JP2011029266A - Structure for mounting external unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an external unit mounting structure capable of sufficiently taking measures against static electricity of an external unit and ensuring the impact resistance of a unit substrate in the external unit.
An external unit 2 includes a unit case 3, a unit board 11 disposed in the unit case 3, and a coil spring 12 for holding the unit board 11 in the unit case 3. With the spring 12 in contact with the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 at the intermediate portion, the lower end protrudes outside the unit case 3 and contacts the ground contact plate 27 of the device body 1. Therefore, since the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 and the ground contact portion 27 of the device body 1 can be electrically connected by the coil spring 12, static electricity generated in the external unit 2 can be guided to the device body 1 side, Further, the unit substrate 11 can be attached in a state of being elastically floated in the external unit 2 by the coil spring 12.
[Selection] Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a mounting structure for an external unit that is optionally mounted on an electronic device such as a portable information processing terminal or a mobile phone.

  Conventionally, in an electronic device such as a mobile phone, as described in Patent Document 1, when an external unit as an option is mounted on the device main body, the device main body and the external unit are aligned along the mounting direction. There is known a configuration in which a device body and an external unit are electrically connected by a flexible wiring board while being relatively rotatably attached by a shaft.

JP 2006-115277 A

  In such an external unit mounting structure in a conventional electronic device, in order to prevent static electricity of the external unit, the ground electrode of the external unit and the ground electrode of the device body are electrically connected to a part of the flexible wiring board. A ground line to be connected is assigned. However, if the external unit is equipped with an electronic circuit that has many functions such as communication functions, simply assigning a ground line to a part of the flexible wiring board is sufficient to prevent electrostatic damage to the external unit. There is a problem that it cannot be achieved.

  In addition, in such a conventional external unit mounting structure, the device main body and the external unit are rotatably mounted by a shaft, so that when the external unit is subjected to an impact from the outside due to dropping or the like. In addition, there is a problem that the impact is transmitted as it is to the unit substrate in the external unit and the unit substrate may be damaged.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that an external unit that can reliably and sufficiently take measures against static electricity of the external unit and can also ensure the impact resistance of the unit substrate in the external unit. It is to provide a mounting structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes the following components.
The invention according to claim 1 is a mounting structure of an external unit that is electrically connected to a device main body by a connector, and the external unit includes a unit case and a unit substrate that is disposed in the unit case. And a spring member that elastically holds the unit substrate in a state of floating in the unit case, and the spring member holds the unit substrate in a state where an intermediate portion thereof is in contact with the ground electrode of the unit substrate. The external unit mounting structure is characterized in that, while being held, one end protrudes to the outside of the unit case and contacts the ground contact portion of the device main body.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, a circuit board having a ground electrode is provided in the device body, and the ground contact portion is provided in the device body in a state exposed to the outside, and connected. The external unit mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the external unit is electrically connected to the ground electrode of the circuit board by a member.

  The invention according to claim 3 is a coil spring in which the spring member is formed to have a different outer diameter with respect to a portion sandwiching the unit substrate, and the unit substrate has a small diameter of the spring member. The attachment structure of the external unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a spring attachment portion into which the portion is inserted is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a shielding metal layer is provided almost all over the inner surface of the unit case, and the other end of the spring member is in elastic contact with the metal layer. The mounting structure for an external unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the ground contact portions are respectively provided at a plurality of locations of the device main body, and the spring members are respectively disposed at a plurality of locations of the unit substrate so as to be external to the unit case. 5. The external unit mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the one end portions protruding in contact with the plurality of ground contact portions is in contact with each other.

  According to this invention, in addition to electrically connecting the device main body and the external unit by the connector, the ground electrode of the unit board in the external unit and the ground contact portion of the device main body are electrically connected by the spring member. Therefore, static electricity generated in the external unit can be guided to the ground contact portion of the device body. For this reason, it is possible to sufficiently take measures against static electricity of the external unit, and even if the external unit receives an impact from the outside due to dropping or the like, the impact can be absorbed by the spring member. The impact resistance of the unit substrate can also be ensured.

It is the perspective view which showed the state which attached the external unit to the apparatus main body in one Embodiment which applied this invention to the portable information processing terminal. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state where an external unit is removed from the device main body of the portable information processing terminal of FIG. 1. It is the expansion perspective view which showed the principal part in the cross section in the AA arrow view of FIG. It is the expansion perspective view which showed the external unit of FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a state where a lower case is removed in the external unit of FIG. 4. It is an expanded sectional view in the BB arrow of FIG. It is the expansion perspective view which showed the principal part in the cross section in CC arrow view of FIG. It is the expanded sectional view which showed the principal part in the DD arrow of FIG. The modification of the coil spring of one Embodiment is shown, (a) is sectional drawing which showed the principal part, (b) is the top view in the EE arrow.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a portable information processing terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the portable information processing terminal includes a device main body 1. An optional external unit 2 is detachably attached to the back surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) of the device body 1.

  The external unit 2 includes a unit case 3 as shown in FIGS. The unit case 3 includes an upper case 4 and a lower case 5. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the unit case 3 has the lower case attached to the mounting boss 6 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 with the lower case 5 disposed below the upper case 4. 5 is attached by screws 7 from the lower side.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 8, the unit case 3 has a mounting portion 10 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper case 4 detachably attached to a unit mounting portion of the apparatus main body 1 by screws 7. It has been. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the unit case 3 is provided with an additional component mounting portion 8 that is mounted and driven with an external component for function expansion such as a communication card.

  Inside the unit case 3, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8, the unit substrate 11 is elastically held by a plurality of coil springs 12. In this case, a male connector 13 is provided on the lower surface of the unit substrate 11 as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 7 and 8. The male connector 13 has a lower end protruding below the lower case 5 through a connector insertion hole 14 provided in the lower case 5.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 to 8, a plurality of spring mounting holes 15 into which the plurality of coil springs 12 are respectively inserted are provided at predetermined positions of the unit substrate 11. Ground electrodes 16 are respectively provided on the upper surface of the unit substrate 11 at the peripheral edge portions of the plurality of spring mounting holes 15. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the coil spring 12 is configured to hold the unit substrate 11 at an intermediate portion between a portion inserted into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11 and a portion not inserted.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the coil spring 12 is formed in a size having different outer diameters at a location where the unit substrate 11 is held, that is, an intermediate portion. That is, the coil spring 12 is formed such that the lower side to be inserted into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11 is formed in the small diameter portion 12a, and the upper side of the spring mounting hole 15 in the unit substrate 11 is formed in the large diameter portion 12b. Thus, the coil spring 12 is configured such that when the small diameter portion 12 a is inserted into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11 from above, the lower portion of the large diameter portion 12 b is in elastic contact with the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11.

  In this case, the large-diameter portion 12b of the coil spring 12 is inserted and held in the guide tube portion 17 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 as shown in FIGS. The upper end portion of 12b is configured to be in elastic contact with the shielding metal film 20 provided on almost the entire inner surface of the upper case 4. This metal film 20 is a shield film for taking measures against static electricity of the external unit 2, and is provided on almost the entire inner surface of the upper case 4 by vapor deposition or plating.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the small-diameter portion 12a of the coil spring 12 is inserted from above into a guide tube portion 18 provided in the lower case 5 and opened to the lower side, and the inserted lower end portion is the lower case. 5 is configured to protrude slightly below. In this case, between the upper part of the guide cylinder part 18 and the lower surface of the unit board | substrate 11, the ring-shaped buffer material 21 which the small diameter part 12a of the coil spring 12 inserts is provided as shown in FIG. The buffer material 21 is made of a soft material such as rubber or gel.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the coil spring 12 has a small diameter portion 12a inserted into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11 from above into the guide tube portion 18 of the lower case 5, and the lower portion of the large diameter portion 12b is the unit. In a state where it is elastically contacted with the ground electrode 16 of the substrate 11, the upper portion of the large diameter portion 12 b is inserted into the guide tube portion 17 of the upper case 4 and elastically contacts the metal film 20 on the inner surface of the upper case 4. 11 is pushed down and pressed against the upper end portion of the guide tube portion 18 of the lower case 5 via the cushioning material 21.

  For this reason, the unit substrate 11 is elastically held in a state of floating in the unit case 3 by a plurality of coil springs 12 as shown in FIG. In this case, the lower case 5 is provided with substrate restriction ribs 22 for restricting the rolling of the unit substrate 11 in correspondence with the end surfaces of the unit substrate 11. That is, the board regulating rib 22 is configured so that the end of the unit board 11 is elastically contacted when the unit case 3 is subjected to an impact from the outside and the unit board 11 is shaken in the lateral direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 8). It is configured.

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, the device main body 1 has a circuit board 23 incorporated therein. On the circuit board 23, a female connector 24 to which the male connector 13 protruding from the unit case 3 is connected is provided. In this case, the device main body 1 is provided with a connector insertion hole 25 through which the female connector 24 is inserted and exposed to the outside. Thereby, the circuit board 23 in the apparatus main body 1 and the unit board 11 in the unit case 3 are configured to be electrically connected by the male connector 13 and the female connector 24.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, a coil spring 12 is provided at a predetermined portion of the device main body 1, that is, at a portion corresponding to the coil spring 12 protruding outside from the unit case 3 of the external unit 2. An insertion hole 26 is provided through which the protruding portion is inserted. A ground contact plate 27 that closes the insertion hole 26 and is exposed to the outside of the device main body 1 is attached to the inner surface of the device main body 1 at the place where the insertion hole 26 is provided. The ground contact plate 27 is configured such that the lower end portion of the small diameter portion 12 a of the coil spring 12 is elastically contacted through the insertion hole 26. The ground contact plate 27 is electrically connected to the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 by a connection member 28 such as a spring connector.

  Thereby, the ground contact plate 27 of the device main body 1 electrically connected to the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 in the device main body 1 by the connection member 28 and the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 are electrically connected by the coil spring 12. Thus, the ground electrode 16 of the unit board 11 and the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 in the device main body 1 are electrically connected. In this case, the shielding metal film 20 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 of the unit case 3 is also electrically connected to the ground contact plate 27 of the device body 1 by the coil spring 12, thereby It is electrically connected to the ground electrode 29.

Next, a case where the external unit 2 is assembled and attached to the device main body 1 will be described.
First, when assembling the external unit 2, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, a male connector 13 is attached to the lower surface of the unit substrate 11, and a coil is installed in the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11. The small diameter portion 12 a of the spring 12 is inserted from above, and the large diameter portion 12 b is brought into contact with the ground electrode 16 on the peripheral edge portion of the spring mounting hole 15.

  In this state, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the large-diameter portion 12 b of the coil spring 12 is inserted from below into the guide tube portion 17 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 of the unit case 3. The upper end portion of the 12 large diameter portions 12 b is brought into elastic contact with the metal film 20 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4. Thereafter, the lower case 5 is disposed below the upper case 4.

  At this time, the connector insertion hole 14 provided in the lower case 5 is inserted so as to correspond to the male connector 13 of the unit substrate 11, and the guide tube portion 18 provided in the lower case 5 is inserted into the small diameter portion of the coil spring 12. The board regulating rib 22 provided on the lower case 5 is made to correspond to the end of the unit board 11.

  In this state, the lower case 5 is attached to a mounting boss 6 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 with screws 7. Then, the guide cylinder portion 18 of the lower case 5 pushes up the unit substrate 11 through the buffer material 21. For this reason, the large diameter portion 12 b of the coil spring 12 is attached in a compressed state sandwiched between the unit substrate 11 and the upper case 4. At this time, the lower portion of the large-diameter portion 12b of the coil spring 12 is in pressure contact with the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11, and the ground electrode 16 and the coil spring 12 are securely connected.

  In this state, the small diameter portion 12 a of the coil spring 12 is in a free state, and the lower end portion of the small diameter portion 12 a protrudes to the lower side of the lower case 5 through the guide tube portion 18. When the unit case is assembled in this manner, the male connector 13 and the small diameter portion 12a of the coil spring 12 are exposed from the unit case 3 as shown in FIGS. Thereby, the external unit 2 is assembled.

  When the external unit 2 is attached to the apparatus main body 1, the male connector 13 of the external unit 2 is connected in correspondence with the female connector 24 inserted into the connector insertion hole 25 of the apparatus main body 1. At the same time, the small diameter portion 12 a of the coil spring 12 is elastically contacted with the ground contact plate 27 through the insertion hole 26 of the device body 1. In this state, the attachment portion 10 at the peripheral edge of the unit case 3 is attached to the device main body 1 with the screws 7.

  Thereby, the unit board 11 of the external unit 2 is electrically connected to the circuit board 23 of the device main body 1 by the male connector 13 and the female connector 24. In addition, the grounding electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 and the shielding metal film 20 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4 are electrically connected to the ground contact plate 27 of the device main body 1 by the coil spring 12, thereby It is electrically connected to the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 of the main body 1.

  As described above, according to the mounting structure of the external unit 2 in the portable information processing terminal, the external unit 2 includes the unit case 3, the unit substrate 11 disposed in the unit case 3, and the unit. A coil spring 12 that elastically holds the substrate 11 in the unit case 3, and the lower end of the coil spring 12 is in contact with the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 at an intermediate portion thereof. By projecting to the outside and contacting the ground contact plate 27 of the device body 1, the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 and the ground electrode 29 of the circuit substrate 23 of the device body 1 can be electrically connected.

  That is, in the mounting structure of the external unit 2, the unit in the external unit 2 is connected to the apparatus body 1 and the external unit 2 in addition to the electrical connection between the female connector 24 and the male connector 13. The ground electrode 16 of the substrate 11 and the ground contact plate 27 of the device body 1 can be electrically connected by the coil spring 12. For this reason, since the static electricity generated in the external unit 2 can be guided to the ground contact plate 27 of the device main body 1, it is possible to sufficiently take measures against static electricity in the external unit 2.

  Further, since the unit substrate 11 is attached in a state of being elastically floated in the external unit 2 by the coil spring 12, even if the external unit 2 receives an external impact due to dropping or the like, the impact is applied to the coil spring. 12 can be absorbed. As a result, the unit substrate 11 in the external unit 2 can be reliably prevented from being damaged by an impact, so that the impact resistance of the unit substrate 11 in the external unit 2 can be ensured.

  In this case, a circuit board 23 having a ground electrode 29 is provided in the device main body 1, and the ground contact plate 27 is provided on the device main body 1 in a state of being exposed to the outside, such as a spring connector. Since the connection member 28 is electrically connected to the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23, the ground electrode 16 of the unit board 11 in the external unit 2 is electrically connected to the ground contact plate 27 of the device body 1 by the coil spring 12. As a result, the ground electrode 16 of the unit substrate 11 and the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 in the device main body 1 can be reliably connected.

  Further, the coil spring 12 is formed to have a different outer diameter at a position where the unit substrate 11 is held, that is, an intermediate portion, and the small spring 12a of the coil spring 12 is inserted into the unit substrate 11. Since the mounting hole 15 is provided, the unit substrate 11 can be elastically held in the unit case 3 by inserting the small diameter portion 12 a of the coil spring 12 into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11.

  That is, the coil spring 12 is formed with the small-diameter portion 12a on the lower side and the large-diameter portion 12b on the upper side. Therefore, the small-diameter portion 12a is inserted into the spring mounting hole 15 of the unit substrate 11 and the large-diameter portion 12b. Can be elastically brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the spring mounting hole 15, whereby the unit substrate 11 can be elastically held in a state of floating in the unit case 3.

  In this case, a guide tube portion 17 into which the large diameter portion 12b of the coil spring 12 is inserted is provided on the inner surface of the upper case 4, and a small diameter portion 12a of the coil spring 12 is inserted into the lower case 5 to be lowered. Since the guide tube portion 18 protruding to the side is provided, when the lower case 5 is attached to the upper case 4, the guide tube portion 18 of the lower case 5 pushes up the unit substrate 11 via the buffer material 21, and the coil The large-diameter portion 12 b of the spring 12 can be compressed and attached between the unit substrate 11 and the upper case 4.

  For this reason, since the lower part of the large diameter part 12b of the coil spring 12 press-contacts with the ground electrode 16 of the unit board | substrate 11, this ground electrode 16 and the coil spring 12 can be connected reliably, and the unit board | substrate 11 is united. The case 3 can be attached in a state of being floated elastically. As a result, even if the external unit 2 receives an external impact such as dropping, the impact can be absorbed by the coil spring 12, so that the unit substrate 11 is reliably prevented from being damaged by the external impact. Can be provided with high impact resistance.

  Further, according to the mounting structure of the external unit 2, the shielding metal film 20 is provided in almost the entire inner surface of the unit case 3, and the large-diameter portion 12 b of the coil spring 12 is elastically formed on the metal film 20. Therefore, the shield metal film 20 can be electrically connected to the ground contact plate 27 of the device main body 1 by the coil spring 12, and the shield metal film 20 is connected to the circuit board 23 of the device main body 1. The ground electrode 29 can be electrically connected, whereby the countermeasure against static electricity of the external unit 2 can be further improved.

  Furthermore, in the mounting structure of the external unit 2, the ground contact portions 27 are provided at a plurality of locations on the device body 1, and the coil springs 12 are respectively inserted into the spring mounting holes 15 provided at a plurality of locations on the unit substrate 11. Then, the lower end portion of the small diameter portion 12a comes into contact with the plurality of ground contact portions 27, so that the ground electrodes 16 are provided at a plurality of locations on the unit substrate 11, and the ground electrodes 16 at the plurality of locations are connected to the circuit board in the device main body 1. Therefore, the countermeasure against static electricity of the external unit 2 can be further improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the coil spring 12 having the small diameter portion 12a and the large diameter portion 12b is used as the spring member has been described. However, the coil spring 12 having the small diameter portion 12a and the large diameter portion 12b is not necessarily described. It is not necessary to be a conical coil spring that has a small diameter at one end and gradually increases in diameter toward the other end.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and a coil spring 30 having only a small diameter at the intermediate portion and a large diameter at both sides may be used as in the modification shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, for example. In this case, a spring mounting groove 31 into which the small diameter portion 30 a of the intermediate portion of the coil spring 30 is inserted from the side is provided on the side portion of the unit substrate 11, and the peripheral portion of the spring mounting groove 31 is provided on both sides of the coil spring 30. What is necessary is just to comprise so that the unit board | substrate 11 may be hold | maintained elastically by pinching with the large diameter part 30b. Also in this case, the ground electrode 16 may be provided on at least the upper surface of the upper and lower surfaces of the unit substrate 11 at the peripheral edge of the spring mounting groove 31.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and the coil spring is formed with the same diameter from one end portion to the other end portion, and the intermediate portion of the coil spring is inserted into the edge portion of the side portion of the unit substrate 11 from the side. The unit substrate 11 may be configured to be held elastically by being sandwiched between the two. Also in this case, the ground electrode 16 may be provided on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces at the edge of the unit substrate 11. If comprised in this way, since it is not necessary to provide the spring attachment hole 15 and the spring attachment groove | channel 31 in the unit board | substrate 11, manufacture of the unit board | substrate 11 becomes easy and a low-cost thing can be provided.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and its modifications, the case where the ground contact plate 27 is provided in the device main body 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the ground contact plate is inserted into the insertion hole of the device main body 1 by insert molding. 26 may be embedded. Further, the connection member for electrically connecting the ground contact plate and the ground electrode 29 of the circuit board 23 does not need to be the connection member 28 such as a spring connector, but is a connection member such as a flexible substrate or a lead wire. May be.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment and each modification thereof, the case where it is applied to a portable information processing terminal has been described. However, the portable information processing terminal does not necessarily have to be a portable information processing terminal. It can be widely applied to electronic devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus body 2 External unit 3 Unit case 4 Upper case 5 Lower case 11 Unit board 12 Coil spring 12a Small diameter part 12b Large diameter part 13 Male connector 15 Spring mounting hole 16 Ground electrode 17 of unit board, 18 Guide cylinder part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Metal film 21 Buffer material 22 Board | substrate control rib 23 Circuit board 24 Female connector 26 Insertion hole 27 Ground contact plate 28 Connection member 29 Ground electrode of a circuit board 30 Coil spring 30a Small diameter part 30b of both sides Large diameter part 31 Spring Mounting groove

Claims (5)

In the mounting structure of the external unit that is attached to the device body by being electrically connected by the connector,
The external unit includes a unit case, a unit substrate disposed in the unit case, and a spring member that elastically holds the unit substrate in a state of floating in the unit case.
The spring member holds the unit substrate in a state in which an intermediate portion thereof is in contact with the ground electrode of the unit substrate, and one end protrudes outside the unit case to contact the ground contact portion of the device body. A mounting structure for an external unit.   A circuit board having a ground electrode is provided in the device body, and the ground contact portion is provided in the device body in a state of being exposed to the outside, and the ground of the circuit board is provided by a connection member. The external unit mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the external unit mounting structure is electrically connected to the electrode.   The spring member is a coil spring having a different outer diameter with respect to a place where the unit substrate is held, and the unit substrate has a spring mounting portion into which a small diameter portion of the spring member is inserted. The mounting structure for an external unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mounting structure is provided.   2. A metal layer for shielding is provided almost over the entire inner surface of the unit case, and the other end of the spring member is in elastic contact with the metal layer. The mounting structure of the external unit according to claim 3. The ground contact portions are respectively provided at a plurality of locations of the device main body, and the spring members are respectively disposed at a plurality of locations of the unit substrate, and the one end portion protruding to the outside of the unit case is provided. The external unit mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the plurality of ground contact portions is in contact with each other.

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