CN108024449B

CN108024449B - FPC subassembly and terminal equipment

Info

Publication number: CN108024449B
Application number: CN201711210548.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姜雪; 刘保华; 杨善强
Original assignee: Hisense Mobile Communications Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hisense Mobile Communications Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-16
Filing date: 2017-11-28
Publication date: 2020-06-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-28
Also published as: CN108024449A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an FPC assembly and terminal equipment, wherein the FPC assembly comprises: the FPC board is provided with at least 4 conductive contact points, and the conductive contact points are communicated with output pins of the FPC board; the metal elastic sheet comprises a fixing part and a pressing part, the fixing part is electrically connected with any two conductive contact points on the FPC board, the conductive contact points are spaced between every two conductive contact points, the pressing part corresponds to the conductive contact points spaced between every two conductive contact points connected with the fixing part, and when the metal elastic sheet is pressed, the pressing part is in contact with the corresponding conductive contact points. The FPC assembly and the terminal equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention solve the problem that the FPC board needs to be redesigned and developed according to the appearance design of the terminal equipment in the prior art, and reduce the research, development and production costs.

Description

FPC subassembly and terminal equipment

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of FPC, in particular to an FPC assembly and terminal equipment.

Background

With the development of touch screens and the demand of people for large display sizes, keys on terminal devices such as mobile phones are less and less, and at present, terminal devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers generally only have a few keys (side keys for short) reserved on the side surfaces of the devices, such as volume keys and power keys.

In the prior art, the function of the side key is realized through a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) assembly. The side key FPC subassembly includes DOME piece and side key FPC, wherein the side key contact on DOME piece and the terminal equipment, when the user pressed the side key, the DOME piece took place deformation for two places on the side key FPC expose the copper and switch on, thereby produce the signal of telecommunication, realize the side key function.

However, since the appearance design of the terminal device is very diverse and the positions of the side keys are different, the side key FPCs with different layouts need to be developed for different device appearances, which greatly increases the production cost.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides an FPC assembly and terminal equipment, which are used for reducing the research and development and production cost of the FPC assembly on the terminal equipment.

A first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an FPC assembly, including:

the FPC board is provided with at least 4 conductive contact points, and the conductive contact points are communicated with output pins of the FPC board;

the metal elastic sheet comprises a fixing part and a pressing part, the fixing part is electrically connected with any two conductive contact points on the FPC board, the conductive contact points are spaced between every two conductive contact points, the pressing part corresponds to the conductive contact points spaced between every two conductive contact points connected with the fixing part, and when the metal elastic sheet is pressed, the pressing part is in contact with the corresponding conductive contact points.

Optionally, the at least 4 conductive contacts are equally spaced and arranged along the extending direction of the FPC.

Optionally, the metal elastic sheet is a DOME sheet.

Optionally, the metal elastic sheet is fixed on the FPC board through an insulating adhesive.

Optionally, the assembly further comprises a reinforcing steel sheet, and the reinforcing steel sheet is fixed on one surface of the FPC board, which is away from the conductive contact point, through a conductive adhesive.

Optionally, a conductive adhesive is arranged on one surface of the reinforcing steel sheet, which deviates from the FPC board.

A second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal device, where the terminal device includes:

a main board, side keys and an FPC assembly as described above; the output pin of the FPC assembly is connected with the mainboard, and the side key is in contact with the metal elastic sheet on the FPC assembly.

Optionally, the FPC assembly and the main board are connected by any one of the following methods: board-to-board connectors, zero insertion force connectors, and soldering.

Optionally, the side key is connected with the metal elastic sheet on the FPC assembly through an insulating connecting piece.

In the embodiment of the invention, at least 4 conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board, so that the conductive contact points are communicated with the output pins of the FPC board, the fixing part of the metal elastic sheet is electrically connected with any two conductive contact points which are arranged on the FPC board and have a conductive contact point at the interval between the middle parts, the pressing part corresponds to the conductive contact point at the interval between the two conductive contact points connected with the fixing part, and the pressing part is contacted with the corresponding conductive contact point when the metal elastic sheet is pressed. Thereby realizing the key function of the terminal equipment. In the embodiment of the invention, at least 4 conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board, and the installation of the metal elastic sheet only needs to occupy 3 conductive contact points, so that when the key function, especially the side key function, of the terminal equipment is realized through the FPC component, the installation position of the metal elastic sheet on the FPC board can be flexibly selected according to the appearance design of the terminal equipment, the redesign and development of the FPC board are not needed, and the research and development and production cost of the FPC component on the terminal equipment are reduced.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a structural scheme of an FPC assembly provided in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a prior art FPC board with copper exposed thereon;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an FPC assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic internal structure diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals:

11-FPC board 12-DOME piece

101-ring-shaped exposed copper 102-point-shaped exposed copper

13-reinforced steel sheet 14-insulating glue

15-conductive 21-FPC board

22-metal spring sheet 23-conductive contact

24-output pin 31-motherboard

32-FPC Assembly 33-side Key

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When a component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or intervening components may also be present.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a structural scheme of an FPC assembly for implementing the functions of three side keys of a terminal device according to the prior art. As shown in fig. 1, the FPC assembly includes: FPC board 11, DOME piece 12, reinforcement steel sheet 13, wherein, be divided into three regions on the FPC board 11, be provided with a set of dew copper on every region, every dew copper of group corresponds the function of realizing a side key, specific figure 2 is the structural sketch map of the dew copper on the FPC board that prior art provided, as shown in figure 2, every dew copper of group includes an annular dew copper 101 and a punctiform dew copper 102 that is located annular dew copper 101 middle zone on FPC board 11. DOME piece 12 passes through insulating cement 14 to be fixed on FPC board 11, and its marginal part is connected with corresponding cyclic annular dew copper 101, and when pressing DOME piece 12, DOME piece 12 takes place to be out of shape and punctiform dew copper 102 contact for cyclic annular dew copper 101 switches on with punctiform dew copper 102, produces the signal of telecommunication, thereby realizes the side key function. The reinforcing steel sheet 13 is fixed on one side of the FPC board 11, which is far away from the DOME sheet, through a conductive adhesive 15.

In fig. 1, three areas on the FPC board 11 are divided according to the side key position design on the terminal device. When other terminal equipment and the terminal equipment have different side key positions, the side key function of the terminal equipment cannot be realized through the FPC board, and the FPC board needs to be redesigned and researched according to the appearance of the terminal equipment, so that the research and development and production cost of the terminal equipment are increased.

In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an FPC assembly, so as to reduce or even avoid redesign and development of an FPC board in the design and production processes of a terminal device, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the development and production costs of the terminal device. Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an FPC assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, the FPC assembly includes: the FPC board 21 is provided with at least 4 conductive contact points 23, and the conductive contact points 23 are communicated with output pins 24 of the FPC board 21; the metal elastic sheet 22 includes a fixing portion and a pressing portion (not shown in fig. 3), wherein the fixing portion is connected to any two conductive contacts on the FPC board 21, the conductive contacts spaced apart from each other are corresponding to the conductive contacts spaced apart from each other between the two conductive contacts connected to the fixing portion, when the metal elastic sheet 22 is pressed, the metal elastic sheet 22 deforms, and the pressing portion contacts with the corresponding conductive contact in the middle, so that the conductive contact in the middle is conducted with two adjacent conductive contacts, and a key function is achieved. For example, the FPC board is provided with 4 conductive contacts, which are a conductive contact 1, a conductive contact 2, a conductive contact 3, and a conductive contact 4 in sequence according to the extending direction of the FPC board, wherein the fixing portion of the metal elastic piece may be selectively connected to the conductive contact 1 and the conductive contact 3 or selectively connected to the conductive contact 2 and the conductive contact 3 as required. When the fixing portion of the metal elastic sheet is connected with the conductive contact point 1 and the conductive contact point 3, the pressing portion of the metal elastic sheet corresponds to the conductive contact point 2, and when the fixing portion of the metal elastic sheet is connected with the conductive contact point 2 and the conductive contact point 4, the pressing portion of the metal elastic sheet corresponds to the conductive contact point 3. Therefore, the metal elastic sheet can be installed in one of the two device positions according to requirements, the flexibility of the installation of the metal elastic sheet on the FPC board is improved, the FPC board does not need to be redesigned and developed, and the research and development and production cost of the FPC assembly on the terminal equipment are reduced.

For another example, when 5 conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board, it can be known from the above examples that three positions of the metal elastic sheet can be selected on the FPC board, and by analogy, the more conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board, the more the selectivity of the installation position of the metal elastic sheet is, so that the flexible appearance design can be adapted, and the development and production costs of the FPC assembly on the terminal device can be reduced. Of course, the above examples are merely illustrative and not the only limitations of the present invention. Alternatively, the metal DOME 22 in this embodiment may be, but is not limited to, a DOME sheet.

Optionally, the metal elastic sheet is fixed on the FPC board 21 through an insulating adhesive, and contacts with the conductive contact 23 on the FPC board.

Alternatively, the conductive contacts 23 are distributed on the FPC board 21 as follows:

in one possible way, the conductive contacts 23 are equally spaced and arranged along the extension of the FPC board 21. The distance between adjacent conductive contact points can be specifically set according to needs, and is not specifically set in this embodiment.

In another possible manner, the FPC board 21 is divided into a plurality of areas, the conductive contact points 23 are distributed in the areas, and the density of the conductive contact points distributed on different areas is different. The division of the above-mentioned regions and the arrangement of the density of the conductive contact points on the different regions are not specifically limited in this embodiment.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the FPC assembly may further include a reinforcing steel sheet (not shown in fig. 2), which is fixed on a surface of the FPC board 21 facing away from the conductive contact 23 by a conductive adhesive, similar to the prior art.

This embodiment, through set up 4 at least conductive contact points on the FPC board for this conductive contact point communicates with the output pin of FPC board, and through carrying out electrical connection with the fixed part of metal shrapnel and the conductive contact point of a conductive contact point of arbitrary two middle intervals on the FPC board, will press the splenium to correspond with two conductive contact point middle intervals's that the fixed part is connected conductive contact point, make when metal shrapnel presses down, press splenium and corresponding conductive contact point contact. Thereby realizing the key function of the terminal equipment. Because at least 4 conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board in the embodiment, and the installation of the metal elastic sheet only needs to occupy 3 conductive contact points, the installation position of the metal elastic sheet on the FPC board can be flexibly selected according to the appearance design of the terminal equipment when the key function, especially the side key function, of the terminal equipment is realized through the FPC component, the redesign and development of the FPC board are not needed, and the research, development and production cost of the FPC component on the terminal equipment is reduced.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an internal structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 4, the terminal device includes a main board 31 and the FPC assembly 32 as described above, wherein an output pin of the FPC assembly 32 is connected to the main board 31. The connection between the FPC assembly 32 and the main board 31 may be any one of the following: board-to-board connectors, zero insertion force connectors, and soldering.

The side keys 33 of the terminal device are in contact with the metal dome on the FPC assembly 32. When the side key 33 is pressed, the metal elastic sheet on the FPC assembly 32 deforms to connect the three conductive contact points occupied by the metal elastic sheet, an electrical signal is generated, and the electrical signal is output to the main board through the output pin of the FPC assembly 32 (i.e., the output pin of the FPC board in the FPC assembly 32), so that the side key function of the terminal device is realized.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the side key 33 is connected to the metal spring piece on the FPC assembly 32 through an insulating connector.

This embodiment, through set up 4 at least conductive contact points on the FPC board for this conductive contact point communicates with the output pin of FPC board, and through carrying out electrical connection with the fixed part of metal shrapnel and the conductive contact point of a conductive contact point of arbitrary two middle intervals on the FPC board, will press the splenium to correspond with two conductive contact point middle intervals's that the fixed part is connected conductive contact point, make when metal shrapnel presses down, press splenium and corresponding conductive contact point contact. Thereby realizing the key function of the terminal equipment. Because at least 4 conductive contact points are arranged on the FPC board in the embodiment, and the installation of the metal elastic sheet only needs to occupy 3 conductive contact points, the installation position of the metal elastic sheet on the FPC board can be flexibly selected according to the appearance design of the terminal equipment when the key function, especially the side key function, of the terminal equipment is realized through the FPC component, the redesign and development of the FPC board are not needed, and the research, development and production cost of the FPC component on the terminal equipment is reduced. .

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a terminal device, and fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device includes the FPC assembly described in the above embodiments. The device may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, etc.

The apparatus 800 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 802, a memory 804, a power component 806, a multimedia component 808, an audio component 810, an input/output (I/O) interface 812, a sensor component 814, and a communication component 816.

The processing component 802 generally controls overall operation of the device 800, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing components 802 may include one or more processors 820 to execute instructions to perform all or a portion of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 802 can include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 802 and other components. For example, the processing component 802 can include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 808 and the processing component 802.

The memory 804 is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the apparatus 800. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on device 800, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and so forth. The memory 804 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or non-volatile memory devices such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks.

Power components 806 provide power to the various components of device 800. The power components 806 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the apparatus 800.

The multimedia component 808 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 800 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive an input signal from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touch, slide, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not only sense the boundary of a touch or slide action, but also detect the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 808 includes a front facing camera and/or a rear facing camera. The front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data when the device 800 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

The audio component 810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 810 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the apparatus 800 is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may further be stored in the memory 804 or transmitted via the communication component 816. In some embodiments, audio component 810 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface 812 provides an interface between the processing component 802 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

The sensor assembly 814 includes one or more sensors for providing various aspects of state assessment for the device 800. For example, the sensor assembly 814 may detect the open/closed status of the device 800, the relative positioning of components, such as a display and keypad of the device 800, the sensor assembly 814 may also detect a change in the position of the device 800 or a component of the device 800, the presence or absence of user contact with the device 800, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device 800, and a change in the temperature of the device 800. Sensor assembly 814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of a nearby object without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 814 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 814 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 816 is configured to facilitate communications between the apparatus 800 and other devices in a wired or wireless manner. The device 800 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In an example embodiment, the apparatus 800 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An FPC assembly, comprising:

2. The FPC assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least 4 conductive contacts are equally spaced and disposed on the FPC board along an extending direction of the FPC.

3. The FPC assembly of claim 1, wherein the metal DOME is a DOME sheet.

4. The FPC assembly of claim 1, wherein the metal dome is fixed on the FPC board by an insulating paste.

5. The FPC assembly of claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing steel sheet secured to a side of the FPC board opposite the conductive contacts by a conductive adhesive.

6. The FPC assembly of claim 5, wherein a side of the reinforcing steel sheet facing away from the FPC board is provided with a conductive adhesive.

7. A terminal device, comprising: a main board, side keys and the FPC assembly of any of claims 1-6; the output pin of the FPC assembly is connected with the mainboard, and the side key is in contact with the metal elastic sheet on the FPC assembly.

8. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the FPC assembly is connected to the motherboard by any one of: board-to-board connectors, zero insertion force connectors, and soldering.

9. The terminal device of claim 8, wherein the side key is connected with the metal spring piece on the FPC assembly through an insulating connector.