Electronic device

Abstract

An electronic device includes a casing, a base and an antenna module. The base is located in the casing and has a first side and a second side opposite to each other and a top side located between the first side and the second side. The antenna module is located in the casing and includes a flexible circuit board and an antenna pattern. The flexible circuit board is disposed on the base and includes a first surface corresponding to the first side and a second surface corresponding to the top side. The first surface is provided with a first ground plane, and the second surface is provided with a second ground plane. ground and a third ground plane. The antenna pattern has a feed portion adjacent to the first surface, the antenna pattern extends from the feed portion to above the second ground plane and the third ground plane. There is a gap between a first section of the antenna pattern close to the feed portion and the first ground plane to form a U-shaped ground plane.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device comprising an antenna module. [Previous Technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the development of wireless communication capabilities in various electronic devices, various small antennas have been developed for integration into these devices. For example, in the case of integration into small wireless earphones, the antenna size becomes very small and easily affected by the surrounding environment, leading to a decrease in antenna performance. [Summary of the Invention]

[0003] The present invention provides an electronic device that can set up a three-dimensional antenna in a limited space, and the antenna has good efficiency.

[0004] The electronic device of the present invention includes a housing, a base, and an antenna module. The base is located within the housing and has a first side and a second side opposite to each other, and a top side located between the first side and the second side. The antenna module is located within the housing and includes a flexible circuit board and an antenna pattern. The flexible circuit board is disposed on the base and includes a first side surface corresponding to the first side and a second side surface corresponding to the top side. The first side surface has a first ground plane, and the second side surface has a second ground plane and a third ground plane. The antenna pattern has a feed portion adjacent to the first side surface, and the antenna pattern extends from the feed portion to above the second ground plane and the third ground plane, wherein a first section of the antenna pattern near the feed portion has a gap with the first ground plane, and forms a U-shaped ground plane.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first grounding surface has a recess, a first section is located in the recess, and the opposite sides of the first section have the same spacing distance from the recess.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned interval is between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna module further includes a first capacitor located in the gap and connected to one side of the opposite sides of the first segment, so as to form a parallel connection with the first segment.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna module further includes a second capacitor located in the gap and connected to one end of the feed section and the first section, so as to form a series connection with the first section.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna module further includes a pad disposed on the second side surface.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna pattern further includes a second segment connecting the first segment, the second segment being disposed on the pad and spaced apart from the second ground plane and the third ground plane.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second segment mentioned above includes a first segment, a second segment and a third segment connected in sequence, wherein the first segment, the second segment and the third segment form a plurality of bends.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the gasket has a thickness between 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electronic device further includes a connection structure and an ear pad, the connection structure being located between the ear pad and the housing.

[0014] Based on the above, in the electronic device of the present invention, a flexible circuit board is disposed on a base. The flexible circuit board is provided with a first ground plane on a first side of the base, and a second and third ground plane are provided on the top side of the base. One end of the antenna pattern extends into the first ground plane and forms a U-shaped ground plane, and the other end of the antenna pattern extends above the second and third ground planes, effectively utilizing the three-dimensional space attached to the base to generate a BT antenna band.

[0015] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments are described below, and detailed descriptions are given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Implementation Method

[0016] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A is a perspective view of some components of the electronic device of Figure 1. Figure 2B is a perspective view of the electronic device of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a partially enlarged view of the electronic device of Figure 2A. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the antenna architecture of the electronic device of Figure 2A. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to the human ear. This embodiment also provides rectangular coordinates XYZ to facilitate component identification.

[0017] Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the electronic device 100 of this embodiment includes a housing 110, a base 120, and an antenna module 130. The base 120 and the antenna module 130 are located within the housing 110. The antenna module 130 includes a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) 131 and an antenna pattern 132 (Figure 4). It should be noted that the antenna pattern on the flexible printed circuit board is not shown in Figures 2A, 2B, and 3; the layout of the antenna pattern will be explained in Figure 4.

[0018] Referring to FIG2B, in this embodiment, the base 120 has a first side 121 and a second side 122 opposite to each other, and a top side 123 located between the first side 121 and the second side 122. The flexible circuit board 131 is disposed on the base 120 and includes a first side surface S1 corresponding to the first side 121 and a second side surface S2 corresponding to the top side 123.

[0019] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2B. The length E1 of the housing 110 is approximately 28.9 mm, the length E2 is approximately 14.5 mm, and the length E3 is approximately 8.3 mm, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0020] In this embodiment, the flexible circuit board 131 is integrally formed and attached to the base 120, effectively utilizing the narrow space between the base 120 and the housing 110. Here, the housing 110 is a plastic housing and the base 120 is a plastic structure, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0021] In this embodiment, a BT chip circuit is provided on the first side surface S1 of the flexible circuit board 131. Through Bluetooth wireless communication, it can pair with other electronic devices to transmit or receive data and achieve the ability to exchange data with each other. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0022] In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 is a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may also be an earphone or other small wearable device. In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 further includes a battery cavity 20, a charging connector 30, a button 40, a connecting structure 140 (FIG. 5), and an ear pad 150 (FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting structure 140 is located between the ear pad 150 and the housing 110, and the ear pad 150 is aligned with the ear canal to output audio, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It should be noted that some unrelated structures in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 are omitted to facilitate the display and identification of the component parts to be described. The operation and implementation of the behind-the-ear hearing aid can be adequately taught, advised, and explained by ordinary knowledge in the art, and therefore will not be described in detail.

[0023] In this embodiment, the flexible circuit board 131 has a first ground plane GN1 on the first side surface S1 corresponding to the first side 121. The flexible circuit board 131 has a second ground plane GN2 and a third ground plane GN3 on the second side surface S2 corresponding to the top side 123.

[0024] Referring to FIG4, in this embodiment, the antenna pattern 132 has a feed portion F1 adjacent to the first side surface S1, and the antenna pattern 132 extends from the feed portion F1 to above the second ground plane GN2 and the third ground plane GN3. Furthermore, for clarity, FIG4 only schematically illustrates the base and antenna module. The antenna pattern 132 shown in FIG4 can be integrated into the flexible circuit board 131 shown in FIG2A, FIG2B and FIG3.

[0025] In detail, in this embodiment, the antenna pattern 132 includes a first segment 1321 and a second segment 1322 connected together. The second segment 1322 includes a first segment 1322a, a second segment 1322b and a third segment 1322c connected in sequence. The first segment 1322a, the second segment 1322b and the third segment 1322c form a plurality of bends to effectively utilize space.

[0026] In this embodiment, the first segment 1322a and the third segment 1322c extend in the same direction, but in a different direction than the second segment 1322b. Specifically, the antenna pattern 132 is, for example, Z-shaped or S-shaped, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the first segment 1321 of the antenna pattern 132 is correspondingly arranged at position P1 shown in FIG. 2A, while the second segment 1322 of the antenna pattern 132 extends from position P1 to position P2 shown in FIG. 2A.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, position P2 has a width D1 of approximately 3.7 mm and a width D2 of approximately 11.4 mm. Therefore, the plane pointed to by position P2 is approximately 11.4 mm x 3.7 mm, which can be used as the antenna totem configuration area, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0028] In this way, as shown in Figure 5, the electronic device 100 can be attached and fixed to the ear for the user to use. The antenna pattern 132 of the antenna module 130 mostly corresponds to the upper side P3 of the housing 110 and is flat above the ear. Therefore, it is less affected by the close proximity of the human body and has a better omnidirectional radiation field.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 4. In this embodiment, the first section 1321 of the antenna pattern 132 near the feed section F1 has a gap GA between it and the first ground plane GN1, forming a U-shaped ground plane. Specifically, in the antenna module 130, the feed section F1 transmits a signal to the antenna pattern 132 for electrical connection to the positive signal terminal, while the ground terminal forms a U-shaped ground plane through points G6, G5, G1, G2, and G3 shown on the first ground plane GN1 for electrical connection to the negative signal terminal and to the system ground plane.

[0030] In this embodiment, the first ground surface GN1 has a recess, and the first segment 1321 is located within the recess. In the Z direction, the opposite sides of the first segment 1321 have the same spacing distances B1 and B2 with the recess, respectively. The spacing distances B1 and B2 are between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm. In one embodiment, the spacing distances B1 and B2 are, for example, 0.2 mm, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0031] In this embodiment, a matching circuit (capacitor value grounded) can be appropriately added to adjust the antenna resonant frequency and bandwidth to the correct position. For example, the antenna module 130 further includes a first capacitor C1 and a second capacitor C2. The first capacitor C1 is located in the gap GA and connected to one side of the opposite sides of the first section 1321 (for example, the side away from the pad 133, but not limited thereto), so as to form a parallel connection with the first section 1321. The second capacitor C2 is located in the gap GA and connected to the feed section F1 and one end of the first section 1321, so as to form a series connection with the first section 1321.

[0032] In this embodiment, the antenna module 130 further includes a gasket 133, which is disposed on the second side surface S2. Here, the gasket 133 is a plastic gasket, but is not limited thereto.

[0033] In this embodiment, the second segment 1322 of the antenna pattern 132 is disposed on the spacer 133 and spaced apart from the second ground plane GN2 and the third ground plane GN3. The spacer 133 has a thickness W1, which is between 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm. In one embodiment, the thickness W1 of the spacer 133 is 0.6 mm, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the antenna pattern 132 is spaced 0.6 mm apart from the second ground plane GN2 and the third ground plane GN3. Generally speaking, conventional chip antenna designs require an antenna clearance area (i.e., no metal) of YZ plane height. Therefore, when the antenna is 0.6 mm away from the ground plane, its antenna efficiency will deteriorate to -7.8 to -11.8 dBi. However, under the above-described configuration of the present invention, the BT antenna efficiency can be improved to -6.2 to -7.8 dBi, and it has the characteristics of wide bandwidth and good antenna efficiency in a very small 12.5 mm x 3 mm antenna space.

[0034] In the above configuration, the feed unit F1 is directly connected to the Z-shaped antenna pattern (i.e., antenna pattern 132) of the path from point A1, point A2, point A3, point A4, and point A5. Between the feed unit F1, the path from point A1, and the U-shaped ground plane formed by the paths from point G6, point G5, point G1, point G2, and point G3 of the first ground plane GN1, there will be equal intervals B1 and B2, forming a Z-shaped co-planar waveguide (CPW) fed BT antenna architecture. In a very small three-dimensional space, by adding a matching circuit, the antenna resonant frequency and bandwidth are adjusted to meet the design requirements. That is, point A1 of the Z-shaped antenna pattern is first connected in parallel to ground with a first capacitor C1, and then connected in series with a second capacitor C2 to the BT chip circuit terminal. The capacitance value of the first capacitor C1 ranges from 1.5 pF to 2 pF. In one embodiment, the capacitance value of the first capacitor C1 is, for example, 1.8 pF, but is not limited thereto. The capacitance value of the second capacitor C2 ranges from 0.5 pF to 0.7 pF. In one embodiment, the capacitance value of the second capacitor C2 is, for example, 0.6 pF, but is not limited thereto.

[0035] Figure 6 is a frequency-VSWR relationship diagram of the antenna architecture of the electronic device in Figure 5 with and without a matching circuit. Referring to Figure 6, line segment 101 represents the frequency-VSWR relationship of antenna pattern 132, while line segment 102 represents the frequency-VSWR relationship of antenna pattern 132 with a matching circuit. It can be seen that after adding the matching circuit, its voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) can be below 3, thus improving the antenna characteristics.

[0036] Figure 7 is a frequency-antenna efficiency relationship diagram between the conventional antenna architecture and the antenna architecture in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 7, line segment 103 represents the performance of the conventional Chip antenna, and line segment 104 represents the performance of the antenna module 130 in this embodiment. Compared with the performance of the conventional Chip antenna, the antenna efficiency of this embodiment can be improved by 1.5 dBi to 4 dBi. The antenna efficiency of the electronic device 100 in this embodiment in the BT band (2400MHz to 2485MHz) is -6.2 dBi to -7.8 dBi, which has the characteristics of wide bandwidth and high antenna efficiency in a very small 12.5mm x 3mm antenna space.

[0037] Figures 8A to 8C are radiation pattern diagrams of the antenna architecture of the electronic device in Figure 5. Referring to Figures 8A to 8C, the electronic device 100 of this embodiment exhibits an omnidirectional radiation pattern.

[0038] In summary, in the electronic device of the present invention, a three-dimensional integrally molded FPC and its surface area are used to integrate a Z-shaped antenna pattern, and a first capacitor and a second capacitor matching circuit are used. Combined with the coplanar waveguide feeding and U-shaped ground plane environment, the BT antenna can support at least 2400~2485MHz frequency band, so as to achieve wide bandwidth and good antenna efficiency in a very small antenna space.

[0039] Although the present invention has been disclosed above by way of embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the appended claims. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0040] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A is a perspective view of some components of the electronic device of Figure 1. Figure 2B is a perspective view of the electronic device of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a partially enlarged view of the electronic device of Figure 2A. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the antenna architecture of the electronic device of Figure 2A. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to the human ear. Figure 6 is a frequency-VSWR relationship diagram of the antenna architecture of the electronic device of Figure 5 with and without a matching circuit. Figure 7 is a frequency-antenna efficiency relationship diagram of a conventional antenna architecture and the antenna architecture of Figure 5. Figures 8A to 8C are radiation field pattern diagrams of the antenna architecture of the electronic device of Figure 5.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising: A shell; A base, located within the housing, having a first side and a second side opposite to each other and a top side located between the first side and the second side; And an antenna module, located inside the housing, and including: a flexible circuit board, disposed on the base and including a first side surface corresponding to the first side and a second side surface corresponding to the top side, the first side surface having a first ground plane, and the second side surface having a second ground plane and a third ground plane; And an antenna pattern having a feed portion adjacent to the first side surface, the antenna pattern extending from the feed portion to above the second ground plane and the third ground plane, wherein a first section of the antenna pattern near the feed portion has a gap with the first ground plane and forms a U-shaped ground plane.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first grounding surface has a recess, the first segment is located within the recess, and the opposite sides of the first segment are respectively spaced apart from the recess by the same distance.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the spacing is between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the antenna module further includes a first capacitor located in the gap and connected to one of the opposite sides of the first segment to form a parallel connection with the first segment.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the antenna module further includes a second capacitor located in the gap and connected to one end of the feed portion and the first segment to form a series connection with the first segment.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the antenna module further includes a pad disposed on the second side surface.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the antenna pattern further includes a second segment connecting the first segment, the second segment being disposed on the pad and spaced apart from the second ground plane and the third ground plane.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second segment comprises a first segment, a second segment and a third segment connected in sequence, the first segment, the second segment and the third segment forming a plurality of bends.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the gasket has a thickness between 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1 further includes a connection structure and an ear pad, the connection structure being located between the ear pad and the housing.

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