The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A typical vehicle is started by a key when a driver inserts the key into a key box and rotates it to start an engine and release the locking of a steering shaft. In recent years, an automatic starting method using a PIC unit (Personal Identification Card Unit), namely a smart key, has been applied to some high-end automobiles, thereby greatly improving convenience.
In a method of starting an engine using the PIC unit, if a driver holds a FOB key or the FOB key is stored in a vehicle, when the driver places the shift lever at the parking position (P), presses the brake pedal, and then presses a start button of the vehicle, the engine is started through wireless communication between the FOB key and the PIC unit. To turn off the engine, the driver presses the brake pedal, switches the shift lever to the parking position, and then presses the start button.
Since the above-described starting method is based on wireless communication, it is not possible to start an engine when the battery of the FOB key is discharged, or when the PIC unit or the like in the vehicle cannot communicate wirelessly. In this situation, an emergency starting method should be used.
An antenna coil required for an emergency starting is usually built into a start button. In this form, we have discovered that the start button is mounted in front of an inner panel of a vehicle, and thus a mounting hole should be larger than the diameter of a body housing of the start button, and thus there is a drawback that a bezel thickness is excessively large compared to the diameter of the start button and its appearance is undermined. We have further discovered that this form of the start button requires a significant package space, and thus acts as a constraint in designing related components. Furthermore, if a button cap is made of a metallic material (plated or aluminum) for the sake of high quality, it is difficult to secure the antenna communication performance by the shielding effect due to the material characteristics.