JP4093317B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

The present invention generally relates to an electronic device, and in particular, has a structure in which two types of cables or wirings are coupled, one of which can move to the other by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction and restrict movement in the other direction. The present invention relates to an electronic device having a mounting structure. The present invention includes, for example, a foldable electronic device (mobile phone, personal handyphone system (hereinafter referred to as “PHS”), a notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “notebook PC”), and personal digital assistants. (Hereinafter referred to as “PDA”), game machines, and audio devices (for example, portable video players, portable DVD players, etc.).
Technical Background In recent years, the demand for electronic devices such as mobile phones that are becoming smaller, lighter, and lower in price has been increasing, and the purpose is to reduce the number of parts by simplifying the configuration and increasing the number of components. Attempts have been made to achieve.
In general, mobile phones include a foldable mobile phone and a non-foldable stick-like mobile phone. Further, the foldable mobile phone has a structure in which a movable part including a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “LCD”) screen and a fixed part including a numeric keypad can be folded, and the LCD screen and the numeric keypad cannot be folded. A protective cover that protects them and a structure that is folded against them. The foldable mobile phone having the former structure typically has a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter also referred to as “FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit)”) that connects a substrate on the movable portion side and a substrate on the fixed portion side, and an FPC. And a non-FPC cable (hereinafter also referred to as “NFPC (Non-FPC) cable”) such as an antenna coaxial cable and a power cable.
The FPC is twisted and connected to the substrate on the movable part side and the substrate on the fixed part side. The reason why the FPC is twisted is to make the opening easy by giving an elastic force to the FPC to reduce the load applied to the FPC at the time of opening and closing and giving a biasing force in the opening direction. Such a structure is already known (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-119460 A

At this time, the NFPC also needs to follow the FPC. If the NFPC does not follow the FPC, the FPC and / or the casing sandwich the NFPC and apply pressure. As a result, the NFPC hinders the smooth operation of the hinge part that opens and closes the movable part and the fixed part, requires extra force for opening and closing, generates unpleasant noise during opening and closing, and shortens the expected opening and closing life. Or NFPC is disconnected as a result of the opening / closing operation. On the other hand, it is not preferable to bond NFPC to the surface of the FPC to completely fix them. This is because the NFPC usually undergoes a surplus length process for adjusting to a predetermined length after being attached to the mobile phone casing, so that if the NFPC is fixed, the surplus length process cannot be performed.
For this reason, the conventional structure is provided with a plurality of holes 7 in the longitudinal direction of the guide film 6 corresponding to the shape of the FPC 2 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the double-sided tape 4 was attached to both ends of the FPC 2, and both ends 6 a and 6 b of the guide film 6 were attached to the double-sided tape 4.

However, since the structure shown in FIG. 6 requires a guide film 6 as a dedicated guide member, the cost increases, and the work of making a hole in the guide film 6 and causing the NFPC 8 to pass through the hole 7 is complicated. Have some problems.
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that is reduced in size, weight, and / or reduced in price.
In order to achieve such an object, an electronic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention moves in a longitudinal direction between a foldable flexible printed circuit for connecting two substrates and the flexible printed circuit to be folded. And a cable attached to the flexible printed circuit. In such an electronic device, the FPC is folded and the NFPC is sandwiched therebetween, so that the guide film can be omitted. The electronic device includes not only a mobile phone, a PHS, a notebook PC, and a PDA, but also a unit composed of a flexible printed circuit and NFPC (and a substrate connected to them if necessary).
An electronic apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes a flexible printed circuit connecting two substrates, and a cable attached to the flexible printed circuit so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction while directly engaging the flexible printed circuit. It is characterized by having. In such an electronic device, since the FPC has a guide function by engaging the FPC with the NFPC, the guide film can be omitted. “Directly” means that a dedicated guide film or the like is not used. The flexible printed circuit has a plurality of engaging portions arranged along the longitudinal direction, for example, holes and notches. A plurality of engaging portions arranged along the longitudinal direction makes it easy for the NFPC to follow the FPC. The flexible printed circuit may be folded and at least partially sandwich the NFPC. When the FPC sandwiches the NFPC, the NFPC can be prevented from being detached from the FPC.
The above-described electronic apparatus is configured to be foldable with respect to the first casing portion that houses one of the two substrates and the first member, and accommodates the other of the two substrates. You may have a 2nd housing | casing part. In such a foldable electronic device, the demand for the NFPC configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction is particularly high. The flexible printed circuit and the NFPC are attached by twisting between the first casing and the second casing. In such a wrap-up type electronic device, there is a particularly high demand for the NFPC configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction. The cable sandwiched between the flexible printed circuits is, for example, a coaxial cable.
An electronic device according to another aspect of the present invention connects a movable part and a fixed part configured to be foldable, a first member stored in the movable part, and a second member stored in the fixed part. A first cable; and a second cable that is disposed so as to straddle the movable portion and the folding portion of the fixed portion, and is directly engaged with the first cable so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the first cable is not limited to the flexible printed circuit. “Directly” means that a dedicated guide film or the like is not used.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an electronic device, the step of arranging another cable on a flexible printed circuit for connecting two substrates, and the flexible printed wiring so as to sandwich the other cable. And a step of folding. Such a method for manufacturing an electronic device can manufacture the above-described electronic device. The flexible printed circuit may include a plurality of engaging portions, and the manufacturing method may further include a step of engaging the other cable with the engaging portions. In this method, the FPC can be engaged with the NFPC and the FPC can be followed by the NFPC.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic apparatus, such as a mobile phone, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a method of attaching a cable usable for the mobile phone shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a method of attaching a cable used in the mobile phone shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a modification of the attachment method shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining still another modification of the attachment method shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the relationship between a flexible printed circuit (FPC) of a conventional electronic device and another cable (NFPC).

Hereinafter, an electronic device 100 embodied as a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic plan view of the mobile phone 100. FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the FPC 150 and NFPC 180 housed in the mobile phone 100 are twisted.
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the mobile phone 100 includes a movable casing 110, a fixed casing 120, and a hinge part 130. The mobile phone 100 is a foldable mobile phone in which a movable housing 110 and a fixed housing 120 are configured to be foldable and unfoldable in the A direction by a hinge portion 130.
The movable housing 110 has an LCD screen 112, a speaker 114, an LED 116, and an antenna 118. The LCD screen 112 displays date and time, transmission number, incoming number, remaining battery level, received electric field mark, out-of-service mark, and various functions. The speaker 114 outputs the voice of the other party and the voice of various functions. The LED 116 displays various statuses of the mobile phone 100 such as incoming calls and charging. The antenna 118 is extendable and is used to communicate with a base station and other stations. Since any technique known in the art can be applied to each of the units 112 to 118, detailed description thereof is omitted here.
The fixed housing 120 includes a numeric keypad 122 and a microphone 124. The numeric keypad 122 includes various symbols, alphabets, function input units (buttons and controllers), a power on / off unit, and the like in addition to the numeric keypad for inputting the telephone number of the other party. The microphone 124 receives voice input from the user. Since any technique known in the art can be applied to the numeric keypad 122 and the microphone 124, detailed description is omitted here.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the movable casing 110, the fixed casing 120, and the hinge section 130 accommodate the FPC 150 and the NFPC 180 attached to the FPC 150 in a twisted state. The reason why the FPC 150 is twisted is to make the opening easy by giving the FPC 150 an elastic force to reduce a load applied to the FPC 150 at the time of opening and closing and by giving a biasing force in the opening direction.
The FPC 150 connects the substrate 111 for the LCD screen 112 housed in the movable housing 110 and the substrate 121 for the numeric keypad 122 housed in the fixed housing 120. The NFPC 180 includes a coaxial cable and a power cable connected to the antenna 118. FIG. 1B shows these plural types of cables as one NFPC 180 for convenience.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the attachment method of the cable used for the mobile telephone of this embodiment is demonstrated. Here, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a method of attaching a cable usable for the mobile phone 100. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a method of attaching the NFPC 180 to the FPC 150.
First, the FPC 150 is prepared (step 210). The FPC 150 has a structure in which a plurality of signal lines arranged in parallel are coated with an insulating elastic material, and any technique known in the art can be applied to the signal line or the insulating elastic material, and thus the FPC 150 is described in detail here. Description is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the FPC 150 of this embodiment has an Ω shape as an example, and has a symmetrical shape that can be folded in two with respect to the center line 151. When folded in two, the FPC 150 has substantially the same shape as the FPC 2 shown in FIG. The reason why the FPC 150 is bent rather than linear as shown in FIG. 6 is to smoothly wind or twist the FPC 150 as shown in FIG. 1 (b).
However, due to such a shape, it is difficult for the NFPC 180 to follow the outer shape of the FPC 150. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-119460 discloses paragraph numbers.

21 proposes fixing the NFPC to the FPC with an adhesive tape. However, in this case, after the FPC 150 and the NFPC 180 are attached to the casing, the extra length processing (step 260) described later cannot be performed. Because it invites. For this reason, the NFPC 180 is configured to be movable by a predetermined distance sufficient for extra length processing in the longitudinal direction, but is preferably attached to the FPC 150 within the range of the FPC 150 in other directions.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the NFPC 180 is placed on the FPC 150 so that the NFPC 180 comes between the folded FPCs 150 (step 220).
Next, the FPC 150 is folded and the FPC 150 folded through the double-sided tape 160 is bonded (step 230). The FPC 150 is folded in order to reduce the area occupied by the FPC in half and to increase the rigidity of the FPC 150 by folding. Characteristically, step 230 allows the NFPC 180 to be attached to the FPC 150 so as to be movable in its longitudinal direction, eliminating the need for the dedicated guide film 6 shown in FIG. As a result, the mobile phone 100 can be reduced in weight, size, and cost as much as there is no dedicated guide film 6. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the present embodiment also has a feature that the assembly work is simplified because the work of turning the NFPC 180 into the hole 7 is not necessary.
In this embodiment, three double-sided tapes 160 are provided outside the NFPC 180 at the top, middle and bottom of the FPC 150. However, as long as the NFPC 180 does not deviate from the FPC 150, the present invention does not limit the number, position, and size of the double-sided tape 160. Further, the present invention is not limited to the double-sided tape as a means for fixing the folded FPC 150. For example, the outside of the FPC 150 may be wound with a tape, or may be fastened with a fixing elastic body such as a rubber band or a clip. Furthermore, the left and right halves of the center line 151 of the FPC 150 shown in FIG. 3 may be configured to be engageable, and the adhesive member may be omitted. For example, a concave portion and a convex portion that can be engaged with the left and right halves are formed. For this reason, “bonding” in step 230 includes other coupling means such as engagement.
Next, the FPC 150 to which the NFPC 180 is attached is twisted to the state shown in FIG. 1B (step 240) and connected to the corresponding substrate or member (step 250). Next, extra length processing is performed (step 260). The FPC 150 to which the NFPC 180 is attached can be an independent transaction medium before and after being attached to a substrate or member. However, the length of the slack portion of the NFPC 180 varies depending on the outer shape of the mobile phone to be attached. For this reason, the extra length process which adjusts the slack part of NFPC180 for every mobile phone is made. According to the present embodiment, since the NFPC 180 can move in the longitudinal direction, it is convenient to perform extra length processing.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the attachment method shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the FPC 150A is provided with a plurality of holes 152 in the longitudinal direction, and the NFPC 180 is placed over the holes 152. By placing the NFPC 180 over the hole 152, the NFPC 180 can be made to follow the outer shape of the FPC 150 more accurately. Although the present invention does not limit the size, position, and number of the holes 152, the holes 152 have such a size that the NFPC 180 can move with a margin, and the position is in the longitudinal direction of the FPC 150. The number is formed along the position, and the number can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the size of the FPC 150.
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing another modification of the attachment method shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the FPC 150 </ b> B is provided with a plurality of notches 154 in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the NFPC 180 is placed over the notches 154. By placing the NFPC 180 over the notch 154, the NFPC 180 can be more accurately followed by the outer shape of the FPC 150. The present invention does not limit the size, position, and number of notches 154, but is similar to holes 152.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, step 210 forms FPCs 150A and 150B with holes 152 and notches 154 formed therein. In step 220, the NFPC 180 is put in the hole 152 or the notch 154. Steps 230 to 260 are the same as in the embodiment shown in FIG. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the NFPC 180 cannot be attached to the FPC 150 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction unless the FPC 150 is bent and bonded, but in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, Since the NFPC 180 is attached to the hole 152 and the notch 154 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the FPC 150, it is not always necessary to bend the FPC 150. That is, the present invention does not require that the FPC 150 can be folded when the NFPC 180 is engaged so that the FPC 150 can move in the longitudinal direction. Further, the present invention does not limit the type of engagement to the hole 152 or the notch 154.
4 and 5, pattern wiring is formed on the FPC 150B. Pattern wiring can be intensively formed on the FPC 150B by recent high-density wiring technology, improvement of FPC insulating material, or the like. Such wiring may be either single-sided wiring or double-sided wiring.
In the opening / closing operation of the mobile phone 100, since the NFPC 180 follows the FPC 150 without the dedicated guide film 6, the NFPC 180 does not hinder the smooth opening / closing operation of the mobile phone 100. As a result, it is possible to prevent problems such as an extra force required for opening and closing, an unpleasant sound being generated, an expected opening and closing life being shortened, and the NFPC 180 being disconnected as a result of the opening and closing operation.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the guide function of the guide film shown in FIG. 6 to the FPC 150, the dedicated guide film 6 is unnecessary, and the mobile phone 100 can be reduced in size, weight, and weight. Pricing can be achieved. In particular, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, it is not necessary to place the NFPC 180 in the hole 7, so the work is simplified.
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary. For example, an electronic apparatus to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a mobile phone, but can also be applied to an audio apparatus such as a PHS, a notebook PC, a PDA, a game machine, such as a portable video player or a portable DVD player. Of course, the present invention can be applied to FPCs having different shapes, and can be generally applied to two types of cables. In this case, the FPC is not necessarily required.

Industrial applicability

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic device which achieves size reduction, weight reduction, and / or price reduction can be provided.

Claims (5)

A folded flexible printed circuit for connecting two substrates;
An electronic device comprising: a cable sandwiched between the flexible printed circuits and attached to the flexible printed circuit so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction. A flexible printed circuit connecting two substrates;
An electronic device comprising: a cable attached to the flexible printed circuit so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction while directly engaging with the flexible printed circuit. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the flexible printed circuit has a plurality of engaging portions arranged along a longitudinal direction. A movable part and a fixed part configured to be foldable;
A first cable connecting the first member housed in the movable part and the second member housed in the fixed part;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a second cable that is disposed so as to straddle the movable portion and the folding portion of the fixed portion, and is directly engaged with the first cable so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. Arranging a cable sandwiched between flexible printed circuits on a flexible printed circuit for connecting two substrates;
And a step of folding the flexible printed circuit so as to sandwich a cable sandwiched between the flexible printed circuits.

Images