TWI913630B - Wearable device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wearable device. The wearable device includes a cover screen, a nonmetal base, an antenna, a metal ring, and a metal part. The outside of the cover screen is encased by the antenna. The metal ring is disposed inside the base, and a wavelike protrusion is disposed on an inner ring of the metal ring. The metal part is disposed on the side surface of the cover screen and is connected to the antenna. When an entire cover screen structure (i.e., a structured is constituted by the cover screen, the antenna and the metal ring) is mounted on the base, the entire cover screen structure contacts the protrusion to increase the radiation area of the antenna. The radiation efficiency of the wearable device is significantly improved.

Description

Wearable devices

This application relates to the field of mobile terminal technology, and more particularly to a wearable device.

With the development of smart hardware, its functions are becoming more and more powerful, and wearable devices are being widely used. Taking a watch as an example, the internal space of a wearable device is very small. If the antenna is not positioned properly, the antenna's radiation efficiency will be greatly reduced.

Based on this, the purpose of this application is to provide a new technical solution to overcome the existing technical deficiencies.

Based on this, the present application embodiment provides a wearable device that can increase the radiation area of the wearable device antenna, thereby improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna.

In a first aspect, this application embodiment provides a wearable device, including: a front cover screen, a non-metallic base, an antenna, a metal ring, and a metal portion. The antenna surrounds the outer perimeter of the front cover screen. The metal ring is disposed inside the base, and the inner ring of the metal ring has wavy protrusions. The metal portion is disposed on the side of the front cover screen and coupled to the antenna, and can increase the radiation area of the antenna by contacting the protrusions when the front cover screen and the base are assembled.

In one embodiment, the protrusion is matched with the metal part.

In one embodiment, there are multiple metal parts, with multiple metal parts arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen.

In one embodiment, multiple metal parts are uniformly arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen.

In one embodiment, the antenna surface is provided with a protective element, the protective element is made of a non-metallic material, and the metallic part is a metal plating layer disposed on the protective element.

In one embodiment, the protrusion is circular, elliptical, or polygonal in shape.

In one embodiment, the antenna is a closed structure.

In one embodiment, the antenna is used to implement positioning or communication functions.

In one embodiment, the base is an open box type, with a metal ring disposed on the inside of the base and near the opening.

In one embodiment, the wearable device is implemented in a watch.

The technical solution provided in this application embodiment, by arranging an antenna around the periphery of the front cover screen, ensures that the antenna's radiation pattern faces upwards, effectively receiving or transmitting signals and preventing the antenna from being blocked by the front cover screen, thereby improving the antenna's radiation efficiency. Furthermore, by arranging a metal ring with corrugated protrusions on the inner side of the base and a metal portion on the side of the front cover screen, when the entire front cover screen structure is assembled into the base, the antenna contacts the metal ring through the metal portion on the side of the front cover screen, thereby increasing the antenna's radiation area and improving its radiation efficiency.

To make the purpose, technical solution, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining this application and are not intended to limit this application. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to this application are shown in the accompanying drawings, not the entire structure.

Figure 1 is a top view of a wearable device 10 provided in this embodiment. The wearable device 10 is a wrist-worn device, such as a smartwatch or a smart fitness tracker, which can be worn by a user. Figure 2 is a top view of the front cover screen structure 100 of the wearable device 10 provided in this embodiment, and Figure 3 is a side view of the front cover screen structure 100 of the wearable device 10 provided in this embodiment. Referring to Figures 2 and 3 together, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the wearable device 10 may include a front cover screen structure 100, a non-metallic base 120, and a metal ring 140. The front cover screen structure 100 may include a front cover screen 110, an antenna 130, and a metal portion 150.

Specifically, the front cover screen 110 refers to the front cover structure of the wearable device 10. The front cover structure of the wearable device 10 may include a display screen, a circuit board, and glass surrounding the display screen and circuit board. The base 120 is made of a non-metallic material, such as glass or plastic. Using a non-metallic material for the base 120 reduces the weight of the wearable device 10. The base 120 is generally a hollow structure. The shape, pattern, and surface treatment of the base 120 are not limited in this application; for example, the shape of the base 120 may be a square prism or a cylinder.

Antenna 130 is disposed around the front cover screen 110, so that the radiation pattern of antenna 130 faces upward, avoiding signal obstruction. Optionally, antenna 130 can be a closed structure that completely surrounds front cover screen 110, and the shape of antenna 130 can be adapted to front cover screen 110, such as a square ring or a circular ring, to match the shape of front cover screen 110. Antenna 130 can be made of metal, for example, antenna 130 can be implemented as a closed metal ring, but this application is not limited to this. In some embodiments, the antenna 130 can be a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, a spiral antenna, a peg antenna, a planar inverted F-shaped antenna, a chip antenna, or any other type of antenna. Optionally, the antenna 130 can be an antenna for positioning functions, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna or a BeiDou antenna, or an antenna for communication functions, such as a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) antenna, a 2G/3G/4G/5G/6G antenna, etc.

A metal ring 140 is disposed inside the base 120, and the inner ring of the metal ring 140 has a corrugated protrusion 1401. In some embodiments, the base 120 is a coverless box type, and the metal ring 140 is disposed inside the base 120 and near the opening, that is, away from the user of the wearable device 10. It should be noted that the user's body is composed of bones, muscles, blood, and fat, of which water accounts for 70% (the dielectric constant of water is approximately 81.5). Therefore, placing the metal ring 140 inside the base 120 away from the user can reduce the negative impact of the user on the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 and improve the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130.

Furthermore, referring to Figure 4, by providing a wavy protrusion 1401 on the inner ring of the metal ring 140, and assembling the metal ring 140 inside the base 120 and near the opening, when the front cover screen structure 100 is placed into the base 120 for assembly, the contact between the metal ring 140 and the side metal part 150 of the front cover screen 110 can be increased, avoiding the problem of unstable contact after the rear end is assembled into a whole unit, which leads to a reduction in the radiation performance of the antenna 130; and the radiation pattern of the protrusion 1401 is also facing upward, further increasing the radiation area of the antenna 130 and improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130. Optionally, the shape of the protrusion 1401 can be circular, elliptical, or polygonal, etc., and this embodiment is not limited in this respect. Optionally, the protrusion 1401 can be matched with the metal part 150 on the side of the front cover screen 110, that is, the position and number of the protrusion 1401 match the position and number of the metal part 150 on the side of the front cover screen 110, thereby increasing the contact between the metal part 150 and the metal ring 140.

The aforementioned metal part 150 is disposed on the side of the front cover screen 110, and one end of the metal part 150 is coupled to the antenna 130, that is, the antenna 130 and the metal part 150 are conductive. When the front cover screen structure 100 is placed into the base 120 for assembly, the other end of the metal part 150 contacts the protrusion 1401 on the metal ring 140, so that the antenna 130 and the metal ring 140 are conductive, thereby increasing the radiation area of the antenna 130 and improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130.

In one embodiment, optionally, a protective element 160 may be provided on the surface of the antenna 130. The protective element may be made of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, and cooperates with the base 120 to protect the antenna 130, reduce wear on the antenna 130, and improve its lifespan. Optionally, the metal portion 150 may be a metal plating layer disposed on the protective element 160. That is, by plating a metal layer at corresponding positions on the protective element 160, the metal layer is made conductive to the antenna 130. In this way, when the front cover screen 110 and the base 120 are assembled, the metal plating on the side of the front cover screen 110 will come into contact with the protrusion 1401 in the metal ring 140, thereby making the antenna 130 conductive with the metal ring 140, thereby increasing the radiation area of the antenna 130 and improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130.

Optionally, multiple metal portions 150 are arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen 110 to increase the radiation area of the antenna 130 in multiple directions, thereby improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 in multiple directions. For example, metal portions 150 are arranged on the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the front cover screen 110 to improve the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 in multiple directions such as upper, lower, left, and right. Furthermore, multiple metal portions 150 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen 110, and the specific number can be set according to actual needs. For example, to avoid radiation leakage, eight metal parts 150 can be evenly arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen 110; this can basically improve the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 in all directions. In one embodiment, if the front cover screen 110 has a square structure, two metal parts 150 can be evenly arranged on each side of the front cover screen 110, that is, a total of eight metal parts 150 can be arranged on the side of the front cover screen. If the front cover screen 110 has a circular structure, eight metal parts 150 can be evenly arranged at fixed angles on the side of the front cover screen 110.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 10 also includes a printed circuit board (PCB) and a ground plane. The ground plane, made of metal, can be disposed on the PCB to provide a grounding potential. Other electronic circuit components, such as processors, memory, or multiple metal traces, can also be disposed on the aforementioned PCB. Furthermore, the antenna 130 is provided with a ground point and a feed point. The feed point is coupled to a signal source in the PCB through a metal spring, and the ground point is coupled to the ground plane through another metal spring. The position of the ground point can be adjusted according to the resonant efficiency to be achieved by the antenna 130.

In some embodiments, the antenna radiation efficiency of the wearable device 10 provided in this application is compared with that of a conventional wearable device. Referring to Figure 5, the comparison shows that the overall radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 of the wearable device 10 provided in this application is improved at the measured frequencies, especially at the resonant frequency of 1757.42MHz, where the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 of the wearable device 10 provided in this application is improved by approximately 2.5dB. Curve 1 represents the antenna radiation efficiency of a conventional wearable device, and curve 2 represents the radiation efficiency of the antenna 130 of the wearable device 10 provided in this application.

In one embodiment, the wearable device 10 may optionally be implemented as a watch. In this design, the wearable device 10 may also include a watch strap or other watch components, such as hour, minute, and second hands. The watch strap may be attached to opposite sides of the base 120 to allow a user to wear the wearable device 10 on their wrist via the watch strap.

The wearable device provided in this application embodiment features an antenna positioned around the perimeter of the front cover screen, ensuring the antenna's radiation pattern faces upwards. This effectively receives and transmits signals, preventing the antenna from being blocked by the front cover screen and improving its radiation efficiency. Furthermore, by providing a metal ring with corrugated protrusions on the inner side of the base and a metal portion on the side of the front cover screen, the antenna contacts the metal ring through the metal portion on the side of the front cover screen during assembly. This increases the antenna's radiation area and improves its radiation efficiency.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

The embodiments described above merely illustrate several implementations of this application, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make numerous modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this patent application shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

10: Wearable Device 100: Front Cover Screen Structure 110: Front Cover Screen 120: Base 130: Antenna 140: Metal Ring 150: Metal Part 160: Protective Component 1401: Protrusion

Figure 1 is a top view of a wearable device provided in this embodiment; Figure 2 is a top view of a front cover screen structure provided in this embodiment; Figure 3 is a side view of a front cover screen structure provided in this embodiment; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a metal ring structure provided in this embodiment; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram comparing the radiation efficiency of the antennas of the wearable device provided in this embodiment and a traditional wearable device.

10: Wearable devices

110: Front cover screen

120: Base

130: Antenna

140: Metal rings

150: Metal Section

1401: Protrusion

Claims (9)

A wearable device includes: a front cover screen; a base made of non-metallic material; an antenna surrounding the front cover screen; a metal ring disposed inside the base, with a wavy protrusion on the inner ring of the metal ring; and a metal portion disposed on the outer surface of the front cover screen and coupled to the antenna, wherein the antenna's radiation area can be increased by contacting the protrusion when the front cover screen and the base are assembled; wherein the protrusion is matched with the metal portion. According to claim 1, the wearable device has a plurality of metal parts, and the plurality of metal parts are arranged circumferentially on the side of the front cover screen. According to claim 2, the wearable device has the plurality of metal portions uniformly disposed circumferentially on the outer side of the front cover screen. According to claim 1, the wearable device has a protective member on the surface of the antenna, the protective member being made of a non-metallic material, and the metallic portion being a metal plating disposed on the protective member. According to claim 1, the wearable device wherein the protrusion is circular, elliptical, or polygonal in shape. The wearable device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna has a closed structure. According to claim 1, the wearable device wherein the antenna is used to realize positioning or communication functions. According to claim 1, the wearable device has a base that is a lidless box type, and the metal ring is disposed at an opening in the base, the opening being located inside the base. The wearable device according to claim 1, wherein the wearable device is implemented in a watch.