JP2001352587A - Radio communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the performance of a main machine 20 while keeping it compact in a keyless entry system for performing radio communication between the main machine 20 (on-vehicle machine) and a portable machine 10 and for automatically unlocking a vehicle door or the like after collating and confirming the prescribed portable machine. SOLUTION: As an antenna 23 of the main machine 20, a dipole antenna is constituted by locating antenna elements 23a and 23b so as to protrude them from edges on both the left and right sides of a circuit board 20a of the main machine 20 parallel with the circuit board 20a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to verification of authentication codes transmitted and received by wireless communication, such as a control device for a keyless entry system of a vehicle (so-called ID).
The present invention relates to a wireless communication device used for a control device that performs a predetermined control operation (for example, an unlocking operation of a vehicle door) after performing authentication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a system including such a control device, for example, there is a keyless entry system for a vehicle which has been widely used in recent years. It has a portable device that can be carried by the user and a main unit (in this case, an on-board unit) installed on the control target side (in this case, the vehicle side), and an authentication code is transmitted therebetween by wireless communication. Check the collation of
A predetermined operation (unlocking operation or locking operation) of a predetermined control target (in this case, a locking device for a vehicle door) is realized by controlling the main unit, on condition that the matching result is a match. is there. In general, as such a control device, when a user operates a specific button or the like provided on the portable device, a specific operation signal including an authentication code (for example, opening of a vehicle door) is transmitted from the portable device. The lock command) is transmitted wirelessly, and upon receipt of the confirmation, the main unit confirms that the authentication code included in the received signal corresponds to the authentication code set in the main unit in advance (that is, the verification From the portable device (in this case, the transmitter) to perform a predetermined control process (for example, a control signal output for unlocking the vehicle door) for controlling a predetermined control target (after confirmation). It is a one-way communication type in which only one-way communication to a main unit (in this case, a receiver) is performed. In addition, there may be only one operation means such as the button of the above-mentioned portable device, or a plurality of operation means may be provided and provided (for example, opening and closing a vehicle door, unlocking a trunk, starting an engine, etc.). Etc.) are possible.

[0003] For example, the following two configurations are known as wireless communication devices constituting a main unit (generally, a receiver) in such a control device.
The first is a configuration in which the antenna is provided separately from the communication device unit (communication device main body). This is because a connector for antenna connection is provided in the communication unit, and an antenna installed in a position separate from the communication unit (preferable position for receiving electromagnetic waves) is connected to a cable (communication unit of the communication unit) through the connector. It is connected to the communication unit by a power supply line laid outside. Second, the antenna is formed on a circuit board in the communication unit and is built in the unit. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B or 4C, antennas 2a and 2b and a connector 3 for external wiring are mounted on a printed circuit board 1a or 1b on which a communication circuit or the like is formed. As shown in a), a case 4 that covers the whole except for the connector 3 is attached. In this case, the antenna 2a in FIG. 4 (b) is a wire type antenna and the antenna 2b in FIG. 4 (c) is a press plate type antenna. The antenna is bent at a right angle to the antenna (a so-called inverted L-shaped antenna), and is electrically a quarter-wave vertical ground antenna (（).
(Wavelength monopole antenna), and the feeding point is vertically mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board 1a or 1b.

[0004]

However, the above-described wireless communication device has the following problems. First, when the antenna is installed separately, it takes time and effort to separately install the communication unit and the antenna on the control target side (for example, the vehicle side), and it is usually necessary to lay an expensive coaxial cable as the cable. There is a disadvantage that the cost of the entire control device is increased. When installing a cable as a power supply line in a vehicle or the like, it is essential to use a coaxial cable that can obtain a certain impedance without being affected by electromagnetic induction between the vehicle and other electric wires. However, an increase in cost is inevitable. on the other hand,
In the case of the type in which the antenna is built in the communication device, it is not necessary to separately install the antenna, and it is not necessary to provide the cable. However, since the antenna cannot be made larger than the area of the substrate, high communication performance ( High receiving sensitivity, good directivity, etc.). Conversely, in order to obtain high communication performance, there has been a problem that an expensive substrate or the entire case becomes large. Incidentally, since the wavelength of the communication electromagnetic wave is 1 m when the communication frequency is 300 MHz, for example, 例 え ば wavelength (0.2
When the antenna of 5 m) is changed to a half-wavelength (0.5 m) dipole antenna to improve the performance, according to the conventional idea, the width of the circuit board is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), if there is no provision of a shortening coil or the like for shortening the length of the antenna element, the width of the circuit board becomes 波長 wavelength (0.5 m), and The entire unit becomes extremely large, and the cost of the apparatus increases accordingly. In addition, in vehicles such as automobiles, while enhancement of additional functions (for example, the above-described keyless entry system) that enhance user convenience is required, in order to reduce vehicle prices or expand living space, The miniaturization (improvement of mountability) and cost reduction of mounted equipment
In recent years, it has become an increasingly important issue, and the requirements have become particularly severe. Therefore, the present invention is, for example, a wireless communication device that constitutes a main unit of the control device as described above, and can achieve high performance without increasing the size (at least, the size of the circuit board) or increasing the cost. It is intended to provide a wireless communication device.

[0005]

A wireless communication device according to the first invention of the present application is mounted, attached, or connected to a portable device that can be carried by a user and an object including a control target, and is connected to the portable device. A main unit for performing a control process for realizing a predetermined operation of the control target after performing wireless communication between the main unit and the mobile terminal to verify and confirm that the main unit is a predetermined portable unit. A wireless communication device that comprises, at least a circuit board on which a communication circuit for wireless communication is formed, and an antenna connected to the communication circuit and receiving or transmitting electromagnetic waves for the wireless communication. And an antenna element (a conductor constituting the antenna) constituting the antenna is disposed so as to protrude from an edge of the circuit board in a direction parallel to the circuit board. Here, the direction parallel to the circuit board means a direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board. According to the present invention, so as to protrude from the edge of the circuit board in a direction parallel to the circuit board,
Since the antenna element forming the antenna is provided, the size of the antenna can be increased without increasing the size of the circuit board, and the communication performance can be improved. Moreover,
Since the antenna element is directly attached to the circuit board (a configuration not separately provided for the antenna), and a cable (especially a coaxial cable) as a feeder line is unnecessary, it is advantageous in terms of easiness of installation work and cost. .

It is to be noted that the "object containing the control target" may be the control target itself. More specifically, for example, vehicles such as vehicles (four-wheeled vehicles and two-wheeled vehicles), machines, devices,
There can be buildings or equipment. In addition, the “predetermined operation of the control target” includes, for example, unlocking or locking of a door or a trunk of a vehicle or the like or an anti-theft device, or operation of a vehicle mounted component (engine or the like) or permission to operate the vehicle. . In addition, as a mounted object of the vehicle, for example, a drive source such as an engine or a motor, a drive mechanism such as a transmission, an air conditioner, an audio system, a navigation system, a lighting, and the like can be used. Further, "a state in which the antenna element protrudes in a direction parallel to the circuit board" means that the antenna element is arranged in a state where the whole or a part of the antenna element protrudes from the circuit board, and the antenna element and the circuit board are not necessarily parallel. Does not mean that the antenna element is arranged in a plane parallel to the circuit board. In addition, the “circuit board” may include a circuit other than the communication circuit (for example, a control circuit or a drive circuit that performs the above-described verification based on a signal received by the communication circuit), or may include the communication circuit and the communication circuit. Configuration in which only the accompanying power supply circuit is formed (whether the control circuit or the like is formed on another substrate in the same unit,
Alternatively, a configuration formed on a substrate in another unit) may be used. Further, the “communication circuit” may have only one of the functions of receiving or transmitting the electromagnetic wave, or may have both the function of receiving and transmitting the electromagnetic wave. More specifically, the "antenna" in the present invention may be used only for either reception or transmission of the electromagnetic wave, or may be used for both reception and transmission.

[0007] Further, a more preferred aspect of the present invention is configured to include a case for housing the circuit board and the antenna element. With this configuration, the antenna element and the circuit board are protected from foreign substances such as dust and dust, and high reliability against a failure or the like caused by such foreign substances can be obtained. In addition, when an operator's hand or the like comes into contact with the antenna element disposed in a protruding state, for example, the base of the antenna element (the place where the antenna element is physically fixed or electrically connected to the circuit board) is damaged. There is an advantage that such troubles can be prevented. For example, in the case of a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle as a main unit such as a keyless entry system, protection from dust and dust is particularly necessary, and the configuration in which the antenna element and the antenna element are collectively stored in a case is excellent. ing. It is needless to say that the material forming the case is preferably a non-conductive material (for example, synthetic resin) that transmits electromagnetic waves well.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the antenna elements are provided on both sides of the circuit board, and a dipole antenna is formed as the antenna. That is, a circuit board including a communication circuit is formed between the antenna elements on both sides of the dipole antenna. With this configuration, a dipole antenna (for example, a half-wavelength dipole antenna) having the entire width dimension including the circuit board and the left and right antenna elements can be formed. Since the antenna can be provided, higher communication performance of the wireless communication device can be realized while suppressing an increase in size and cost of the wireless communication device. By the way, when forming a half-wave dipole antenna at a communication frequency of 300 MHz, if the total length of the antenna elements protruding from both sides from the edge of the circuit board is 0.3 m, for example, Even if a shortening coil or the like for shortening the length is not provided, the width of the circuit board is 0.2 m (=
0.5m-0.3m).

A wireless communication device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a circuit board on which at least a communication circuit for wireless communication is formed, and a receiving circuit connected to the communication circuit for receiving an electromagnetic wave for wireless communication. Or a dipole antenna that performs transmission, and each antenna element constituting the dipole antenna is disposed so as to protrude from an edge on both sides of the circuit board in a direction parallel to the circuit board. . That is, the wireless communication device of the present invention is a wireless communication device whose use is not particularly limited, and a circuit board including a communication circuit is formed between antenna elements on both sides constituting a dipole antenna. . With such a configuration, as described above, a small radio communication device (e.g., a dipole antenna having a remarkably superior reception sensitivity and directivity in comparison with a monopole antenna (particularly, the above-described inverted L-shaped antenna)). In particular, a small circuit board) can be obtained. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to a control device that performs collation confirmation (for example, a control device for a keyless entry system of a vehicle), and can be applied to a communication device of various wireless communication systems. Communication performance can be improved while ensuring high performance and cost performance).

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example of a main unit (vehicle unit) of a one-way communication keyless entry system for a vehicle.
This is an example in which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device of this system is a portable device 10 that can be carried by a user.
(Transmitter) and a main unit 20 (receiver) mounted on the vehicle. The main unit 20 has a structure as shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the external appearance and internal structure of the main unit 20, in which FIG. 1 (a) is a top view, FIG. 1 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 1 (c) is a side sectional view. It is. FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of a control device including the portable device 10 and the main device 20. In addition,
2, the detailed configuration of the antenna 23 is not shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portable device 10 includes a transmitting circuit 11 and a antenna 13 for wirelessly transmitting a signal at a predetermined communication frequency (for example, a frequency in the UHF band).
And a portable device-side storage means 14 for storing at least an authentication code (also called an ID code or the like), and a control circuit 1 including a microcomputer for controlling the entire portable device and performing necessary information processing.
5 and a built-in battery 16. In addition, this portable device 10
Are provided with a lock switch and an unlock switch (not shown), which are push-button operation units. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 31 denotes a motor (a door lock actuator) that is a driving source of a lock device for a vehicle door.
And reference numeral 32 indicates a battery of the vehicle.

Here, the detailed configuration of the transmission circuit 11 and the like are not particularly limited because the present invention is not particularly limited and at least various known configurations can be adopted. To explain the outline of the main elements, the transmission circuit 11 includes a circuit (a modulation circuit, a transmission circuit, and the like) for wirelessly transmitting a signal at a predetermined communication frequency via the antenna 13. The control circuit 15 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an input / output circuit. Further, the portable device side storage means 14 is composed of a writable and erasable non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM) for storing an authentication code. Further, the control circuit 15
The microcomputer has a function of executing the following processing operation by setting an operation program of the microcomputer. That is, when a lock switch or unlock switch (not shown) is operated, a lock operation signal or an unlock operation signal including an authentication code registered in advance in the portable device side storage unit 14 is wirelessly transmitted. When the locking operation signal or the unlocking operation signal is transmitted and received by the main unit 20, the control function of the main unit 20 checks the collation and immediately opens the vehicle door as described later. An operation of locking or unlocking is executed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body unit 20 has a circuit board 20a on which various circuits are formed and an antenna 23 housed in a case 21 in a lump. The circuit board 20a is, for example, a printed circuit board. As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 20a has a receiving circuit 22 for receiving a signal of a predetermined communication frequency.
(Corresponding to a communication circuit of the present invention), a main unit storage unit 24 for storing an authentication code, a control circuit 25 including a microcomputer for controlling the entire main unit and performing necessary information processing, a power supply circuit 26, The circuit 27 is mounted. here,
The detailed configuration of the receiving circuit 22 and the like is not particularly limited, and at least various known configurations can be adopted. To summarize the key elements,
The reception circuit 22 includes a circuit (a demodulation circuit, a transmission circuit, and the like) for receiving a radio signal of a predetermined communication frequency via the antenna 23. Further, the control circuit 25
It has PU, ROM, RAM and input / output circuit. The main unit storage means 24 is a writable and erasable non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM) for storing an authentication code.
Consisting of The power supply circuit 26 has a circuit for performing necessary voltage conversion, voltage stabilization processing, and the like using a battery 32 mounted on a vehicle as an input power supply. Power is always supplied. The drive circuit 27 is a circuit including a switching element (a transistor, a relay, or the like) for controlling the energized state and energized direction of the motor 31, and operates under the control of the control circuit 25 in this case.

The control circuit 25 has a function of executing the following processing operation by setting an operation program of the microcomputer. That is, the operation unit of the portable device 10 (for example, the above-described locking switch and unlocking switch)
When an operation signal (for example, a lock operation signal including an authentication code) transmitted from the portable device 10 is received by the operation of (1), the authentication code included in the operation signal is stored in the main unit-side storage unit 24 in advance. Is determined, and if the determination result is affirmative, it is determined that the collation has been confirmed, and an operation (for example, an operation of locking a vehicle door) according to a command included in the operation signal is realized. Control signal output (in this case, a predetermined drive signal output to the drive circuit 27).

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, the antenna 23 protrudes from the left and right edges of the circuit board 20a in a direction parallel to the circuit board 20a (hereinafter referred to as a plane direction). Antenna element 2 arranged in a state
3a and 23b, and a circuit conductor pattern, a shortened coil and the like, not shown, on the circuit board 20a. Each of the antenna elements 23a and 23b is a wire made of a conductive material. In this case, a shortening coil (reference numeral is omitted) is formed at a tip end. In this case, the axial center lines of the antenna elements 23a and 23b are arranged in a straight line so as to extend to both right and left sides along the surface direction of the circuit board 20a. The base ends of the antenna elements 23a and 23b are fixedly mounted on the circuit board 20a by providing a support member (not shown) as necessary, and are fixed on the circuit board 20a by soldering or the like. A 波長 wavelength dipole antenna (that is, antenna 23) connected to a circuit conductor (a circuit conductor connected to the input terminal of the receiving circuit 11 or a circuit conductor connected to the ground terminal of the receiving circuit 11) and integrated with the circuit board 20a. Is composed. In this case, if the action of the shortening coil is ignored, the distance L between the tips of the antenna elements 23a and 23b is reduced.
(Shown in FIG. 1B) is the total length of the antenna 23 which is a dipole antenna, and basically, L = 1 / 2λ.
(Λ: wavelength of electromagnetic wave for communication). However, strictly speaking,
The length can be shortened by the action of the shortening coil and the like, and in fact, L <1 / 2λ.

The case 21 is made of a synthetic resin (for example, ABS)
Or PP)), as shown in FIG.
The circuit board 20a and the antenna elements 23a and 23b are entirely covered with a slight gap. That is, the case 21 has a box-shaped portion 21a for accommodating the rectangular circuit board 20a with a small gap, and extends left and right from both sides of the box-shaped portion 21a to separate the antenna elements 23a and 23b with a small gap. A cylindrical portion 21b having a closed end for storage,
21c, and has a T-shape as a whole. A connector part 28 for external wiring is formed on the lower end side of the case 21, and a clip part 29 for attachment is formed on the rear side. The connector unit 28
The case 21 includes a cylindrical portion 21d formed below the box-shaped portion 21a and having an open lower surface, and a plurality of pin-shaped electrodes 28a extending from the lower end of the circuit board 20a into the cylindrical portion 21d. The electrode 28a forms a terminal connected to the motor 31 and the battery 32 in FIG. 2, or a ground terminal connected to the ground. Also,
The clip portion 29 includes two inverted L-shaped protrusions 21e formed on the back surface of the case 21.
Is elastically engaged with a hole formed in the vehicle body, for example, so that the entire main unit 20 can be attached to the vehicle with one touch. The case 21 has, for example, a half-split structure that can be divided into a front side and a back side, and is divided into a front side and a back side.
a and an intermediate assembly including the antenna elements 23a and 23b are housed and mounted, and then the divided front side and rear side are fixed to each other by bonding or screwing, and assembled.

The main unit 20 of the keyless entry system described above has the following effects due to its features. (1) Since the antenna elements 23a and 23b constituting the antenna 23 are provided so as to protrude from the edge of the circuit board 20a in a direction parallel to the circuit board 20a, the antenna 23 can be mounted without increasing the size of the circuit board 20a. By increasing the total length L, it is possible to improve the communication performance (improve the reception sensitivity, etc.). Further, the antenna element 23
a and 23b are configured to be directly attached to the circuit board 20a (a configuration not separately provided with an antenna), and a cable (especially a coaxial cable) as a power supply line is unnecessary, which is advantageous in terms of easiness of installation work and cost. It is. In this case, the antenna elements 23a and 23b of the antenna 23 are used.
Unlike the conventional configuration as illustrated in FIG. 4, it is not necessary to have a bent shape in the middle, so that it can be made larger and contribute to the improvement of the reception sensitivity and the like, and has excellent directivity. Become. This is because, in the conventional configuration as illustrated in FIG. 4, since the antenna element is bent, it becomes difficult to set a communication range due to a special directivity (directivity biased in one direction). There is a problem,
Since the antenna 23 of the present embodiment is a general dipole antenna, there is no such problem.

(2) In addition, the antenna element 23
a and 23b are provided on both right and left sides of the circuit board 20a, respectively, and a dipole antenna is formed as the antenna 23. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, a circuit board 20a is formed between the left and right antenna elements 23a and 23b constituting the dipole antenna. Thus, a dipole antenna (in this case, a half-wavelength dipole antenna) having a total length of the entire width L including the circuit board 20a and the antenna elements 23a and 23b on the left and right sides can be formed.
A large dipole antenna can be provided while the circuit board 20a is kept small, and higher communication performance of the main unit 20 can be realized while suppressing an increase in the size and cost of the main unit 20.

By the way, according to the conventional concept (the concept of mounting an antenna on a circuit board) shown in FIG.
In order to construct a main body equipped with a dipole antenna having a total length L, for example, as shown in FIG. 3D, it is necessary to arrange two antenna elements 2c and 2d in a straight line on the circuit board 1c. For this reason, the antenna element itself becomes longer, and the lateral dimension of the circuit board 1c becomes larger than the total length L. As a result, the overall size (at least the area) of the main unit (wireless communication device) becomes extremely large. On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the antenna elements 23a and 23b themselves and the horizontal width of the circuit board 20a are much smaller than the total length L. . For example, when the communication frequency is 300 MHz, the wavelength of the communication electromagnetic wave is 1 m, so that the total length of the half-wavelength dipole antenna is basically 0.5 m. For this reason, in the conventional concept, as shown in FIG. 3D, the total length of the antenna elements 2c and 2d and the horizontal width of the circuit board are about 0.5 m, and the main unit 20
The whole unit becomes extremely large. However,
In the case of the present embodiment, when the total of the projecting lengths of the antenna elements 23a and 23b protruding from the edge of the circuit board 20a to the left and right sides is, for example, 0.3 m, the length of the antenna elements 23a and 23b Even if a shortening coil or the like for reducing the length is not provided, the width of the circuit board 20a may be 0.2 m (= 0.5 m−0.3 m). Conversely, if the minimum width of the circuit board 20a required for mounting components and circuit patterns other than the antenna elements 23a and 23b is only 0.2 m, for example, the width of the circuit board 20a will be the antenna width. Irrespective of the overall length (0.5 m) of the antenna element, it can be maintained at its minimum size (0.2 m), and the total length of each antenna element 23a, 23b is about 0.3 m, which is much shorter than 0.5 m No.

(3) In this embodiment, a case 21 is provided for collectively storing the circuit board 20a and the antenna elements 23a and 23b. Therefore, the antenna elements 23a and 23b and the circuit board 20a are protected from foreign substances such as dust and dust, and high reliability against a failure or the like caused by such foreign substances can be obtained. Further, the antenna elements 23a and 23b disposed in a protruding state are provided.
When the hand of an operator comes into contact with, for example, the bases of the antenna elements 23a and 23b (the circuit board 20)
(where physical fixation or electrical connection to a is made)
There is an advantage that troubles such as damage to the device can be prevented. Further, the case 21 of the present embodiment is
0a and a shape for housing the antenna elements 23a and 23b with a slight gap (a box-shaped portion 21 for housing the circuit board 20a).
a, and a tubular portion 21 extending left and right from both sides of the box-shaped portion 21a to accommodate the antenna elements 23a and 23b.
b and 21c), and there is almost no useless space in the case 21. For this reason, the size (volume) of the entire main unit 20 is high, while achieving high communication performance and high reliability.
It is the minimum necessary, and the mountability on the vehicle is enhanced to the maximum.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may have various modifications and aspects. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a specific example is given only for the unlocking operation or the locking operation of the vehicle door, but the control device of the present invention is not limited to unlocking the door and the like, and there are various control targets and control contents. What is obtained is as described in the section of the means for solving the problem. That is, any device that performs some kind of control after performing collation confirmation by wireless communication between the portable device and the main device can be widely applied to devices other than the vehicle entry system. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a main unit of a general one-way communication type keyless entry system has been described. However, a so-called hands-free system in which user convenience is further improved. Needless to say, the present invention can be similarly applied to a main body of an entry system (or also called a smart entry system or the like). In the hands-free entry system, for example, when a portable device within a communicable range receives a request signal transmitted from the main device, the portable device automatically transmits a signal including an authentication code to the main device, and the Even if no operation is performed, a predetermined operation of the control target is realized. In this case, the portable device and the main unit need to have a transmission / reception function so as to enable two-way communication.

In the above embodiment, the two antenna elements 23a and 23b constituting the half-wavelength dipole antenna are arranged so as to extend in a straight line on the left and right sides in parallel with the circuit board 20a (dipole antenna). Is about 75Ω). However, the present invention may be applied to a monopole antenna. Further, the antenna element does not necessarily have to be arranged parallel to the surface of the circuit board 20a. Also,
The angle between each antenna element in the case of a dipole antenna may be less than 180 degrees. For example, as shown in FIG.
a and 23b may be arranged in a state of being inclined along a plane parallel to the circuit board 20a. Or Figure 3
As shown in (c), each antenna element 23a, 2
3b may be arranged so as to be inclined along a plane perpendicular to the circuit board 20a. However, in the case of a quarter wavelength monopole antenna, for example, the radiation resistance (feed point impedance) is generally about 36Ω, and the radiation resistance of the dipole antenna decreases as the angle becomes smaller. When the radiation resistance decreases, there is a problem that the current must be increased to obtain the same transmission output. For this reason, when such a reduction in radiation resistance poses a problem, a dipole antenna is used, and a configuration in which the left and right antenna elements are located on a straight line as in the above embodiment (the angle becomes 180 degrees). Constitution)
It is preferable that Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the two antenna elements 23a and 23b constituting the dipole antenna have the same length (see FIG. 1), but the antenna 23 on the circuit board 20a is illustrated.
The length of each antenna element may be different depending on the arrangement of the circuit conductor pattern, the shortened coil, and the like constituting a part of the antenna element.

In the above embodiment, the portable device 1
0 may be further provided with a plurality of switches, and correspondingly, various remote operations (manual operations) may be possible. For example, a switch for remotely controlling the opening and closing of a trunk, an engine room, a fuel supply port, and the like, and a panic switch for sounding a horn of a vehicle when attacked by a thug, etc., may be appropriately provided. Needless to say. Further, for example, the configuration of the main unit is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2. For example, the control unit of the motor 1 including the drive circuit 27 in FIG. There may be an embodiment provided separately from the unit.

[0024]

According to the radio communication device of the present invention, the antenna element constituting the antenna is disposed so as to protrude from the edge of the circuit board in a direction parallel to the circuit board.
The antenna is enlarged without increasing the size of the circuit board,
The communication performance can be improved. In addition, since the antenna element is directly attached to the circuit board (a configuration not separately provided for the antenna), and a cable (especially a coaxial cable) as a feeder line is not required, it is advantageous in terms of ease of installation work and cost. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance and structure of a main unit (wireless communication device).

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing an electrical hardware configuration of the main unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another configuration example of the main unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional example of a main unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 portable device 20 main unit (wireless communication device) 20a circuit board 21 case 22 receiving circuit (communication circuit) 23 antenna 23a, 23b antenna element

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) E05B 49/00 E05B 49/00 K 65/20 65/20 H01Q 1/24 H01Q 1/24 Z 1/32 1/32 Z 9/16 9/16 23/00 23/00 H04Q 9/14 H04Q 9/14 JF term (reference) 2E250 AA21 BB08 DD06 FF24 FF36 HH01 JJ03 KK03 LL01 TT03 5J021 AA01 AB03 CA03 FA24 FA30 HA10 JA07 5J046 AA07 AA19 AB07 MA03 5J047 AA07 AA19 AB07 FD00 5K048 AA03 BA42 BA52 DB01 DC01 EA16 EB02 HA04 HA07 HA11

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A portable device which can be carried by a user and which is mounted on, attached to, or connected to an object including a control target, and performs wireless communication with the portable device to verify that the portable device is a predetermined portable device. And a main unit for executing a control process for realizing a predetermined operation of the control target after confirmation.A wireless communication device constituting the main unit, wherein at least A circuit board on which a communication circuit is formed; and an antenna connected to the communication circuit for receiving or transmitting an electromagnetic wave for the wireless communication, wherein an antenna element forming the antenna is provided at an end of the circuit board. A wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device is provided so as to protrude from an edge in a direction parallel to the circuit board. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a case for housing the circuit board and the antenna element. 3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna elements are provided on both sides of the circuit board, respectively, and a dipole antenna is formed as the antenna. 4. The vehicle is a vehicle, and the controlled object is a lock device for locking or unlocking a door of the vehicle, and the control process realizes a locking operation or an unlocking operation of the lock device. 4. A control signal output, wherein the control signal is output.
The wireless communication device according to any one of the above. 5. A wireless communication device comprising at least a circuit board on which a communication circuit for wireless communication is formed, and a dipole antenna connected to the communication circuit for receiving or transmitting electromagnetic waves for wireless communication. A wireless communication device, wherein each antenna element constituting the dipole antenna is disposed so as to protrude from an edge on both sides of the circuit board in a direction parallel to the circuit board.