TW202024580A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A electronic device has an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor and a light source. The ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor and the light source are below a screen of the electronic device so as to accomplish a high screen-to-body ratio. The ambient light sensor is under a gap between the screen and a housing of the electronic device. The electronic device utilizes a light guide element to guide the light which is outside of the electronic device into the ambient light sensor which is below the screen via the gap, and therefore the ambient light sensor can sense the brightness around the electronic device.

Description

Electronic device

The present invention relates to an electronic device, in particular to the arrangement of an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor in an electronic device.

Proximity Sensor (PS) for detecting the approach of objects and Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) for detecting ambient light have been widely used in portable electronic devices, such as Mobile phones and tablets. Figure 1 shows a traditional mobile phone 10, which includes a casing 12, a screen 14, a proximity sensor 16, an ambient light sensor 20, and a light source 24. The casing 12 and the screen 14 are combined to form a space between the two For accommodating a board (not shown in the figure). The light source 24 is used to emit light. The light emitted by the light source 24 is reflected by the object and detected by the light sensing area 18 of the proximity sensor 16. The proximity sensor 16 generates a sensing signal according to the received reflected light. The measurement signal is used to determine the distance between the proximity sensor 16 and the object, and then to determine whether the object is close. The ambient light sensor 20 has a light sensing area 22 to detect the brightness around the mobile phone 10. When the brightness around the mobile phone 10 is high, the processor (not shown in the figure) of the mobile phone 10 responds to the ambient light sensor 20 On the contrary, when the brightness around the mobile phone 10 is low, the processor of the mobile phone 10 adjusts the brightness of the screen 14 according to the output of the ambient light sensor 20. The proximity sensor 16, the ambient light sensor 20, and the light source 24 are generally arranged in the outer space of the screen 14, that is, arranged on the periphery of the screen 14. However, with the requirement of high screen ratio, the proportion of the screen 14 is It is getting bigger and bigger, and the frame is getting smaller and smaller, so it is compressed to the space where the light source 24, the proximity sensor 16 and the ambient light sensor 20 can be placed.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of ambient light sensors and proximity sensors in an electronic device.

According to the present invention, an electronic device includes a board, a screen, a casing, an ambient light sensor and a light guide. The board is accommodated in the space between the screen and the casing, and the ambient light sensor is arranged on the board below the screen and located under the gap between the screen and the casing. The light guide rod is disposed on the ambient light sensor and aligned with the gap. The light guide rod can transmit external light to the ambient light sensor so that the ambient light sensor can detect the surroundings of the electronic device The brightness.

The electronic device further includes a proximity sensor and a light source disposed on the board, the light source is used to emit infrared light, the infrared light is reflected by the object and then detected by the proximity sensor, the proximity sensor The device determines whether the object is approaching the electronic device by detecting the reflected infrared light.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor, and the light source are placed under the screen to solve the problem of no space for placement due to an increase in screen-to-body ratio. In addition, because the ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor, and the light source are placed under the screen, the screen-to-body ratio can be further increased, and even a full screen can be achieved.

FIG. 2 shows the first embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the section line A-A' in FIG. 2. 2 and 3, the electronic device of this embodiment is a mobile phone 30. The mobile phone 30 includes a casing 32, a screen 34, a proximity sensor (Proximity Sensor; PS) 36, a light source 40, and an ambient light sensor (Ambient Light Sensor; ALS) 44, light guide column 48 and machine board 50. There is a space between the casing 32 and the screen 34 for accommodating the board 50, and there is a gap 52 between the casing 32 and the screen 34. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in order to highlight the existence of the void 52, the void 52 is drawn at a larger scale, but in fact, the void 52 is very small. The proximity sensor 36, the light source 40 and the ambient light sensor 44 are all arranged on the machine board 50 and are all located below the screen 34. In addition, the ambient light sensor 44 is located below the gap 52 and adjacent to the housing 32. Inside. The light source 40 is used to emit an infrared light. The infrared light emitted by the light source 40 can penetrate the screen 34 and is transmitted to the outside of the mobile phone 30. The infrared light is reflected by the object and penetrates the screen 34 and is received by the light near the sensor 36 below the screen 34. Received by the sensing area 38, the proximity sensor 36 can generate a sensing signal according to the received reflected infrared light. The processor (not shown in the figure) of the mobile phone 30 determines whether the object is based on the output of the proximity sensor 36 Close. As shown in FIG. 3, the light guide bar 48 is disposed on the ambient light sensor 44, covers the light sensing area 46 and is aligned with the gap 52. In one embodiment, the light guide bar 48 extends upward to the gap 52, and the external light is guided through The light beam 48 is transmitted to the light sensing area 46 of the ambient light sensor 44 under the screen 34 so that the ambient light sensor 44 can detect the light around the mobile phone 30. The processor (not shown in the figure) of the mobile phone 30 can perform various functions according to the output of the proximity sensor 36 and the ambient light sensor 44. For example, when the user brings the mobile phone 30 close to the head for a call, the processor of the mobile phone 30 judges that an object is approaching according to the output of the proximity sensor 36 and sends a signal to turn off the touch function of the screen 34 to prevent misoperation. When the sensor 44 detects that the brightness around the mobile phone 30 is high, the processor of the mobile phone 30 adjusts the brightness of the screen 34 according to the output of the ambient light sensor 44.

4 and 5 show the ambient light sensor 44 and the light guide column 48 in FIG. 3. The light guide column 48 may be optical grade transparent plastic, which can be manufactured by injection molding. When the light 54 around the mobile phone 30 enters the light guide 48, it will be refracted and reflected and transmitted to the light sensing area 46 of the ambient light sensor 44, so the light 54 outside the mobile phone can be transmitted to the ambient light below the screen 34感器44. In order to expand the detection range of the ambient light sensor 44, a diffuser 58 (such as powder) can be added to the light guide column 48, as shown in FIG. 5. When the astigmatism material 58 is not added to the light guide 48, as shown in FIG. 4, only the light 54 with a small incident angle θ1 can be transmitted to the light sensing area 46, and the light 56 with a larger incident angle θ2 may penetrate the light guide 48 and illuminate outside the light sensing area 46, so the detection range (ie, the viewing angle) of the ambient light sensor 44 is small. When the astigmatic material 58 is added to the light guide column 48, as shown in FIG. 5, the light 56 with a larger incident angle θ2 will be scattered due to the scattering characteristics of the light guide column 48, so that the light 56 can be transmitted. To the light sensing area 46 of the ambient light sensor 44, therefore, no matter the light 54 with a smaller incident angle θ1 or the light 56 with a larger incident angle θ2 can reach the light sensor of the ambient light sensor 44 through the light guide column 48 The detection area 46, therefore, the light guide rod 44 with the astigmatic material can expand the detection range of the ambient light sensor 44. The diffuser is well-known to those who are familiar with the field of optics and can be used to diffuse light, so I won't repeat it here.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the screen 34 can use various types of display modules, such as OLED display modules. The wavelength of the infrared light emitted by the conventional light source 24 in FIG. 1 is about 940 nm. The infrared light of this wavelength will affect the display of the screen, especially the OLED display module. Therefore, the light source 40 of the present invention is changed to the emission wavelength range of 1200 nm. Infrared light up to 1600 nm to reduce the impact on the screen. In one embodiment, the wavelength of the infrared light is about 1300 nm.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention. The electronic device of this embodiment is a mobile phone 60, which has a casing 32, a screen 34, a proximity sensor 36, a light source 40, and an environment like the mobile phone 30 of FIG. The difference between the light sensor 44, the light guide 48 and the machine board 50 is that in the mobile phone 60 of FIG. 6, the proximity sensor 36 and the light source 40 are also arranged below the gap 52, and the proximity sensor 36 and the light source 40 Light guide posts 62 and 64 are also provided respectively. The light guide posts 62 and 64 are aligned with the gap 52 like the light guide post 48 in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the light guide posts 62 and 64 extend upward to the gap. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the proximity sensor 36 and the light source 40 are respectively provided with light guide posts 62 and 64, but in other embodiments, the proximity sensor 36 and/or the light source 40 may not be provided with light guide posts 62. And 64. The light guide rod 62 helps to transmit light to the light sensing area 38 of the proximity sensor 36, and the transmission path of the light in the light guide rod 62 can refer to the path of the light 54 in FIG. 4. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the light generated by the light source 40 is emitted from the gap 52 to the outside of the mobile phone 60 and does not interfere with the screen 34. The light source 40 can be an infrared light diode with a wavelength of 850 nm or 940 nm, which has a lower cost.

The proximity sensor 36 and the ambient light sensor 44 in FIG. 6 can be integrated in an integrated circuit device 66, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the proximity sensor 36 and the ambient light sensor 44 can share a light guide column 48. The light guide column 48 in FIG. 7 can also be added with a light-scattering material 58 (as shown in FIG. 5) to expand the detection range of the ambient light sensor 44.

In the foregoing embodiments, the electronic devices of the present invention are all mobile phones as examples, but the electronic devices of the present invention may also be other electronic devices with a screen, such as a tablet computer. Since the proximity sensor 36, the light source 40, and the ambient light sensor 44 of the electronic device of the present invention are all placed under the screen 34, it not only solves the problem of the placement space of these components, but also further improves the screen-to-body ratio, and even Achieve full screen.

In different embodiments, the electronic device may only be provided with the ambient light sensor 44 instead of the proximity sensor 36 and the light source 40. The above description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is for the purpose of clarification, and is not intended to limit the present invention to the disclosed form accurately. Modifications or changes are possible based on the above teaching or learning from the embodiments of the present invention Yes, the embodiments are selected and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention and allow those familiar with the technology to use the present invention in various embodiments in practical applications. The technical ideas of the present invention are intended to be derived from the scope of subsequent patent applications and their equality. Decided.

10: mobile phone 12: Chassis 14: screen 16: proximity sensor 18: Light sensing area 20: Ambient light sensor 22: Light sensing area 24: light source 30: mobile phone 32: chassis 34: screen 36: proximity sensor 38: light sensing area 40: light source 44: Ambient light sensor 46: light sensing area 48: light guide 50: machine board 52: gap 54: light 56: light 58: Astigmatism material 60: mobile phone 62: light guide 64: light guide 66: Integrated circuit device

Figure 1 shows a traditional mobile phone. Figure 2 shows the first embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention. Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view corresponding to the section line A-A' in Fig. 2. FIG. 4 shows the light transmission path when the light guide rod in FIG. 3 does not have a diffusion mechanism. FIG. 5 shows the light transmission path when the light guide rod in FIG. 3 has a diffusion mechanism. Fig. 6 shows a second embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention. Figure 7 shows that the proximity sensor and the ambient light sensor are integrated in an integrated circuit device.

30: mobile phone

32: chassis

34: screen

36: proximity sensor

38: light sensing area

40: light source

44: Ambient light sensor

48: light guide

52: gap

Claims (12)

An electronic device, including: A board One screen A housing, forming a space with the screen for accommodating the board; An ambient light sensor, arranged on the board and located under the gap between the casing and the screen, for detecting the brightness of the environment surrounding the electronic device; and A light guide rod is arranged on the ambient light sensor and is aligned with the gap to transmit external light to the ambient light sensor. According to the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the light guide post includes a light-scattering material to expand the detection range of the ambient light sensor. Such as the electronic device of claim 1, further including: A proximity sensor is arranged on the board and located below the screen to detect whether there is an object approaching the screen; and A light source is arranged on the board and located under the screen for emitting infrared light for the proximity sensor to determine whether an object is approaching. Such as the electronic device of claim 3, wherein the infrared light has a wavelength between 1200 nm and 1600 nm. Such as the electronic device of claim 3, wherein the wavelength of the infrared light is 1300 nm. Such as the electronic device of claim 1, further including: A proximity sensor, arranged on the board and under the gap, to detect whether an object approaches the screen; and A light source is arranged on the board and located under the gap to emit infrared light for the proximity sensor to determine whether an object is approaching. For example, the electronic device of claim 6 further includes a second light guide rod disposed on the proximity sensor, and the second light guide rod is aligned with the gap. Such as the electronic device of claim 6, wherein the ambient light sensor and the proximity sensor are integrated into an integrated circuit device, and the light guide rod is disposed on the ambient light sensor and the proximity sensor. Such as the electronic device of claim 8, wherein the light guide rod includes a light-scattering material to expand the detection range of the ambient light sensor. For example, the electronic device of claim 6 further includes a second light guide rod disposed on the light source, and the second light guide rod is aligned with the gap. Such as the electronic device of claim 10, wherein the wavelength of the infrared light is 850 nm or 940 nm. Such as the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the screen is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display module.

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