JP2010087639A - Absorption-side cap and electronic apparatus equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain a side cap which can contribute to the thinning/compaction of a cellular phone. <P>SOLUTION: The side cap provided on a housing sidewall 9a of a cellular phone 1a for closing an opening 10a as the card insertion opening or the plug-in opening of a connector is arranged, such that the reverse surface of the cap is sucked to the peripheral-edge surface of the opening, in a mode where the side cap 1a is attached to cover the opening 10a and is held in place. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an adsorptive surface cap and an electronic device including the same, and more particularly to an adsorptive surface cap suitable for use in a thin mobile phone and an electronic device including the same.

  Portable electronic devices such as mobile phones are equipped with external connection terminals for connecting to external devices such as personal computers, TV receivers and charging adapters, and card storage units for inserting and removing memory cards. ing. In these external connection terminal portion and card storage portion, a connector insertion port for inserting an external connector and a card insertion port for inserting and removing a memory card from the outside are provided on the side wall portion of the device casing.

  By the way, if the connector insertion slot, the card insertion slot, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as an opening if necessary) are left exposed, the external connection terminal section and the card storage section (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) are passed through the opening. Foreign matter such as dust and water easily enters the body). If foreign matter such as dust or water entering from the outside adheres to the electrical terminals inside the housing, it may cause an electrical failure. This type of portable electronic device is used when an external connector is not used or a memory card is not inserted or removed. At times, it is common to have a generally plate-like terminal cap (cover) or a card cap (hereinafter collectively referred to as a surface cap, if necessary) for closing and closing the opening. It is.

  As an opening / closing structure provided with a surface cap, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 and the like, a surface cap / claw fitting method is used to open / close the opening (hereinafter referred to as a first related technology). As described in Patent Document 2 and the like, a device that employs a face cap / slide method to open and close an opening (hereinafter referred to as a second related technology) is known.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of a portable electronic device adopting the first related technique (claw fitting method), and a circular frame A in the figure indicates a main part (surface cap / opening) of the portable electronic device. It is the elements on larger scale which expand and show a part.
As shown in the figure, the portable electronic device 1 is configured such that an upper housing 2 and a lower housing 3 are foldably coupled via a hinge portion 4. A display panel 5 and a speaker are mounted on the upper housing 2, and a key operation unit 6, a camera, a control unit, a wireless unit, a microphone, a battery pack, and the like are mounted on the lower housing 3. ing. The lower housing 3 includes a front case 7 for mounting and mounting the above-described parts and components, a rear cover 8, and an opening / closing lid for battery pack replacement.

  The side wall (side surface) portion 9 of the lower housing 3 has a plurality of openings 10 such as a card insertion slot and a connector insertion slot adopting a claw fitting method, and a rectangular surface for covering each opening 10. A cap 11 is provided. In FIG. 6, only a single opening is shown for convenience. The face cap 11 is made of a synthetic resin or a rubber material, and a pair of left and right fitting (locking) claws 12 and 12 are integrally formed with the face cap main body and project from the upper side in the figure. On the other hand, a pair of fitting holes (not shown) or locking portions (not shown) are formed in the upper side of the opening 10 in the drawing and corresponding to the fitting claws 12, 12 of the face cap 11. When the memory card is not used or when the memory card is not inserted or removed, the face cap 11 is held around the opening 10 by fitting and engaging the fitting claws 12 and 12 into the fitting hole or the locking portion. It has become.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part (surface cap / opening) of the mobile terminal device adopting the second related technique (slide method).
As shown in the figure, the portable terminal device 13 includes an external connection terminal portion 14 and a face cap (protective cover) 15 that protects the external connection terminal portion 14. A cap retracting portion (cap housing portion) 18 is provided on one side of the opening (connector insertion port) 17 of the device housing 16. When the external connector is used, the face cap 15 is slid to the cap retracting portion 18 along the X direction, and the opening 17 is exposed. The same applies to the case where the opening is a card insertion slot.
JP 2008-085171 A JP 2006-86027 A

By the way, with the progress of thinning of portable electronic devices, a simple structure, shape, and design for small and thin devices are required also for surface caps that cover connector insertion ports and card insertion ports. ing.
However, in the first related technique (claw fitting method) described in Patent Document 1 or the like, the thinner the synthetic resin material or rubber material that is the material of the fitting claw, the more the strength is reduced. There is an inconvenience that it is difficult to ensure the strength. For this reason, it is possible to design and shape the fitting claws with sufficient strength to withstand repeated use, as well as the entire face cap, and also the opening (connector insertion slot and card insertion slot), and the degree of freedom when applying the design. There is a problem that is severely limited.

  In addition, in the second related technique (slide method) described in Patent Document 2 and the like, an extra space (when the external connector is used or when a memory card is inserted / removed, the surface cap is slid and moved away) Since the cap retracting portion is required on the side wall portion of the device casing, it is not suitable for a small and thin device having no space.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an attractive surface cap suitable for application to a thin and small portable electronic device such as a cellular phone and an electronic device including the same. Yes.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the configuration of the present invention relates to a face cap for covering a predetermined opening provided in a casing of an electronic device, and the face cap covers and closes the opening. In the aspect, all or a part of a region of the back surface of the cap that abuts against the edge surface around the opening is opposed to all or a part of the edge surface around the opening. It is characterized by being configured to be held.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, since the face cap is held on the edge surface around the opening by surface adsorption, a complicated fitting claw structure and extra space (cap retracting portion) are not required. Therefore, the manufacturing is simple and the mechanical strength is not impaired, so that it can contribute to the development of a thin and small portable electronic device. In addition, since the degree of freedom in design increases, it becomes easier to handle various interfaces such as connectors of various shapes. In addition, there is no movable part / sliding part such as a fitting claw or a sliding mechanism, and if it is washed as necessary, the attractive force is easily restored, so that a face cap that is strong against repeated use can be obtained.

  The surface cap as the best mode for carrying out the present invention is such that at least a part of the surface cap is a self-adsorbing member such as a silicone material, or a sucker such as a breathable, porous or foamable synthetic resin. A part of the back surface of the cap that is in contact with and opposite to the edge surface around the opening portion is composed of an exposed surface of the self-adsorbing member or the sucking member.

Embodiment 1

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of a portable electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part (surface cap / opening) of the portable electronic device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged main part of the portable electronic device.
First, the overall configuration of the portable electronic device will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the figure, the portable electronic device 1a is configured such that an upper housing 2 and a lower housing 3a are foldably coupled via a hinge portion 4. A display panel 5, a speaker (not shown), and the like are mounted and mounted on the upper housing 2. In addition, the lower housing 3a is connected to an external device such as a key operation unit 6, a camera (not shown), a control unit, a radio unit, a microphone, and a battery pack, a personal computer, a TV receiver, and a charging adapter. A connection terminal part, an earphone microphone terminal part for connection with the earphone microphone, a card storage part for detachably mounting a memory card such as a microSD card (registered trademark), and the like are mounted and mounted.

  The lower housing 3a includes a front case 7a for mounting and mounting the above-described parts and components, a rear cover 8a, and an opening / closing lid for battery pack replacement. The front case 7a is formed, for example, as a frame by insert-molding a reinforcing metal plate into a synthetic resin such as ABS resin, or from aluminum die casting. The rear cover 8a is formed from, for example, a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate or an aluminum die cast.

On the side wall (side surface) portion 9a of the lower housing 3a, a connector insertion port for inserting an external connector into an earphone microphone terminal portion, an external connection terminal portion or the like, and a card for inserting / removing a memory card into / from the card storage portion A plurality of openings 10a such as insertion ports are provided.
The opening 10a is provided in a concave flat portion formed in the side wall 9a of the lower housing 3a. This concave plane is cut out through the width direction of the side wall portion 9a, and is formed in such a manner that only both end portions in the longitudinal direction are sandwiched between the convex step portions 3b and 3b. Each opening 10a is provided with a substantially rectangular surface cap 11a that employs a surface adsorption method. In FIG. 1, only the opening 10a as a card insertion slot is shown for convenience, but the same applies to the connector insertion slot.

  The surface cap 11a of this form includes a cap body (base body) 19 made of a synthetic resin material or a rubber material, and an adsorption layer 20 made of a self-adsorbing member (for example, a silicone film) fixed to the back surface of the cap body 19. It is composed of Here, the self-adsorptive member is a material having a property of being physically adsorbed to an object detachably due to its own molecular structure without depending on a fitting (locking) claw or the like. is there. Suitable self-adsorbing members include silicone materials, elastomers and polymer materials having similar properties. Silicone materials are excellent in releasability, and the adsorptive power can be easily restored by washing with water or the like, so that it can cope with dirt on the adsorbing surface and is strong in repeated use. The surface cap 11a is formed in substantially the same size and shape as the concave plane, that is, the opening forming surface.

  A thin plate-like dense material 21 with few minute irregularities such as synthetic resin and glass fiber is attached to the peripheral surface of the square-shaped opening that forms the periphery of the opening 10a in order to increase the adsorption force of the face cap 11a. Thus, the attracted surface 21a is formed.

  In the above configuration, the surface cap 11a of this embodiment is a rectangular-shaped opening on the back surface of the cap (the exposed surface of the adsorption layer 20) when the opening 10a is closed and closed (that is, when the surface cap is mounted). The region that is in contact with and opposite to the peripheral surface of the part is surface-adsorbed with the peripheral surface of the opening (surface to be adsorbed 21a, that is, the surface of the dense material 21), and the adsorption force between the adsorption layer 20 and the dense material 21 Is held by. Next, when removing the face cap 11a, the opening forming surface (concave surface) is cut out through the width direction of the side wall portion 9a, so that it can be easily peeled off with a finger or the like from that direction. Can do.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, a complicated fitting claw structure and extra space (cap retracting portion) as means for holding the face cap 11a in the opening 10a are not required. Therefore, the manufacturing is simple and the mechanical strength is not impaired, so that it can contribute to the development of a thin and small portable electronic device. In addition, since the degree of freedom in design increases, it becomes easier to handle various interfaces such as connectors of various shapes. In addition, there is no movable part / sliding part such as a fitting claw or a sliding mechanism, and if it is washed as necessary, the attractive force is easily restored, so that a face cap that is strong against repeated use can be obtained.

Embodiment 2

Next explained is the second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration and adsorption principle of a face cap according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The surface cap 11b of this embodiment is greatly different from the surface cap 11a (FIGS. 1 to 3) of the first embodiment described above, instead of a self-adsorbing member (silicone film) as a member constituting the adsorption layer. Thus, only the sucker member is used. Therefore, in FIG. 4, the components on the opening side are the same as the corresponding parts in FIG. 3, and thus the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted or simplified.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the face cap 11 b of this form includes an airtight member 22 having an uncovered concave region 22 a closed around, and a concave region 22 a of the airtight member 22. It is composed of a suckable member (adsorbing layer) 23 embedded and stored in an exposed state, and the exposed surface of the suckable member (adsorbing layer) 23 is the peripheral edge surface of the opening (the adsorbed surface 21a, that is, the adsorbed surface 21a). , The surface of the dense material 21).
As a suitable sucker member 23, a breathable, porous or foamable synthetic resin capable of taking in gas such as air can be cited. Moreover, as a suitable airtight member, a non-breathable dense material can be cited, but as the airtight member used in this embodiment, a member having elasticity to some extent is preferable.

  In the above configuration, when the face cap 11b of this embodiment closes and closes the opening 10a (that is, when the face cap is attached), as shown in FIG. The exposed surface of the sucker member (adsorption layer) 23 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the square-shaped opening with a finger or the like. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the face cap 11b is displaced in the direction of depression by pressing, and the air taken into the sucker member (adsorption layer) 23 is removed accordingly. Thereafter, when the finger to be pressed is released, as shown in FIG. 3C, a restoring force for returning to the original state acts on the airtight member 22. This restoring force brings the air pressure in the recessed area 22a of the airtight member 22 into a reduced pressure state relative to the external pressure, so that the face cap 11b is strongly adsorbed and held on the peripheral edge surface of the opening. Next, when removing the face cap 11a, the concave plane opening forming surface is notched through in the width direction of the side wall 9a, so it can be easily peeled off with a finger or the like from the width direction. Can do.

Embodiment 3

Next explained is the third embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of a portable electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
In the portable electronic device 1c of this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a surface cap 11c having an adsorption layer on the back surface of the cap is rotatably coupled to the lower housing 3c via a rubber hinge 24, thereby opening an opening portion. 10c is closed and covered. Since the surface cap 11c of this embodiment may have the same configuration as the surface cap 11a (first embodiment) or the surface cap 11b (first embodiment), the description thereof is omitted.

  According to this embodiment, substantially the same effect as described in the first and second embodiments described above can be obtained. In addition, since the face cap 11c is coupled to the lower housing 3c by the rubber hinge 24, it is possible to prevent the face cap from being lost.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. Are also included in the present invention. For example, the shape of the face cap is not limited to a substantially rectangular shape, and may take any shape depending on the shape of the opening.
In addition, in the aspect in which the surface cap covers and closes the opening portion, the case has been described in which the entire area of the back surface of the cap facing the entire peripheral edge surface of the opening is adsorbed and held by the entire peripheral edge surface of the opening. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a region facing the partial peripheral surface of the opening may be adsorbed and held by the partial peripheral surface of the opening as necessary.

In the first embodiment described above, the surface cap 11 a is composed of the cap body (base body) 19 and the adsorption layer 20 made of a self-adsorbing member (for example, a silicone film) attached to the back surface of the cap body 19. However, instead of this, the entire face cap may be composed of a self-adsorbing member.
In the first embodiment described above, the dense material 21 is attached to the peripheral surface of the square-shaped opening that forms the periphery of the opening 10a, but fine paint is applied to the peripheral surface of the opening. It may be applied, or a dense material may be used as the material of the casing itself.

  The present invention can be widely applied not only to a thin mobile phone but also to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a portable electronic dictionary, a digital camera, and the like. Further, it can be applied to non-portable electronic devices.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of a portable electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial expansion perspective view which expands and shows the principal part (surface cap and opening part) of the portable electronic device. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of the portable electronic device. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the structure and adsorption | suction principle of a surface cap which are 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematically the external appearance structure of the portable electronic device which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which outlines the external appearance structure of the portable electronic device which employ | adopts a 1st related technique (claw fitting method), and the circular frame A in a figure expands the main part (surface cap and opening part) of the portable electronic device. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the structure of the principal part (surface cap and opening part) of the portable terminal device which employ | adopts a 2nd related technique (slide system).

Explanation of symbols

1a Portable electronic device (electronic device)
3a, 3c Lower housing (housing)
10a, 10c Opening (Card insertion slot, connector insertion slot)
11a, 11b, 11c Surface cap 20 Adsorption layer (cap back surface, self-adsorbing member)
21 Dense material 21a Adsorbed surface (edge surface around the opening)
22 Airtight member 22a Uncovered concave region 23 Adsorption layer (cap back, sucker member)
24 Rubber hinge

Claims (11)

A surface cap for covering a predetermined opening provided in the housing of the electronic device,
In the aspect in which the surface cap covers and closes the opening, all or a part of the area of the back surface of the cap that is in contact with the edge surface around the opening is opposed to the periphery of the opening. An adsorptive surface cap, wherein the entire surface or a part of the edge surface is adsorbed and held. A surface cap for covering an opening as a card insertion port of a card storage unit or a connector insertion port of an external connection terminal unit provided in a housing of an electronic device,
In the aspect in which the surface cap covers and closes the opening, all or a part of the area of the back surface of the cap that is in contact with the edge surface around the opening is opposed to the periphery of the opening. An adsorptive surface cap, wherein the entire surface or a part of the edge surface is adsorbed and held.   At least a part of the surface cap is made of a self-adsorptive member, and all or a part of the region in contact with the edge surface around the opening is opposed to the back surface of the cap. 3. The adsorptive surface cap according to claim 1, comprising an exposed surface of the self-adsorbing member.   4. The adsorptive face cap according to claim 3, wherein the self-adsorbing member is made of a silicone material. At least a part of the face cap is made of a sucker member,
The whole or part of a region of the back surface of the cap, which is in contact with and opposite to the edge surface around the opening, is an exposed surface of the sucker member. Adsorbent face cap as described. The face cap is composed of an airtight member having an uncovered concave region closed around, and a sucker member embedded and housed in the concave region of the airtight member in an exposed state,
2. The exposed surface of the sucker member corresponds to all or part of the region of the back surface of the cap that abuts against the edge surface around the opening. Or the adsorptive surface cap of 2.   The adsorptive face cap according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the suckable member is made of a breathable, porous or foamable synthetic resin.   The adsorptive face cap according to claim 6, wherein the airtight member is made of an elastic member.   The adsorptive surface cap according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the surface cap is coupled to the housing via a rubber hinge.   An electronic apparatus comprising the adsorptive face cap according to claim 1.   Of the edge surface around the opening, all or part of a region that is opposed to the back surface of the cap is made of an exposed surface of a dense material that has been processed into a substantially mirror-like shape. The electronic device according to claim 10.

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