and the antenna module can also enhance the directivity of the antenna and achieve a beam convergence effect.

[0027] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present specification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the specification and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the specification.

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of an electronic device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an electronic device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of an electronic device in another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an electronic device in another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of an electronic device in another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device in which an antenna module is tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body and the middle frame does not include a metal structure in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 The scheme shown, Figure 2 The scheme shown and Figure 4 Performance comparison of millimeter wave antenna modules in the solutions shown;

[0036] Figure 8 is an antenna radiation diagram of an antenna module in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an electronic device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with this specification. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of this specification as detailed in the appended claims.

[0039] The terms used in this disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this specification should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the disclosure belongs. The words "first", "second" and similar words used in this specification and claims do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, words such as "one" or "one" do not indicate a quantitative limit, but indicate the existence of one. "Multiple" or "several" means two and more than two. Unless otherwise specified, words such as "front", "rear", "lower" and / or "upper" are only for the convenience of explanation and are not limited to one position or one spatial orientation. Words such as "include" or "comprise" mean that the elements or objects appearing in front of "include" or "comprise" include the elements or objects listed after "include" or "comprise" and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. Words such as "connect" or "connected" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, and can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect.

[0040] The terms used in this specification are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms of "a", "the" and "the" used in this specification and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0041] In related technologies, in order to reduce the space occupied by the antenna module, various devices and antennas at the antenna RF front end are usually integrated together and designed as a packaged antenna module. The use of high-performance chips and packaging processes (such as AiP process, Antenna in package process) can produce an antenna with a small footprint while ensuring antenna performance. However, although this solution has greatly reduced the size of the antenna module, when faced with electronic devices with extremely tight internal space or high requirements for thinness, the above-mentioned antenna module still has problems during the assembly and stacking process.

[0042] The present disclosure provides an electronic device. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an electronic device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of an electronic device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, Figure 1The direction of the dashed arrow may refer to the thickness direction of the device body 11. The electronic device 1 includes the device body 11, the antenna module 13 and the middle frame 12. The antenna module 13 is assembled to the device body 11. The middle frame 12 is assembled to the device body 11. The side portion 123 of the middle frame 12 located on the side of the device body 11 includes a metal structure 121. The first surface 1211 of the metal structure 121 facing the antenna module 13 includes a functional side surface 1212 at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module 13. The functional side surface 1212 and the antenna module 13 form a reflective surface structure facing the space to be radiated.

[0043] The metal structure 121 of the frame 12 of the electronic device 1 includes a functional side surface 1212 that is at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module 13, and the functional side surface 1212 and the antenna module 13 form a reflective surface structure facing the space to be radiated. The above-mentioned metal structure 121 will not only not interfere with the antenna performance, but the reflective surface structure formed by the functional side surface 1212 of the metal structure 121 and the antenna module 13 can also enhance the directivity of the antenna and achieve a beam convergence effect.

[0044] It should be noted that the above-mentioned antenna module 13 can be a 5G millimeter wave antenna module 13. The 5G millimeter wave antenna can use MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology to achieve beamforming, which improves the beam coverage range, while greatly utilizing spectrum resources and improving communication quality. 5G millimeter waves use array antennas with stronger directivity, and use beamforming to perform more efficient point-to-point communication with directional beams from base stations to compensate for the impact of high transmission loss of millimeter waves. Therefore, when the 5G millimeter wave antenna module 13 is assembled in the device body 11, the setting scheme of the antenna module 13 is limited by the direction of the antenna array beam and the space of the device body 11. By changing the setting scheme of the antenna module 13 and the metal structure 121 of the middle frame 12, the metal structure 121 will not only not interfere with the antenna performance, but the reflective surface structure formed by the functional side 1212 of the metal structure 121 and the antenna module 13 can also enhance the directivity of the antenna and achieve a beam convergence effect.

[0045] In some embodiments, the antenna module 13 may be arranged at an angle relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11 to reduce the space occupied by the antenna module 13 in the thickness direction of the electronic device 1. In other embodiments, the antenna module 13 may also be arranged parallel or perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body 11 and form a reflective surface structure with the functional side surface 1212 of the metal structure 121 to improve the antenna performance of the antenna module 13.

[0046] It should be noted that the setting direction of the antenna module 13 may be the setting direction of the radiation surface 131 of the antenna module 13 for radiating signals. It may also be the setting direction of the virtual reference plane of the antenna module 13. For example, the antenna module 13 may be a plate-like structure, and its virtual reference plane may be a center plane passing through the center of the antenna module 13 and dividing the antenna module 13 into two symmetrical parts along the thickness direction of its own plate-like structure.

[0047] In some embodiments, the functional side surface 1212 is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body 11. By cooperating with the functional side surface 1212 perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body 11 and the antenna module 13 tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11 to form a reflecting surface structure, a beam convergence effect is achieved, which helps to enhance the antenna directivity.

[0048] Among them, the functional side surface 1212 can be formed on the bottom surface of the groove-shaped structure formed by cutting the metal structure 121, and the position where the functional side surface 1212 is provided is recessed in the thickness direction of the device body 11 relative to the metal structure 121 at other positions to avoid radiation interference with the antenna module 13.

[0049] In the above embodiment, in the thickness direction of the device body 11, the height of the metal structure 121 forming the functional side 1212 is half the height of the side portion 123. By cutting a groove in the thickness direction of the device body 11 to obtain a metal structure 121 half the thickness of the side portion 123, not only can a recess be formed to avoid radiation interference with the antenna module 13, but also the structural strength of the metal structure 121 at the location where the functional side 1212 is formed can be ensured.

[0050] In other embodiments, the height of the metal structure 121 forming the functional side surface 1212 may be changed according to the specific strength of the device body 11 and the radiation range requirements of the antenna module 13. For example, in the thickness direction of the device body 11, the height of the metal structure 121 forming the functional side surface 1212 is 1 / 3, 2 / 3, etc. of the height of the side portion 123, and the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0051] The preset angle between the antenna module 13 and the functional side surface 1212 may be an obtuse angle, and the obtuse angle range may be 120°-150°, so as to improve the convergence effect of the reflective surface structure and the antenna performance. For example, the antenna module 13 may include a radiating surface 131, such as Figure 1 As shown, the angle α between the radiation surface 131 and the functional side surface 1212 includes an obtuse angle. The radiation surface 131 can be oriented toward the outside of the side of the device body 11 to radiate antenna signals. The obtuse angle formed between the radiation surface 131 and the functional side surface 1212 can enhance the convergence effect of the beam and help enhance the directivity of the antenna.

[0052] In other embodiments, Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, Figure 3 The direction of the dashed arrow may refer to the thickness direction of the device body 11, the first surface 1211 includes a first side surface 1214 that is tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11, and the functional side surface 1212 includes at least a portion of the first side surface 1214. Using at least a portion of the first side surface 1214 that is tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11 to cooperate with the antenna module 13 to form a reflective surface structure can improve the structural setting flexibility of the metal structure 121 and reduce structural changes to the metal structure 121.

[0053] For example, without changing the height and external structure of the metal structure 121 in the thickness direction of the device body 11, only the first side surface 1214 is formed on the inner side of the metal structure 121 facing the antenna module 13 to form a reflective structure in cooperation with the antenna module 13, so that the radiation signal of the antenna module 13 is set in the direction guided by the reflective surface structure, which can also avoid radiation interference to the antenna module 13, and can further improve the structural strength of the metal structure 121 at the point where the functional side surface 1212 is formed, thereby reducing the impact on the appearance of the electronic device 1. The above solution can be applied to electronic devices whose back covers have a certain curvature, and the low height of the metal structure 121 in the thickness direction of the device body 11 has little impact on the antenna performance.

[0054] In some embodiments, the antenna module 13 includes a radiation surface 131, and the angle β between the first side surface 1214 and the radiation surface 131 can be a right angle. The radiation surface 131 can face the outside of the side of the device body 11 to radiate antenna signals. The reflection surface structure obtained by the vertical relationship between the first side surface 1214 and the radiation surface 131 can obtain the expected radiation range and radiation angle.

[0055] In the above embodiment, if Figure 5 As shown, the first surface 1211 also includes a second side surface 1215 arranged perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body 11, and the functional side surface 1212 also includes at least a portion of the second side surface 1215. That is, by forming a reflective surface structure together with at least a portion of the first side surface 1214, at least a portion of the second side surface 1215 and the antenna module 13, the radiation range of the antenna module 13 can be increased.

[0056] In some embodiments, the middle frame 12 may further include a plastic structure 122 combined with the first surface 1211, the plastic structure 122 is provided with a mounting groove 1221, and at least a portion of the antenna module 13 is assembled in the mounting groove 1221. The antenna module 13 is assembled in the mounting groove 1221 of the plastic structure 122, so that the antenna module 13 and the functional side surface 1212 of the metal structure 121 are close to form a reflective surface structure, and it helps to increase the assembly reliability of the antenna module 13.

[0057] In some embodiments, the first groove wall 1222 of the mounting groove 1221 is tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11, and the antenna module 13 abuts against the first groove wall 1222. By changing the tilt angle of the first groove wall 1222 relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11, the setting direction of the antenna module 13 can be changed, thereby improving the assembly reliability of the antenna module 13.

[0058] The mounting groove 1221 may include a second groove wall 1223 disposed opposite to the first groove wall 1222, and an air gap 14 is formed between the second groove wall 1223 and the radiation surface 131 of the antenna module 13 facing the second groove wall 1223. An unobstructed space is formed in the radiation direction of the antenna module 13 to ensure that the antenna can normally receive and send signals and avoid interference or obstruction of signal transmission. Taking the millimeter wave antenna as an example, because it has a specific radiation direction and beam angle, the clearance formed by the air gap 14 can ensure that there is no obstruction in front of the antenna, so as to achieve the best signal directivity.

[0059] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the antenna module 13 is embedded in the metal structure 121 . Embedding the antenna module 13 in the metal structure 121 can not only improve the correlation between the antenna module 13 and the metal structure 121 , but also improve the assembly reliability of the antenna module 13 .

[0060] In the above embodiment, the metal structure 121 may include a second surface 1213 located outside the electronic device 1, and the first surface 1211 and the second surface 1213 are connected. The second surface 1213 of the metal structure 121 as the outer surface of the electronic device 1 can obtain a metal texture effect, and can also provide a structural basis for the setting of the first surface 1211. The second surface 1213 may be a curved surface that matches the appearance of the electronic device 1.

[0061] In some embodiments, the metal structure 121 may include a slot-shaped notch arranged along the length direction of the side portion 123, and the first surface 1211 includes the bottom surface of the slot-shaped notch. The electronic device 1 includes at least two antenna modules 13, and the at least two antenna modules 13 are matched with the functional side surface 1212 of the metal structure 121 of the same side portion 123, and are arranged along the length direction of the side portion 123. By matching multiple antenna modules 13 with the same functional side surface 1212, the slot-shaped notch of the metal structure 121 can be effectively utilized, and the utilization rate and radiation effect of the matching of the antenna module 13 with the functional side surface 1212 can be improved.

[0062] Figure 6 The structure diagram of the electronic device 1 is that the antenna module 13 is tilted relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11 and the middle frame 12 does not include the metal structure 121. Figure 7 Comparison Figure 6The scheme shown, Figure 2 The scheme shown and Figure 4 The performance of the millimeter wave antenna module 13 in the three cases of the scheme shown is as follows: Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, L1 can represent Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, the performance of the millimeter wave antenna module 13, L2 can represent Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the performance of the millimeter wave antenna module 13, L3 can represent Figure 4 The performance of the millimeter wave antenna module 13 in the embodiment shown. Through the CDF (Cumulative Distribution Function; cumulative distribution function) form, it can be seen that when CDF = 1, that is, the maximum gain of the module, Figure 2 The scheme shown can achieve a maximum gain value, which improves the antenna array gain by more than 1dB compared with the other two schemes.

[0063] The setting angle of the functional side surface 1212 of the above-mentioned metal structure 121 can be fine-tuned according to the antenna requirements. Specifically, it can be simulated and optimized in an actual environment through electromagnetic simulation calculation software to obtain the optimal angle.

[0064] In other embodiments, the antenna module 13 may be arranged at an angle relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11, and the antenna module 13 may be arranged in the mounting groove 1221 of the plastic structure 122 of the middle frame 12, and the first side wall of the mounting groove 1221 may be arranged at an angle relative to the thickness direction of the device body 11, and the antenna module 13 may be against the first side wall. On this basis, a metal structure 121 may be arranged in the mounting groove 1221 or in the plastic structure 122, so that the metal structure 121 cooperates with the antenna module 13 to form a reflective surface structure, so as to achieve beam focusing and improve antenna directivity.

[0065] In some embodiments, Fig. 9 As shown, the middle frame 12 includes a plurality of side portions 123 to obtain the radiation effect of the antenna module 13 at different positions of the middle frame 12, and the antenna modules 13 located at different side portions 123 of the middle frame 12 are conductively connected to the modem 15 of the electronic device 1. For example, the side portions 123 may be arranged at positions of the middle frame 12 corresponding to both sides of the electronic device 1 to obtain the radiation effect of a preset direction on both sides of the electronic device 1.

[0066] The metal structure 121 of the frame 12 of the electronic device 1 includes a functional side surface 1212 that is at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module 13, and the functional side surface 1212 and the antenna module 13 form a reflective surface structure facing the space to be radiated. The above-mentioned metal structure 121 will not only not interfere with the antenna performance, but the reflective surface structure formed by the functional side surface 1212 of the metal structure 121 and the antenna module 13 can also enhance the directivity of the antenna and achieve a beam convergence effect.

[0067] It should be noted that the electronic device 1 may be at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, and a medical terminal, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0068] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and does not limit the present disclosure in any form. Although the present disclosure has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment as above, it is not used to limit the present disclosure. Any technician familiar with this profession can make some changes or modify the technical contents disclosed above into equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present disclosure. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present disclosure without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present disclosure are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: Equipment body; An antenna module, assembled on the device body; A middle frame, assembled on the device body; The side of the middle frame located on the side of the device body includes a metal structure, and the first surface of the metal structure facing the antenna module includes a functional side surface at a preset angle to the setting direction of the antenna module, and the functional side surface and the antenna module form a reflecting surface structure facing the space to be radiated.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The functional side surface is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the thickness direction of the device body, the height of the metal structure forming the functional side surface is half the height of the side portion.

4. The electronic device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The antenna module includes a radiation surface, and an angle between the radiation surface and the functional side surface includes an obtuse angle.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first surface includes a first side surface that is inclined relative to the thickness direction of the device body, and the functional side surface includes at least a portion of the first side surface.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The antenna module includes a radiation surface, and the first side surface is perpendicular to the radiation surface.

7. The electronic device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first surface also includes a second side surface arranged perpendicular to the thickness direction of the device body, and the functional side surface also includes at least a portion of the second side surface.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna module is arranged obliquely relative to the thickness direction of the device body.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The middle frame further comprises a plastic structure combined with the first surface; the plastic structure is provided with a mounting groove, and at least a part of the antenna module is assembled in the mounting groove.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The first groove wall of the installation groove is inclined relative to the thickness direction of the device body, and the antenna module abuts against the first groove wall.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The mounting groove includes a second groove wall arranged opposite to the first groove wall, and an air gap is formed between the second groove wall and a radiation surface of the antenna module facing the second groove wall.

12. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna module includes a millimeter wave antenna module.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least a portion of the antenna module is embedded in the metal structure.

14. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal structure includes a second surface located outside the electronic device, and the first surface and the second surface are connected.

15. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal structure includes a groove-shaped notch arranged along the length direction of the side portion, and the first surface includes a bottom surface of the groove-shaped notch; The electronic device comprises at least two antenna modules; At least two of the antenna modules are matched to the functional side surface of the metal structure of the same side portion and are arranged along the length direction of the side portion; And / or, the middle frame includes a plurality of side portions.

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