Patent Application
20150084816
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-200281, filed Sep. 26, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to an electronic device.
Conventionally, there is known an electronic device comprising an antenna provided inside a housing at an inner side of a wall and a shield member located at the side opposite the wall of the antenna.
It is preferable that such electronic device have a configuration capable of suppressing lowering of communication performance of the antenna, as an example.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.
In general, according to one embodiment, an electronic device comprises a housing, an antenna, a first shield member, and a first spacer. The housing comprises a first wall. The first wall comprises an electromagnetic wave-transmissive material. The antenna is configured to overlap, in part, with the electromagnetic wave-transmissive material. The first shield member is located at a side of the antenna opposite the electromagnetic wave-transmissive material. The first spacer is located between the antenna and the first shield member.
Hereinafter, described are embodiments with reference to the drawings. It is to be noted that the exemplary embodiments below comprise the same or similar constituent components. Hereinafter, common reference numerals denote the same or similar constituent components and overlapped description thereof is omitted.
Although the following embodiments describe the case where an electronic device is configured as a clamshell-type (notebook-type, folding-type) personal computer, the electronic device according to the embodiments is not limited thereto. Examples of the electronic device according to the embodiments may include tablet-type (slate-type) or desktop personal computers, smartphones, phablets, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), electronic book terminals, video image display devices, television receivers, videophones, game machines, video image display controllers, information storage devices, and various electronic devices comprising an antenna and a circuit board.
In the embodiment, as illustrated in
The first housing 3 and the second housing 2 are connected to each other by hinge mechanisms 20 (hinges, connectors, connecting portions, rotational movement support portions, connecting mechanisms, connector mechanisms, rotational movement support mechanisms) in a rotationally movable manner. The first housing 3 and the second housing 2 are connected to each other in the rotationally movable manner between at least an opened state illustrated in
The display screen 4a of the display device 4 can be checked visually through an opening 3r provided on a face 3a (anterior face, upper face, front face, face portion) of the first housing 3. The keyboard 7, the pointing device 8a, the click buttons 8b, and the like are exposed to a face 2a (anterior face, upper face, front face, face portion) of the second housing 2. In the folded state, the face 3a of the first housing 3 and the face 2a of the second housing 2 are superimposed, so that the display screen 4a, the keyboard 7, the pointing device 8a, the click buttons 8b, and the like are hidden by the first housing 3 and the second housing 2. On the other hand, in the opened state, the face 3a of the first housing 3 and the face 2a of the second housing 2 are exposed, so that the display screen 4a, the keyboard 7, the pointing device 8a, the click buttons 8b, and the like can be used (can be checked visually or can be operated).
As illustrated in
The first housing 3 comprises a wall 3k (plate, frame, anterior wall, front wall, ceiling wall) with the face 3a and a wall 3m (plate, rear wall, back wall, bottom wall) with the face 3b. The walls 3k and 3m have square shapes (in the embodiment, rectangular shapes, as an example). Furthermore, the first housing 3 comprises four walls 3n (plates, side walls, end walls, standing walls, connecting portions) with faces 3p (side faces, peripheral faces) connecting the wall 3k and the wall 3m. The wall 3k is provided with the square-shaped opening 3r, as an example. That is to say, the wall 3k has a square shape and a frame form.
Furthermore, the first housing 3 can be configured by combining a plurality of components (divided members). In the embodiment, the first housing 3 comprises a first housing member 31 (front member, mask, mask portion, cover, front cover, cover portion, first region) with at least the wall 3k and a second housing member 32 (rear member, base, base portion, bottom, bottom portion, cover, rear cover, cover portion, second region) with at least the wall 3m. The walls 3n are comprised by at least any one of the first housing member 31 and the second housing member 32 (for example, second housing member 32). Furthermore, the first housing 3 can be made of a metal material, a synthetic resin material, or the like.
The faces 3a, 3b, and 3p of the first housing 3 can be provided with a connector, an operation module, a camera module 10 (camera, image capturing device), and the like. The connector can be formed as a connector for a power supply cable, a universal serial bus (USB) connector, a card connector, or a connector of an earphone or a microphone, for example. The operation module can be formed as a press button, a press switch, a slide switch, a pointing device, or a dial, for example. It is to be noted that the camera module 10 is exposed through an opening 3s provided on the wall 3k of the first housing 3.
As illustrated in
The touch panel 5 is provided at the posterior side (front side, wall 3k side) of the display device 4. The touch panel 5 is configured to have a square shape that is transparent and relatively thin and covers the display screen 4a. An operator (user and the like) performs an operation on the touch panel 5 with his (her) hand or finger, a component (for example, stylus, not illustrated), or the like so as to execute input processing. Examples of the operation to be performed by the operator include touching, pressing, sliding, or moving his (her) hand or finger, the stylus, or the like in the vicinity of the touch panel 5. Light emitted from the display screen 4a of the display device 4 passes through the touch panel 5 so as to travel to the front side (outer side) of the first housing 3 through the opening 3r of the wall 3k.
As illustrated in
The second housing 2 comprises a wall 2k (plate, frame, anterior wall, front wall, ceiling wall, first wall) with the face 2a and a wall 2m (plate, rear wall, back wall, bottom wall) with the face 2b. The walls 2k and 2m have square shapes (in the embodiment, rectangular shapes, as an example). Furthermore, the second housing 2 comprises four walls 2n (plates, side walls, end walls, standing walls, connecting portions) with faces 2p (sides, peripheral faces) connecting the wall 2k and the wall 2m. The wall 2k is provided with a square-shaped opening 2r, as an example. That is to say, the wall 2k has a square shape and a frame form. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Furthermore, in the embodiment, an operation face 7a (face, upper face) of the keyboard 7 is exposed to the front side (outer side) of the second housing 2 through the opening 2r, as an example. On the face 2a, the keyboard 7 is located to be closer to the end 2e side, and the pointing device 8a and the click buttons 8b are located to be closer to the end 2c side opposite the end 2e. The end 2e is located at the back side in the depth direction (direction along the ends 2d and 2f) and the end 2c is located at the front side. Palm rests 30 are provided at both the right and left sides (both sides in the direction along the ends 2c and 2e) of the pointing device 8a.
As illustrated in
For example, on the substrate 6, a plurality of components (not illustrated) such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic controller, a power supply circuit component, a platform controller hub (PCH), a memory slot connector, an LCD connector, an input/output (I/O) connecter, a power supply coil, an element, and a connector can be mounted. Furthermore, a control circuit can comprise a video image signal processing circuit, a tuner module, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI, registered trademark) signal processor, an audio video (AV) input terminal, a remote control signal receiver, a controller, a selector, an on-screen display interface, a storage module (for example, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD)), and an audio signal processing circuit, for example. The control circuit controls output of a video image (moving image, still image, and the like) from the display screen 4a of the display device 4, output of audio from a speaker (not illustrated), light emission from a light emitting diode (LED, not illustrated), and the like. The display device 4, the speaker, the LED, and the like are examples of an output module.
In the embodiment, an antenna 12 (electric component, second electric component) is provided in the second housing 2, as an example. For example, the antenna 12 can be formed as a near field communication (NFC) antenna, a planar antenna, a coil antenna, or the like.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the embodiment, a shield member 13 (first shield member, electromagnetic shield member) is provided on the antenna 12 at the side opposite the wall 2k (first portion A1), as an example. The shield member 13 comprises a conductor 23 (first conductor).
To be specific, the shield member 13 is formed by a sheet-like (deformable) metal member (for example, aluminum sheet, aluminum foil, aluminum tape) having conductivity and flexibility. Furthermore, the substrate 6 (circuit board) is provided on the shield member 13 at the side opposite the antenna 12. That is to say, the shield member 13 is located between the antenna 12 and the substrate 6. Thus, the shield member 13 is interposed between the antenna 12 and an electric component (in the embodiment, substrate 6 as an example) different from the antenna 12 that is accommodated in the second housing 2. This suppresses interference between electromagnetic waves of the electric component and electromagnetic waves of the antenna 12 (interactive interference between the electric component and the antenna 12). It is to be noted that a film-like (thin plate-like) insulating member 24 (for example, insulator) suppressing the conduction between the shield member 13 and the substrate 6 is provided therebetween.
As illustrated in
In the embodiment, a spacer 14 (first spacer) is provided between the antenna 12 and (the first shield 13a of) the shield member 13, as an example. As illustrated in
Furthermore, in the embodiment, a spacer 15 (second spacer) is provided between the antenna 12 and the second shield 13b, as an example. As illustrated in
In the embodiment, the fixing portion 13c (portion located at the periphery side of the antenna 12) of the shield member 13 is fixed to the face 2x side (placement surface side) of the wall 2k, as an example. That is to say, the shield member 13 is made into a state of being suspended upside down from the wall 2k provided with the palm rest 30 in the state (posture) where the electronic device 1 is placed on the placement surface. The shield member 13 deflects in the direction of being separated from the antenna 12 with a gravity force, as an example. This can further separate (the first shield 13a of) the shield member 13 and the antenna 12 from each other (further prevent the first shield 13a and the antenna 12 from making closer to each other).
The fixing portion 13c is connected (bonded) to the shield member 18 through a conductive adhesion layer (for example, double-stick tape containing a conductive filler, not illustrated). When the shield member 13 is not electrically grounded and is in a floating state, there is a risk that electromagnetic noise is transferred through the shield member 13. In this point, according to the embodiment, the fixing portion 13c of the shield member 13 is electrically connected (ground-connected) to the shield member 18, so that shielding property of the shield member 13 is easy to be enhanced.
As described above, in the embodiment, the spacer 14 (first spacer) is interposed between the antenna 12 and the shield member 13 (first shield member), as an example. According to the embodiment, the spacer 14 is easy to keep the state where the shield member 13 and the antenna 12 are separated from each other, as an example. This makes it easy to suppress lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12, as an example.
In addition, in the embodiment, the spacer 14 (first spacer) is configured to have substantially the same size as the antenna 12, as an example. That is to say, the spacer 14 covers substantially the overall region of the face 12b of the antenna 12. With this, according to the embodiment, the distance between the shield member 13 and the antenna 12 is easy to be constant in comparison with the configuration in which the spacer 14 covers the face 12b of the antenna 12 partially, as an example. This makes it easy to suppress lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12, as an example.
In the embodiment, the shield member 13 (first shield member) comprises the first shield 13a located on the antenna 12 at the side opposite the first portion A1 and the second shield 13b located on the periphery of the antenna 12, as an example. According to the embodiment, the first shield 13a can cover the antenna 12 at the side opposite the first portion A1 and the second shield 13b can cover the periphery of the antenna 12, as an example. This makes it easy to suppress interactive interference between the electromagnetic waves of the antenna 12 and the electromagnetic waves of the electric component (for example, substrate 6) located on the shield member 13 at the side opposite to the antenna 12, as an example.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the spacer 15 (second pacer) is interposed between the antenna 12 and the second shield 13b, as an example. According to the embodiment, lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12 is easier to be suppressed, as an example. It is to be noted that a slight space may be provided between the spacer 15 and the second shield 13b or between the spacer 15 and the antenna 12.
In the embodiment, the spacer 15 (second spacer) is formed into a frame surrounding the antenna 12, as an example. According to the embodiment, the distance between the antenna 12 and (the second shield 13b of) the shield member 13 is easy to be kept constant on the periphery of the antenna 12, as an example. This makes it easier to suppress lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12, as an example.
In the embodiment, the fixing portion 13c (portion located at the peripheral edge side of the antenna 12) of the shield member 13 is fixed to the face 2x side (placement surface side) of the wall 2k, as an example. According to the embodiment, (the first shield 13a of) the shield member 13 can be separated from the antenna 12 with a gravity force in the state where the electronic device 1 is placed on the placement surface (flat surface), as an example. This makes it easier to suppress lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12, as an example. Furthermore, only the fixing portion 13c is fixed to the wall 2k side, as an example. This can easily suppress a problem that construction cost of the electronic device 1 is increased and the manufacturing processing of the electronic device 1 is complicated in comparison with the configuration in which the first shield 13a and the second shield 13b are further fixed to the spacers 14 and 15, respectively, with an adhesion portion (for example, double-stick tape, adhesive). It is to be noted that a slight space may be provided between the spacer 14 and (the first shield 13a) of the shield member 13 or between the spacer 14 and the antenna 12 in a state where the electronic device 1 is placed on the placement surface (flat surface).
Furthermore, in the embodiment, at least one of the spacer 14 (first spacer) and the spacer 15 (second spacer) (in the embodiment, both of them, as an example) is formed by an elastic member, as an example. According to the embodiment, elastic repulsion forces of the spacers 14 and 15 are easy to prevent the antenna 12 and the shield member 13 from making closer to each other. In addition, according to the embodiment, the electronic device 1 is easy to be made light, as an example. Although the spacers 14 and 15 overall are formed by the elastic member in the embodiment, at least a part of the spacers 14 and 15 may be formed by the elastic member. That is to say, the spacers 14 and 15 may comprise (include or have) an elastic member.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, at least one of the spacer 14 (first spacer) and the spacer 15 (second spacer) (in the embodiment, both of them, as an example) is formed by a sponge, as an example. According to the embodiment, the electronic device 1 is easier to be made light, as an example. It is to be noted that although the elastic member constituting the spacers 14 and 15 is formed by a sponge (foam material) in the embodiment, the elastic member may be formed by an elastomer, a synthetic resin material, a silicon resin material, or the like.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the shield member 13 (first shield member) is formed into a deformable sheet, as an example. According to the embodiment, the fixing portion 13c is fixed to the wall 2k side, (the first shield 13a of) the shield member 13 is made into a state of being suspended from the wall 2k, as an example. With this, the shield member 13 is easy to be separated from the antenna 12 with the gravity force. This makes it easier to suppress lowering of the communication performance of the antenna 12, as an example. In addition, the shield member 13 is easy to be configured to be lighter at lower cost and the shield member 13 is easy to be attached by adhesion or the like more easily in comparison with the configuration in which the shield member 13 is formed by a hard metal plate or the like, as an example.
In the embodiment, the substrate 6 (circuit board) that overlaps with the shield member 13 (first shield member) and the shield member 18 (second shield member) in the thickness direction (Z direction) is provided, as an example. That is to say, the shield member 13 is located between the antenna 12 and the substrate 6. According to the embodiment, interactive interference between the electromagnetic waves of the substrate 6 and the electromagnetic waves of the antenna 12 is easy to be suppressed, as an example.
In the embodiment, the conductor 23 (first conductor portion) of the shield member 13 (first shield member) and the conductor 28 (second conductor) of the shield member 18 (second shield member) are electrically connected to each other, as an example. According to the embodiment, the shield member 13 is prevented from being made into a state where it is not grounded and floats, so that the shielding property of the shield member 13 is easy to be further enhanced, as an example.
The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment as illustrated in
Note that in the embodiment, as illustrated in
The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment as illustrated in
Note that in the embodiment, as illustrated in
The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment as illustrated in
Note that in the embodiment, as illustrated in
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-200281 | Sep 2013 | JP | national |
