CN107808995B

CN107808995B - Wearable communication device

Info

Publication number: CN107808995B
Application number: CN201610809440.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 颜铭庆; 张琨盛; 王传骏; 林敬基
Original assignee: Acer Inc
Current assignee: Acer Inc
Priority date: 2016-09-08
Filing date: 2016-09-08
Publication date: 2020-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-08
Also published as: CN107808995A

Abstract

The invention provides a wearable communication device, which comprises a shoe body structure, a grounding element and an antenna element. The shoe body structure includes a tongue. The grounding element is disposed on the tongue. An antenna element is disposed on the tongue and adjacent an edge of the ground element. The antenna element operates in a first frequency band and the length of the ground element is no less than 1/4 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band.

Description

Wearable communication device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to communication devices, and particularly to a wearable communication device.

Background

With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, various international factories have started to develop wearable communication devices (wearable communication devices) in succession. For example, with the popularity of road-run activities and the development of home, health and care for children, smart shoes (smart shoes) have attracted attention in recent years and can be used to manage and control positioning information, physiological parameters, road-run information, and the like of people. The overall environment (e.g., design, antenna space, ground plane size, and antenna environment) of the wearable communication device is far from that of the current handheld device, and therefore the wearable communication device must have different design considerations and application technologies in antenna design.

In the case of the smart shoe, most of the existing smart shoes directly use the modular antenna, and the modular antenna and the ground plane are disposed in the sole or the insole. However, the above method focuses only on the system integration of the intelligent shoe, and neglects the influence of the human body on the antenna element. Therefore, the communication quality of the existing intelligent shoes is often poor, and the positioning distortion or failure can even occur.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a wearable communication device, which comprises a grounding element and an antenna element which are arranged in a tongue of a shoe body structure, thereby being beneficial to improving the communication quality of the wearable communication device.

The invention discloses a wearable communication device, which comprises a shoe body structure, a grounding element and an antenna element. The shoe body structure includes a tongue. The grounding element is disposed on the tongue. An antenna element is disposed on the tongue and adjacent an edge of the ground element. Furthermore, the antenna element operates in the first frequency band, and the length of the ground element is not less than 1/4 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band.

In an embodiment of the invention, the antenna element and the ground element are disposed on a substrate, and the substrate is embedded in the tongue.

In view of the above, the wearable communication device of the present invention includes a shoe body structure, and the ground element and the antenna element are disposed on a tongue of the shoe body structure. Therefore, the influence of the surrounding environment or human body on the antenna element and the grounding element is effectively reduced, thereby being beneficial to improving the communication quality of the wearable communication device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wearable communication device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a return loss diagram of an antenna element of a wearable communication device when no body tissue simulator is placed therein according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a return loss diagram of an antenna element when a wearable communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is inserted into a body tissue simulator.

Fig. 6 is a radiation efficiency diagram of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

100: wearable communication device 110: shoe body structure

111: the tongue 112: shoe body

113: the toe cap 114: shoelace hole

115: a welt 120: antenna element

130: the grounding element 140: substrate

150: the radio frequency circuit 160: battery with a battery cell

210: first radiation portion 220: feed-in part

230: second radiation portion 201: side length

FP 2: a feed-in point 310: the first part

320: second portion 330: closed slot hole

SD 31: first edge SD 32: second edge

610. 620: curve line

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wearable communication device according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the wearable communication device 100 may be, for example, a smart shoe. Specifically, the wearable communication device 100 includes a shank structure 110, and the shank structure 110 includes a tongue 111, a shank 112, a toe cap 113, lace apertures 114, and a throat 115. The wearable communication device 100 further includes an antenna element 120 and a ground element 130.

The antenna element 120 and the grounding element 130 are disposed on the tongue 111, and the antenna element 120 is adjacent to an edge of the grounding element 130. For example, the wearable communication device 100 also includes a substrate 140. The antenna element 120 and the ground element 130 are disposed on a surface of the substrate 140, and the substrate 140 may be embedded in the tongue 111. In other words, the antenna element 120, the ground element 130, and the substrate 140 may be disposed within the sandwiched space of the tongue 111. In addition, base 140 may be, for example, a flexible printed circuit board, and may be bent to conform to the surface of the person's foot, thereby enabling tongue 111 to be attached to the surface of the person's foot.

The antenna element 120 is operable in a first frequency band and the length of the ground element 130 is not less than (i.e., greater than or equal to) the 1/4 wavelength of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band. Therefore, miniaturization of the antenna element 120 will be facilitated. Furthermore, the method is simple. When the user wears the wearable communication device 100, the tongue 111 is positioned over the person's foot, i.e., the person's foot does not obscure the antenna element 120 and the ground element 130 disposed within the tongue 111. Therefore, the influence of the human body on the antenna element 120 and the ground element 130 can be avoided, that is, the influence of the surrounding environment on the antenna element 120 and the ground element 130 can be reduced, thereby contributing to the improvement of the communication quality of the wearable communication device 100.

For example, the first frequency band covered by the antenna element 120 may be, for example, a 1.57542GHz frequency band used by a Global Positioning System (GPS). In addition, the antenna element 120 disposed in the tongue 111 facilitates the wearable communication device 100 to receive satellite signals from an airborne GPS, thereby avoiding a situation where the wearable communication device 100 is distorted or disabled for positioning. Furthermore, the antenna element 120 and the grounding element 130 disposed in the tongue 111 are also not easily affected by the surrounding environment, so that the stability of the communication quality of the wearable communication device 100 can be improved. In contrast, with the improvement of the stability of the communication quality, the wearable communication device 100 does not need to additionally provide a matching circuit or a matching element, thereby contributing to reducing the production cost of the wearable communication device 100.

In a further aspect, the wearable communication device 100 further includes a radio frequency circuit 150 and a battery 160. The rf circuit 150 and the battery 160 are disposed on the substrate 140. That is, the RF circuitry 150 and battery 160 may also be disposed within the interlayer space of the tongue 111. In addition, the rf circuit 150 may be electrically connected to the feeding point of the antenna element 120 through a coaxial cable to provide a signal to the antenna element 120 or receive a signal from the antenna element 120. The battery 160 may be used to provide the power required by the wearable communication device 100. For example, the battery 160 may provide an operating voltage to the rf circuit 150.

Fig. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the invention, and the structure and operation of the antenna element 120 will be further described with reference to fig. 2 and 3. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the antenna element 120 includes a first radiating portion 210, a feeding portion 220 and a second radiating portion 230. The first end of the feeding element 220 has a feeding point FP2, and the second end of the feeding element 220 is electrically connected to the first radiating element 210.

It should be noted that the feeding portion 220 and the first radiating portion 210 may form a patch antenna (patch antenna) structure, and the antenna element 120 may operate in the first frequency band through the patch antenna structure. Specifically, the first radiation portion 210 may be, for example, a square metal sheet. In addition, since the length of the ground element 130 is not less than 1/4 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band, the side length 201 of the first radiation part 210 (i.e., the square metal sheet) may be less than 1/2 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band, thereby contributing to miniaturization of the antenna element 120. For example, in one embodiment, the side length 201 of the first radiation portion 210 (i.e., the square metal sheet) may be about 1/6-1/8 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band. For example, the first frequency band may be, for example, a 1.57542GHz frequency band, and the side length 201 of the first radiation portion 210 (i.e., the square metal sheet) may be, for example, 23 millimeters (mm).

Referring to fig. 3, the first radiation portion 210 (i.e., the square metal plate) includes a first portion 310 and a second portion 320 electrically connected to each other. That is, the first radiation part 210 (i.e., the square metal sheet) may be divided into a first portion 310 and a second portion 320 based on the feeding part 220. Wherein the first portion 310 includes a first edge SD31 and a second edge SD32 that are adjacent. The first edge SD31 of the first portion 310 is electrically connected to the second end of the feeding element 220, and the second edge SD32 of the first portion 310 is electrically connected to the first end of the second radiating element 230. In addition, the second end of the second radiation part 230 is electrically connected to the feeding part 220, and the second radiation part 230 surrounds the first edge SD31 and the second edge SD32 of the first portion 310.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 3, the second radiating portion 230, the first portion 310 and the feeding portion 220 may form a loop antenna (loop antenna) structure, and the antenna element 120 may operate in a second frequency band through the loop antenna structure, for example: the 2.45GHz band. Specifically, the second radiating element 230, the first portion 310 and the feeding element 220 form a closed slot 330, and the circumference of the closed slot 330 is about 1/2 wavelength of the lowest frequency of the second frequency band. In addition, the second radiation portion 230 may be, for example, a C-shaped metal sheet, so as to surround the first edge SD31 and the second edge SD32 of the first portion 310.

Fig. 4 is a return loss diagram of an antenna element when the wearable communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is not loaded with the human tissue simulation fluid, and fig. 5 is a return loss diagram of an antenna element when the wearable communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is loaded with the human tissue simulation fluid. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the frequency ranges of the antenna element 120 can cover 1.57GHz and 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz without and with human tissue simulating liquid. Further, fig. 6 is a radiation efficiency graph of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a curve 610 is a radiation efficiency of the antenna element 120 when no human tissue-simulating fluid is put in, and a curve 620 is a radiation efficiency of the antenna element 120 when the human tissue-simulating fluid is put in.

As shown in fig. 6, when the wearable communication device 100 is filled with the human tissue simulation fluid, the radiation efficiency of the antenna element 120 decreases by less than 1dB, compared to the case where the human tissue simulation fluid is not filled. In other words, the antenna element 120 and the grounding element 130 are disposed in the tongue 111, so that the influence of the surrounding environment or the human body on the antenna element 120 and the grounding element 130 can be effectively reduced. Therefore, even when the human tissue simulator is put in, the antenna element 120 can maintain good radiation efficiency, which contributes to improvement of communication quality of the wearable communication device 100.

In summary, the wearable communication device of the present invention includes a shoe body structure, and the antenna element and the grounding element are disposed on a tongue of the shoe body structure together. Therefore, the influence of the surrounding environment or human body on the antenna element and the grounding element is effectively reduced, thereby being beneficial to improving the communication quality of the wearable communication device. Furthermore, the antenna element is operable in a first frequency band and the length of the ground element is no less than 1/4 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band. Therefore, miniaturization of the antenna element will be facilitated.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A wearable communication device, comprising:

a shoe body structure comprising a tongue;

a grounding element disposed on the tongue;

an antenna element disposed on the tongue adjacent an edge of the grounding element, wherein the antenna element operates in a first frequency band and the length of the grounding element is not less than the 1/4 wavelength of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band;

the antenna element includes:

a first radiation part;

a feed-in part, a first end of which has a feed-in point, and a second end of which is electrically connected to the first radiating part, wherein the feed-in part and the first radiating part form a patch antenna structure, and the antenna element operates in the first frequency band through the patch antenna structure;

the first radiating portion is a square metal sheet, the square metal sheet includes a first portion and a second portion electrically connected to each other, a first edge of the first portion is electrically connected to the second end of the feeding portion, and the antenna element further includes:

a second radiating portion, a first end of which is electrically connected to a second edge of the first portion, a second end of which is electrically connected to the feeding portion, and the second radiating portion surrounds the first edge and the second edge of the first portion, wherein the second radiating portion, the first portion and the feeding portion form a loop antenna structure, and the antenna element operates in a second frequency band through the loop antenna structure.

2. The wearable communication device of claim 1, wherein the antenna element and the ground element are disposed on a substrate, and wherein the substrate is embedded in the tongue.

3. The wearable communication device of claim 2, further comprising:

a radio frequency circuit disposed on the substrate and providing a feed signal to the antenna element.

4. The wearable communication device of claim 3, further comprising a battery disposed on the substrate and providing an operating voltage to the RF circuit.

5. The wearable communication device of claim 1, wherein the side length of the square metal sheet is 1/6-1/8 wavelengths of the lowest frequency of the first frequency band.

6. The wearable communication device of claim 1, wherein the loop antenna structure comprises a closed slot, and a perimeter of the closed slot is 1/2 wavelengths at a lowest frequency of the second frequency band.

7. The wearable communication device of claim 1, wherein the second radiating portion is a C-shaped metal sheet.