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EP-4742443-A1 - PILLAR ASSEMBLY AND VEHICLE

EP4742443A1EP 4742443 A1EP4742443 A1EP 4742443A1EP-4742443-A1

Abstract

A pillar assembly and a vehicle including the same are provided. A pillar assembly (20) includes an exterior trim panel (10), a Bluetooth antenna (20), a circuit board (30), and a protective shell (40). The protective shell (40) is mounted on an inner side of the exterior trim panel (10) and is disposed opposite to the exterior trim panel (10). The Bluetooth antenna (20) and the circuit board (30) are both located between the exterior trim panel (10) and the protective shell (40). The Bluetooth antenna (20) is mounted on a surface of the exterior trim panel (10) facing the protective shell (40). The circuit board (30) is mounted on a surface of the protective shell (40) facing the exterior trim panel (10), and is electrically connected to the Bluetooth antenna (20). For the pillar assembly and the vehicle, the Bluetooth antenna is integrated into the pillar assembly, so that interference and shielding of wireless electromagnetic signals by sheet metal members of a vehicle body are avoided, thereby reducing a risk of electrostatic shock to the Bluetooth antenna during mounting.

Inventors

  • LIN, CHUNSHAN
  • CHEN, XIAONAN
  • WANG, LI
  • HE, KAI
  • YANG, RENYI
  • YANG, Weipeng
  • TENG, YU

Assignees

  • Fujian Fuyao Automotive Trim System Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240808

Claims (14)

  1. A pillar assembly, applied to a vehicle and comprising an exterior trim panel, a Bluetooth antenna, a circuit board, and a protective shell, wherein the protective shell is mounted on an inner side of the exterior trim panel and is disposed opposite to the exterior trim panel; the Bluetooth antenna and the circuit board are both located between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell, and the Bluetooth antenna is mounted on a surface of the exterior trim panel facing the protective shell; and the circuit board is mounted on a surface of the protective shell facing the exterior trim panel, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the Bluetooth antenna.
  2. The pillar assembly of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth antenna comprises an antenna coil, a first protective layer, and a second protective layer, wherein the first protective layer is disposed on the surface of the exterior trim panel facing the protective shell, the antenna coil is disposed on a surface of the first protective layer away from the exterior trim panel, and the second protective layer is disposed on a surface of the antenna coil away from the first protective layer.
  3. The pillar assembly of claim 2, wherein the second protective layer completely covers the antenna coil.
  4. The pillar assembly of claim 2, wherein the Bluetooth antenna further comprises a protective cover, and the protective cover is mounted between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell and covers the antenna coil.
  5. The pillar assembly of claim 2, wherein the antenna coil comprises a body and conductive terminals, and the conductive terminals are connected to one side of the body, the body is located between the first protective layer and the second protective layer, and the conductive terminals protrude relative to the second protective layer and are electrically connected to the circuit board.
  6. The pillar assembly of claim 5, wherein the body has a length greater than or equal to 30 millimeters (mm) and less than or equal to 50 mm, and the body has a width greater than or equal to 10 mm and less than or equal to 15 mm.
  7. The pillar assembly of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth antenna further comprises a connector, and the connector is located between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell and is electrically connected between the Bluetooth antenna and the circuit board.
  8. The pillar assembly of claim 2, wherein the first protective layer and the second protective layer each are an insulating film, and the antenna coil is made of conductive silver paste and coated between the first protective layer and the second protective layer.
  9. The pillar assembly of claim 2, wherein both the first protective layer and the second protective layer are made of ink, and the antenna coil is made of conductive silver paste.
  10. The pillar assembly of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the exterior trim panel is made of glass, or glass ceramic, or plastic.
  11. The pillar assembly of claim 8, wherein the exterior trim panel is made of plastic, and the first protective layer, the second protective layer, and the exterior trim panel are integrally injection-molded.
  12. The pillar assembly of claim 1, further comprising a wire harness, wherein the protective shell defines a wire pass-through hole thereon, and the wire harness has one end electrically connected to the circuit board, and has another end passing through the wire pass-through hole and configured to be electrically connected to a control system of the vehicle.
  13. The pillar assembly of claim 12, further comprising an insulating sealing plug, wherein the insulating sealing plug is sleeved around and connected to a periphery of the wire harness, and the insulating sealing plug seals the wire pass-through hole.
  14. A vehicle, comprising the pillar assembly of any of claims 1 to 13 and a vehicle body, wherein the pillar assembly is connected between an upper beam and a lower beam of the vehicle body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2023109929987, filed August 08, 2023, and entitled "PILLAR ASSEMBLY AND VEHICLE", the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to the field of vehicle technology, and more particularly, to a pillar assembly and a vehicle. BACKGROUND At present, Bluetooth digital keys are becoming widely adopted in vehicles in the market, that is, keyless entry into the vehicle or keyless start function of the vehicle is realized mainly with aid of a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone or wearable Bluetooth device. However, an existing Bluetooth module in the vehicle is susceptible to signal shielding caused by sheet metal members around the vehicle body, resulting in weak Bluetooth signals and unstable Bluetooth functionality. SUMMARY A pillar assembly and a vehicle are provided in the disclosure, to solve a problem that signals of an existing Bluetooth module are susceptible to interference. In a first aspect, a pillar assembly is provided in the disclosure. The pillar assembly is applied to a vehicle and includes an exterior trim panel, a Bluetooth antenna, a circuit board, and a protective shell. The protective shell is mounted on an inner side of the exterior trim panel and is disposed opposite to the exterior trim panel. The Bluetooth antenna and the circuit board are both located between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell, and the Bluetooth antenna is mounted on a surface of the exterior trim panel facing the protective shell. The circuit board is mounted on a surface of the protective shell facing the exterior trim panel. The circuit board is electrically connected to the Bluetooth antenna. In an embodiment, the Bluetooth antenna includes an antenna coil, a first protective layer, and a second protective layer. The first protective layer is disposed on the surface of the exterior trim panel facing the protective shell. The antenna coil is disposed on a surface of the first protective layer away from the exterior trim panel. The second protective layer is disposed on a surface of the antenna coil away from the first protective layer. In an embodiment, the second protective layer completely covers the antenna coil. In an embodiment, the Bluetooth antenna further includes a protective cover. The protective cover is mounted between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell and covers the antenna coil. In an embodiment, the antenna coil includes a body and conductive terminals. The conductive terminals are connected to one side of the body. The body is located between the first protective layer and the second protective layer, and the conductive terminals protrude relative to the second protective layer and are electrically connected to the circuit board. In an embodiment, both the first protective layer and the second protective layer are made of ink. The antenna coil is made of conductive silver paste. In an embodiment, the Bluetooth antenna further includes a connector. The connector is located between the exterior trim panel and the protective shell and is electrically connected between the Bluetooth antenna and the circuit board. In an embodiment, the exterior trim panel is made of glass, or glass ceramic. In an embodiment, the pillar assembly further includes a wire harness. The protective shell defines a wire pass-through hole thereon. The wire harness has one end electrically connected to the circuit board, and has another end passing through the wire pass-through hole and configured to be electrically connected to a control system of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the pillar assembly further includes an insulating sealing plug. The insulating sealing plug is sleeved around and connected to a periphery of the wire harness. The insulating sealing plug seals the wire pass-through hole. In a second aspect, a vehicle is further provided in embodiments of the disclosure. The vehicle includes the vehicle pillar assembly and a vehicle body. The vehicle pillar assembly is connected between an upper beam and a lower beam of the vehicle body. To sum up, in the embodiments of the disclosure, the Bluetooth antenna is integrated into the pillar assembly, so that the Bluetooth antenna stays away from a front bumper, a rear bumper, a left fender, and a right fender, which avoids interference and shielding of wireless electromagnetic signals by sheet metal members of the vehicle body, thereby improving signal gain, stability, and positioning accuracy of the Bluetooth antenna, and on the other hand, reducing the number of mounting points for Bluetooth components and thus reducing usage and maintenance costs. In addition, by mounting and fixing the circuit board inside the protective shell, the circuit board can be kept away from sheet metal members of the pillar assembly, which reduces signal interference on the Bluetooth antenna by the sheet meta