JP7244614B1 - Electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 An electronic device capable of preferably performing transmission and reception of an antenna even when the front surface of a display housing is superimposed on the upper surface of a main body housing and closed. A main body housing (12) includes a metal side portion (52) forming at least a portion of a side surface, an antenna (44) provided inside at least a portion along the metal side portion, and a radio wave provided above the antenna (44). a window 24; The display housing 14 includes a back cover 34 that covers the back side of the display 18, a metal side cover 36 that protrudes forward from the end of the back cover 34 and covers the side of the display 18, and a side cover 36. A bezel 38 made of a resin material further protrudes forward from the projecting end and abuts on the upper surface of at least a range of the metal side portion 52 along which the antenna 44 is provided. [Selection drawing] Fig. 6

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electronic device having a flat body housing with a keyboard on the top and a flat display housing with a display on the front and rotatably connected to the body housing by a hinge. .

An electronic device such as a notebook personal computer (laptop PC) includes a flat body housing having a keyboard on its top surface, and a flat display rotatably connected to the body housing by a hinge. and a housing. A keyboard, a motherboard, and the like are provided in the main body housing, a display is provided in the front of the display housing, and a back cover is provided in the back.

A bezel is provided around the display in the display housing. The bezel protrudes slightly from the display surface. In the electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the projecting portion of the bezel is formed of a cushion member. Even if such a cushion member abuts against the upper cover of the main housing, it does not damage the upper cover or peel off the coating film.

JP 2019-56790 A

In some electronic devices such as those described above, an antenna for communication is provided in the main housing. If the upper cover of the main body housing is made of a radio wave transmitting material, it is preferable that radio waves for transmission and reception of the antenna can pass through the upper cover.

As an application of the notebook PC, an external display different from the display of the display housing may be connected and displayed. In this case, the display of the display housing does not necessarily need to be displayed, so the front of the display housing should be placed on top of the main body housing in a closed state (hereinafter also referred to as a closed state). There is also The side surface of the main housing and the rear cover of the display housing are sometimes made of radio wave shielding material such as metal. In that case, when the display housing is superimposed on the main body housing, the antenna is covered with the radio wave shielding material above and on the sides, making it difficult to transmit and receive radio waves.

On the other hand, if the cushion member of the bezel in Patent Document 1 is a radio wave transmitting material, it is possible to transmit and receive radio waves from that portion even in the closed state. However, if the positional relationship between the antenna and the bezel of the radio wave transmitting material is not appropriate, the radio waves will be blocked by one of the radio wave shielding materials, making it difficult to transmit and receive radio waves, and it will be necessary to increase the transmission power and reception sensitivity.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to preferably perform transmission and reception of an antenna even in a state where the front surface of the display housing is overlapped with the upper surface of the main body housing and closed. The purpose is to provide an electronic device that can

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an electronic device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a flat-shaped body housing having a keyboard on its top surface, and a hinge capable of rotating with respect to the body housing. An electronic device having a connected flat display housing, wherein the main housing includes a metal side surface portion made of a metal material that constitutes at least a portion of a side surface, and at least a portion of the metal side surface inside. and a radio wave window made of a radio wave transparent material provided above the antenna, and the display housing covers a display provided on the front side and a back side of the display. a back cover, a side cover made of a metal material that protrudes forward from an end of the back cover and covers the side of the display, and further protrudes forward from the protruding end of the side cover to the upper surface of the main body housing. a bezel made of a radio wave transmitting material that abuts on at least the upper surface of the antenna side range along which the antenna extends in at least the metal side portion when the front surface of the display housing is overlapped with the bezel. As a result, even when the front surface of the display housing is overlaid on the upper surface of the main body housing and closed, transmission and reception of the antenna can be preferably performed.

a frame antenna forming part of a side surface of the body housing and connected to the antenna; and an insulating plate separating the metal side portion and the frame antenna from the side surface of the body housing. , a first boundary between the frame antenna and the insulating plate and a second boundary between the metal side portion and the insulating plate may be straight lines. By forming the first boundary and the second boundary to be straight lines in this manner, a favorable appearance can be obtained.

The bezel may be made of resin and integrally formed with the side cover by molding. This ensures that the bezel is securely fixed to the side cover.

A groove extending along the extending direction may be formed in the front-side protruding end of the side cover, and a part of the bezel may be fitted into the groove. Thereby, the bezel is more securely fixed to the side cover.

The metal side portion and the side cover may be arranged at a position avoiding a straight line connecting a portion of the bezel and a portion of the antenna. This further improves the transmission/reception performance of the antenna.

According to the above aspect of the present invention, the bezel made of the radio wave transmitting material is located in the antenna side range of the metal side portion along which the antenna is provided, and further protrudes forward from the protruding end of the side cover. Therefore, radio waves transmitted and received by the antenna can pass through the bezel, and even when the front of the display housing is overlapped with the upper surface of the main body housing and closed, the antenna can be suitably transmitted and received. can.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the front portion of the main housing. FIG. 3 is a bottom view schematically showing the internal structure of the main housing. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the front left corner of the electronic device. 5 is a cross-sectional front view taken along line V-V in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional front view of the bezel and its periphery. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional front view of a bezel and its periphery according to a modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A clamshell notebook PC is exemplified as the electronic device 10 . The electronic device 10 is rotatable between the 0-degree posture (see FIG. 4) and the maximum angle posture between the housings 12 and 14 . The electronic device 10 of FIG. 1 is shown as a usage mode in which the display housing 14 is opened from the main body housing 12 by the hinge 16 . FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the front portion of the main housing 12. As shown in FIG. The palm rest glass 30 is omitted in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 includes a main housing 12 having a keyboard 26 and a display 18 having a display 18 . The display 18 is rotatably connected to the rear end portion of the main housing 12 via a pair of left and right hinges 16 , 16 . The display 18 is thin and its frame is thin. The display 18 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The hinge 16 is arranged along the rear side 12e.

1, the front side of the main housing 12 is the front side, the back side is the rear side, the thickness direction is the top and the bottom, and the width direction is the width direction. They are called left and right for explanation. Further, regarding the main body housing 12 and each component mounted therein, when the main body housing 12 is viewed in plan, the central side of the outer peripheral side will be referred to as the inner side, and the outer peripheral side of the central side will be referred to as the outer side. do. Regarding the display housing 14, the display surface side of the display 18 is called the front side, and the back side of the display 18 is called the rear side. Note that these directions are for convenience of explanation. Therefore, depending on the arrangement and installation attitude of each component in the product, for example, the vertical direction and horizontal direction may be reversed.

The main housing 12 is a flat rectangular box in plan view. The main housing 12 has an upper cover 20 forming most of the upper surface 12a and a lower cover 22 forming the lower surface 12b. Most of the left and right side surfaces 12c, the front side surface 12d, and the rear side surface 12e of the main body housing 12 are formed by walls rising from the four peripheral edges of the upper cover 20. As shown in FIG. Most of the upper cover 20 and the lower cover 22 are made of a radio wave shielding material such as a metal material such as aluminum or magnesium or a carbon material, but the radio wave window 24 is made of a radio wave transparent material such as resin. .

Roughly L-shaped radio wave windows 24, 24 (see FIG. 2) are provided on the front left and right ends of the upper surface 12a. The radio wave window 24 is made of a resin material and has radio wave transparency. A keyboard 26 is provided on the rear portion of the upper surface 12a over substantially the entire left and right width. A touch pad 28 is provided on the front approximately central portion of the upper surface 12a. Both sides of the touch pad 28 on the upper surface 12a are covered with the palm rest glass 30, so that the boundary between the upper cover 20 and the radio wave window 24 is inconspicuous.

The palm rest glass 30 provides a pleasing appearance. Further, the palm rest glass 30 has radio wave transparency like the radio wave window 24 . The location where the palm rest glass 30 is provided is not limited to glass, and may be another material that transmits radio waves. For example, bio-derived materials such as resins, ceramics, wood, plant fibers, and leather may be used. Moreover, not only such a single material but also a resin obtained by adding glass fibers to a resin, or a composite material obtained by attaching a thin plate of a plant or the like to a resin may be used.

The display housing 14 is a flat, rectangular box that is thinner than the main body housing 12 . The display 18 is provided on the front surface 14 a of the display housing 14 . The display enclosure 14 has a back cover 34 forming a back surface 14b. A rear cover 34 covers the rear side of the display. The front, rear, left, and right side covers 36 of the display housing 14 are formed of walls rising from the four peripheral edges of the rear cover 34 . That is, the side cover 36 protrudes forward from the end of the back cover 34 and covers the sides of the display 18 . The rear cover 34 and the side cover 36 are made of, for example, a metal material such as magnesium or aluminum or a carbon material, and are integrally constructed. A bezel 38 further protrudes toward the front from a front-side projecting end 36a (see FIG. 7) of the side cover 36. As shown in FIG. Bezel 38 will be discussed further below.

The display 18 has a display section 18a that faces the front 14a and displays an image, and a touch panel section 18b for touch operation. The display unit 18a is composed of, for example, an organic EL (OLED: Organic Light Emitting Diode) or liquid crystal. The touch panel portion 18b may be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view schematically showing the internal structure of the main housing 12, and is a view of the inside of the main housing 12 viewed from the inner surface side of the upper cover 20 with the lower cover 22 removed. As shown in FIG. 3, the body housing 12 houses an electronic circuit board 40, a battery 42, and a pair of left and right antennas 44,44. The electronic circuit board 40 is the motherboard of the electronic device 10 . The electronic circuit board 40 is a PCB (printed circuit board) on which various electronic components such as a CPU 40a, a power supply circuit 40b, and a memory 40c are mounted. Inside the main housing 12, a cooling module, SSD (Solid State Drive), hard disk device, etc., which are not shown, are further accommodated.

The left and right antennas 44 each have a substantially L-shaped thin plate shape, and have a side portion 44a along the left and right side surfaces 12c and a front portion 44b along the front side surface 12d. Since the left and right antennas 44 are thin and are provided at the corners, they have little effect on the degree of freedom of arrangement of other components on the layout. The side portion 44a extends about half the distance from the vicinity of the front side surface 12d to the front end of the keyboard 26. As shown in FIG. The front portion 44b extends from near the left and right side surfaces 12c to near the ends of the touch pad 28. As shown in FIG. The width D of the antenna 44 is, for example, approximately 0.5 to 2.0 cm.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the front left corner of the electronic device 10. FIG. In the electronic device 10 of FIG. 4, the body housing 12 and the display housing 14 are in a closed state. A frame antenna 46 is provided at a corner of the main housing 12 . A pair of frame antennas 46 are provided at both left and right ends of the main housing 12 . The frame antenna 46 is made of metal such as magnesium or aluminum. Since the pair of antennas 44 and the pair of frame antennas 46 have substantially symmetrical structures, the left antenna 44 and frame antenna 46 will be described below as an example.

The frame antenna 46 has a substantially L-shape along the corners of the main body housing 12, and includes side portions 46a that form part of the left and right side surfaces 12c and front portions 46b that form part of the front side surface 12d. have The L-shaped frame antenna 46 is considered advantageous in terms of antenna characteristics. Since the electronic device 10 is provided with the frame antenna 46 and the radio wave window 24, communication in various bands can be performed.

A narrow side resin piece (insulating plate) 48 is provided adjacently behind the side portion 46 a of the frame antenna 46 . The side resin pieces 48 form part of the left and right side surfaces 12c. A narrow front resin piece (insulating plate) 50 is provided adjacent to the center of the front portion 46 b of the frame antenna 46 . The front resin piece 50 forms part of the front side surface 12d. The side resin piece 48 and the front resin piece 50 are formed as part of the radio wave window 24 .

A metal side surface portion 52 integral with the upper cover 20 is formed behind the side resin piece 48 on the left and right side surfaces 12c. A portion of the front side surface 12 d closer to the center than the front resin piece 50 is formed by a metal side surface portion 54 integral with the upper cover 20 . The metal side portions 52 and 54 are formed to protrude from the ends of the upper cover 20 toward the front. The side resin piece 48 insulates the side portion 46 a and the metal side portion 52 . The front resin piece 50 insulates the front portion 46 b and the metal side portion 54 .

The side resin piece 48 and the front resin piece 50 each have a narrow width and a slightly elongated rectangular shape when viewed from the side. In other words, the boundary line (first boundary) 48a between the side resin piece 48 and the frame antenna 46 and the boundary line (second boundary) 48b between the side resin piece 48 and the metal side surface portion 52 are parallel vertical straight lines. It has become.

Returning to FIG. 3, the length in the left-right direction of the front portion 46b of the frame antenna 46 is approximately equal to the length of the front portion 44b of the antenna 44. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the length of the side portion 46 a in the front-rear direction is shorter than that of the side portion 44 a of the antenna 44 . Such a shape of the frame antenna 46 is mainly based on the internal structure of the main housing 12 . In other words, the shape of the antenna 46 is set according to a shape that can be arranged well in the presence of parts such as the battery 42 and the speaker.

5 is a cross-sectional front view taken along line V-V in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 and 6 also show the display housing 14 and the palm rest glass 30, which are omitted in FIG. Reference numeral 29 in FIG. 5 denotes a leg.

As shown in FIG. 5, the antenna 44 is located at a relatively high position within the main body housing 12, directly below the radio wave window 24, and mainly transmits radio waves upward through the radio wave window 24 and the palm rest glass 30. , is suitable for receiving radio waves from above. The palm rest glass 30 is fixed to the top cover 20 and the radio wave window 24 with adhesive tape 56 . An end portion 24a of the radio wave window 24 at this portion is L-shaped, and contacts and supports a side portion 46a of the frame antenna 46. As shown in FIG.

The frame antenna 46 has an inwardly extending arm 46c (see also FIG. 2). There are two arms 46c, one extending laterally from the side portion 46a and the other extending rearward from the front portion 46b. Arm 46 c extends in contact with the upper surface of radio wave window 24 . A female screw portion 46d is provided at the tip of the arm 46c. The female threaded portion 46 d protrudes downward from a hole 24 b formed in the radio wave window 24 . The female threaded portion 46 d is fixed by a screw 57 to a mounting portion 44 c formed on the antenna 44 . Thereby, the frame antenna 46 acts as a part of the antenna 44 and contributes to transmission and reception of radio waves. The frame antenna 46 is suitable for mainly transmitting radio waves to the side and receiving radio waves from the side.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 2, the end portion 24b of the radio wave window 24 at this portion is fixed to the metal side surface portion 52 in a meshing structure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional front view of the bezel 38 and its periphery. As described above, the bezel 38 further protrudes forward from the front protruding end 36 a of the side cover 36 . The bezel 38 is made of resin and has radio wave transparency.

The side cover 36 protrudes from the bottom surface of the rear cover 34 to the front over a height H1, covers the side surface of the display 18 over an appropriate range, and secures an appropriate height H2 of the bezel 38. ing.

The bezel 38 has a fixing portion 38a provided along the entire width of the front projecting end 36a, and a projecting portion 38b projecting from the outer peripheral edge of the fixing portion 38a toward the front. The fixed portion 38a and the projecting portion 38b are substantially L-shaped. The outer peripheral surfaces of the projecting portion 38b and the side cover 36 are aligned. The protruding end of the protruding portion 38b has an arc shape.

A front protruding end 36a of the side cover 36 is formed with a groove 36b along the extending direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5). The groove 36b is formed substantially in the center of the front-side projecting end 36a. The groove 36b is, for example, rectangular. The fixed portion 38a has a groove fitting portion 38c that fits into the groove 36b. The bezel 38 is molded integrally with the side cover 36, and the bezel 38 and the side cover 36 are firmly fixed. The bezel 38 and the front protruding end 36a may be fixed by fixing means such as adhesion.

In addition, the bezel 38 and the side cover 36 are fixed over a moderately wide area over the portion between the fixing portion 38a and the front-side protruding end 36a, and between the groove 36b and the groove fitting portion 38c. strong. Since the groove fitting portion 38c is fitted into the groove 36b, the bezel 38 is not displaced to the left and right, and is difficult to come off to the front side. Therefore, it is sufficient for the width of the bezel 38 to match the width W of the front-side projecting end 36a, and it is not necessary to extend and fix the side cover 36 to the inner or outer peripheral side surface of the side cover 36, resulting in a narrow shape. .

Since the fixing portion 38a and the protruding portion 38b are substantially L-shaped, a part of the display 18 can be arranged in the L-shaped hollow portion. The fixed portion 38a has a constant height H3 and has no particularly thin portion, so sufficient strength is ensured.

In the closed state, the tip of the protruding portion 38b contacts the upper surface of the upper cover 20 of the main housing 12. As shown in FIG. The bezel 38 is made of a resin material (including a cushioning material) and does not damage the upper cover 20 or peel off the coating even when it comes into contact with the upper cover 20 . The protruding portion 38b protrudes slightly from the front surface of the display 18, so that the display 18 does not come into contact with the upper surface of the upper cover 20 in the closed state.

In this embodiment, the bezel 38 is provided over three edges (left and right edges and top edge) of the display housing 14 so as to cover the periphery of the display 18 . Since the protruding portion 38b abuts along the three edges of the upper cover 20, pressure is not applied locally. The lower edge of the display housing 14 is provided with a frame different from the bezel 38 due to the presence of structures such as the hinges 16, but depending on the design conditions, the bezel 38 and the projecting portion 38b may extend over the four circumferences of the display housing 14. may be provided. Also, depending on the design conditions, the bezel 38 and the projecting portion 38b may be provided only on the left and right edges of the display housing 14, for example.

In the closed state, the radio wave window 24 is covered with the rear cover 34 made of a metal material, so that the antenna 44 is degraded in radio wave transmission/reception performance in the upward direction.

Therefore, in the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment, the bezel 38, which is a radio wave transmitting material, complements the transmission and reception of radio waves by the antenna 44 to the sides. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, radio waves transmitted and received by the antenna 44 housed in the main housing 12 can pass through the radio wave window 24 and the antenna 44 and reach the side through the bezel 38 . Therefore, the electronic device 10 can obtain favorable transmission/reception performance even in the closed state. In particular, if the metal side portion 52 and the side cover 36 are arranged in a position that avoids the straight line L connecting at least a portion of the bezel 38 and at least a portion of the antenna 44, radio waves are linearly incident and emitted. and improve transmission/reception performance.

If the bezel 38 does not transmit radio waves, a portion of the metal side surface 52 in the vicinity of the side portion 44a of the antenna 44 is notched for radio wave transmission, and the phantom line in FIG. It is necessary to provide a radio wave transmission auxiliary window 58 made of resin or the like as indicated by , or to provide an extension portion 60 for extending a part of the side resin piece 48 in the rearward direction. It becomes an appearance that gives a sense of incongruity. Further, in practice, the radio wave transmission auxiliary window 58 is not a simple rectangle, and may have a more complicated shape because it is necessary to provide an engaging portion for the metal side surface portion 52 . Therefore, in order to make these boundaries inconspicuous, it is necessary to fill them with a coating material or the like.

On the other hand, in the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the side resin pieces 48 can have a simple shape in which they are separated by simple vertical parallel straight lines. That is, the left and right side surfaces 12c and the front side surface 12d have a simple configuration in which the side resin pieces 48 and the front resin pieces 50 are separated by vertical parallel straight lines, giving the user a particularly uncomfortable feeling. never

Therefore, it is not necessary to fill these partition line portions with a coating material or the like. In other words, the left and right side surfaces 12c and the front side surface 12d do not need to be painted, and the dimensions of the main body housing 12 can be reduced in the left-right direction and the front-rear direction by the amount of the coating film. From the viewpoint of appearance, the metal side portions 52 and 54 may be surface-treated (alumite treatment, etc.). Although the boundary lines 48a and 48b (see FIG. 4) are preferably straight lines, they do not necessarily have to be vertical lines, and one or both of them may be slanted lines depending on the design point of view.

For the purpose of securing and supplementing the radio wave transmission/reception of the antenna 44 when the main body housing 12 and the display housing 14 are closed, the bezel 38 is at least on the antenna side of the metal side portion 52 along which the antenna 44 is provided. It suffices if it is provided at a position in contact with the upper surface of the side area A (see FIG. 2).

It should be noted that radio waves transmitted and received by the antenna 44 can pass through the side resin pieces 48 in the lateral direction. However, since the electronic device 10 is configured so that radio waves pass through the bezel 38 on the side, the side resin piece 48 does not need to have an excessively large area, and the frame antenna 46 and the metal side face do not need to have an excessively large area. A width sufficient to insulate the portion 52 is sufficient, and it is preferable that the right and left side surfaces 12c have a simple appearance.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional front view of a bezel 38A and its periphery according to a modification. The bezel 38A is a modification of the bezel 38 described above. In the bezel 38A, a protrusion 38Aa corresponding to the groove fitting portion 38c protrudes from the inner peripheral end to the back side. On the other hand, a recess 36c into which the projection 38Aa is fitted is formed in the front protruding end 36a of the side cover 36. As shown in FIG. Such a bezel 38A has a simpler shape than the bezel 38 described above.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be freely modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Electronic device 12 Main housing 14 Display housing 16 Hinge 18 Display 24 Radio wave window 26 Keyboard 30 Palm rest glass 34 Back cover 36 Side cover 36a Front-side protruding end 36b Grooves 38, 38A Bezel 38a Fixing part 38b Protruding part 38c Groove fitting Part 44 Antenna 44a Side part 44b Front part 46 Frame antenna 48 Side resin piece 50 Front resin pieces 52, 54 Metal side surface

Claims (5)

A flat body housing with a keyboard on the top,
a flat display housing rotatably connected to the main body housing by a hinge;
An electronic device having
The main body housing is
A metal side surface portion of a metal material that constitutes at least part of the side surface;
an antenna internally provided at least partially along the metal side;
a radio wave window made of a radio wave transparent material provided above the antenna;
has
The display housing is
a display on the front,
a back cover covering the back side of the display;
a metal side cover projecting forward from the end of the back cover and covering the side of the display;
An antenna side range that protrudes forward from the protruding end of the side cover, and along which the antenna extends at least in the metal side portion when the upper surface of the main body housing and the front surface of the display housing are overlapped. A bezel made of a radio wave transparent material that abuts on the upper surface of the
An electronic device comprising: In the electronic device according to claim 1,
a frame antenna forming part of a side surface of the main housing and connected to the antenna;
an insulating plate that separates the metal side portion and the frame antenna from the side surface of the main body housing;
has
The electronic device, wherein a first boundary between the frame antenna and the insulating plate and a second boundary between the metal side portion and the insulating plate are straight lines. In the electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,
An electronic device, wherein the bezel is made of resin and is integrally formed with the side cover by molding. In the electronic device according to claim 3,
A groove extending along the extending direction is formed in the front-side protruding end of the side cover,
An electronic device, wherein a part of the bezel is fitted into the groove. In the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The electronic device, wherein the metal side portion and the side cover are positioned to avoid a straight line connecting a portion of the bezel and a portion of the antenna.

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