JP2010113829A - Extra-fine coaxial cable assembly, wiring structure, and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an extra-fine coaxial cable assembly, which is wired through a hinge irrespective of a size of a connector, and which reduces a thickness and size of a mounted electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: The extra-fine coaxial cable assembly is formed by arranging a plurality of extra-fine coaxial cables 1 in parallel, aligning both of terminals 1a, 1b respectively in a line, and connecting the one terminals 1a to a first connection 2 and the other terminals 1b to a second connection 3. Each of the extra-fine coaxial cables 1 forms an α-shaped loop 1c between the first connection 2 and the second connection 3, and a plane surface formed of the respective loops 1c is arranged toward the same direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a micro coaxial cable assembly, and more particularly, to a micro coaxial cable assembly capable of reducing the size and thickness of an electronic device having a hinge mechanism, and a wiring structure to which the micro coaxial cable assembly is applied. It relates to electronic equipment.

  In recent years, electronic devices typified by mobile phones have been rapidly reduced in size, weight and functionality. As a result, a large number of IC chips are mounted on electronic devices, the transmission capacity is increased, and the transmission speed is increased. In particular, since the transmission frequency is high, the electrical signal in the electronic device increases. Therefore, an electric signal transmission medium that is excellent in electromagnetic wave shielding characteristics is required.

  Conventionally, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) has been used as an internal wiring material of an electronic apparatus having a hinge mechanism such as a mobile phone. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wiring structure of a hinge mechanism using an FPC 111 as shown in FIG. In this structure, the FPC 111 is wound around the cylindrical support material 112 one or more times to form a bent portion. According to this configuration, the fracture probability of the FPC 111 can be reduced with respect to repeated bending.

However, since the FPC 111 is affected by a signal, an excellent shield characteristic will be required in the future by increasing the transmission speed. Further, since the FPC 111 is wound, a space required for wiring increases in the width direction, and when applied to a small electronic device, it is difficult to perform wiring in a limited space.
Therefore, instead of the FPC 111, as an internal wiring of an electronic device, an assembly of an ultra fine coaxial cable (extra fine coaxial cable assembly) excellent in electromagnetic wave shielding characteristics and having a thin and flexible structure is introduced. In this micro coaxial cable assembly, a plurality of micro coaxial cables are arranged in parallel, and both terminals are aligned in a line, and the first connection part is connected to one terminal and the second connection part is connected to the other terminal. All of the micro coaxial cables are collectively covered with a sheath.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses an example of a method of passing the above-described micro coaxial cable assembly 101 through the shaft portion 103 of the hinge 102 as shown in FIG. In this method, all the micro coaxial cables are converged with tape and passed through the hinge 102.
However, it is considered that the method described in Patent Document 2 will be difficult to apply in the future due to downsizing of electronic devices such as mobile phones, as will be described later.

  FIG. 11 shows a typical shape and structure of a mobile phone having a hinge mechanism. FIG. 11A schematically shows a clamshell (folding) type having an open / close structure, and FIG. 11B schematically shows a twist type mobile phone having a two-axis structure that can be opened and closed and rotated. With recent downsizing and thinning of cellular phones, the hinge diameter required for the opening / closing structure shown in FIG. 11 is further reduced. Therefore, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, it may be impossible to pass the hinge 102 depending on the size of the connector. Further, when the assembled micro coaxial cable is passed through the hinge 102, the cable is caught and damaged, and it is difficult to improve the yield.

FIG. 10 shows a case where the micro coaxial cable is actually passed through the hinge. (A) and (b) in FIG. 10 are different types of connectors. The inner diameters of the hinges that can be inserted are 6 mm in the case of FIG. 10 (a) and in the case of FIG. 10 (b), respectively. It is 4 mm.
In such a structure, when the size of the connector 122 does not match the inner diameter of the hinge 124, that is, when the connector size (thickness or depth) is too large or the inner diameter of the hinge is too small, the micro coaxial cable assembly is connected to the hinge 124. There is a possibility of damaging the micro coaxial cable 121 when passing the cable. Further, when the connector 122 and the micro coaxial cable 121 are connected by solder, the solder sucks up. Therefore, the micro coaxial cable in the vicinity of the connector 122 becomes hard and difficult to bend. In this state, when the micro coaxial cable near the connector 122 is bent and passed through the hinge 124, the micro coaxial cable is not sufficiently bent at the position indicated by 125 in FIG. There is a risk of giving or not passing through the hinge 124.
Japanese Patent No. 3859527 JP 2007-208338 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can be wired via a hinge regardless of the size of the connector, and can reduce the thickness and size of the mounted electronic device. It is an object to provide a possible micro coaxial cable assembly.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a micro coaxial cable assembly includes a plurality of micro coaxial cables arranged in parallel and aligned in a line at each of both terminals, the first connection portion at one terminal and the other terminal. A micro coaxial cable assembly in which a second connection portion is connected, each micro coaxial cable forming an α-shaped loop between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, The planes formed by the loops are arranged in the same direction.
The micro coaxial cable assembly according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1, a support member is arranged in the loop.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wiring structure for an electronic device having a hinge portion, wherein the micro coaxial cable assembly according to the first or second aspect is used, and the hinge portion is connected to the micro coaxial cable. It is arranged in the formed loop.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising the micro coaxial cable assembly according to the first or second aspect.

In the micro coaxial cable assembly of the present invention, each micro coaxial cable forms an α-shaped loop. Therefore, even when the bending is applied many times to this, the loop moves following the bending, so that the stress applied to the micro coaxial cable by the bending is reduced and damage is hardly caused. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ultra-fine coaxial cable assembly that is less likely to cause deterioration of electrical characteristics even after being bent many times and that has excellent bending characteristics. Further, since the individual micro coaxial cables independently form a loop, as shown in Patent Document 1, the size does not increase in the width direction. Therefore, by applying the micro coaxial cable assembly of the present invention, the electronic device can be reduced in size. Furthermore, the position of the loop can be freely changed between the first connection portion and the second connection portion. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform wiring work according to the structure of the applied electronic device.
In addition, the shaft portion of the hinge mechanism can be arranged in the loop of the micro coaxial cable. Therefore, it is possible to connect via a path having a hinge mechanism using a micro coaxial cable assembly regardless of the size and type of the connecting portion. Therefore, the connection portion can be freely selected according to the applied electronic device and the like, and the electronic device can be reduced in size and thickness.
Since the micro coaxial cable assembly uses solder to connect each micro coaxial cable to the connection portion, solder may be disposed in the vicinity of the connection portion of the micro coaxial cable due to the sucking up of the solder. Therefore, the micro coaxial cable arranged in the vicinity of the connection portion has a reduced degree of freedom and may be restricted in movement when bent. In the present invention, since it is not necessary to pass the connecting portion through the shaft portion of the hinge mechanism, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the sucking up of the solder. Therefore, when applied to the connection via the hinge mechanism, the fine coaxial cable assembly cannot be passed through the shaft portion as in the prior art, and the yield can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

<Ultrafine coaxial cable assembly>
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a micro coaxial cable assembly 10A (10) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a perspective view, and FIG. 1B is a side view.
In the micro coaxial cable assembly 10A of the present embodiment, a plurality of micro coaxial cables 1 are arranged in parallel, and both terminals 1a and 1b are aligned in a line, and one terminal 1a is connected to the first connection portion 2 and the other is Terminal 1 b is connected to the second connection unit 3. Each of the micro coaxial cables 1 forms an α-shaped loop 1c between the first connection portion 2 and the second connection portion 3, and the planes formed by the loops 1c are arranged in the same direction.

  As the 1st connection part 2 and the 2nd connection part 3, well-known things, such as a connector and a board | substrate, can be used, for example.

The micro coaxial cable 1 includes a central conductor made of a single core wire, a stranded wire, and the like, an insulator covering the outer periphery thereof, an outer conductor arranged coaxially on the outer side of the insulator, and a sheath covering the outer side. Composed. The outer conductor can be constituted by a horizontal winding, a spiral winding, a mesh structure, or the like.
The ultra-fine coaxial cable 1 is preferably a cable having a central conductor size of AWG 36 or less, and more preferably a cable in the range of AWG 42 to 50. For example, AWG 46 to AWG 42 (having an outer diameter of about 0.2 to 0.3 mm) can be used. Note that AWG is an abbreviation for American Wire Gauge, and is a standard widely used in the coaxial cable industry.

  The α-shaped loops 1c formed by the micro coaxial cables 1 are arranged so that the planes formed by the loops 1c face the same direction. The size of the loop 1c can be appropriately changed depending on the size of the hinge of the applied electronic device or the like, but is preferably equal to or larger than the minimum bending radius of the micro coaxial cable 1 to be used. As an example, when the micro coaxial cable 1 of the AWG 42 is used, the radius of the loop 1c is 2.0 mm or more. If the radius of the loop 1c is smaller than the minimum bending radius, a force is applied to the micro coaxial cable 1 and may be damaged. However, since the cable having the loop 1c shape is not loaded, the radius can be further reduced.

In the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of the present invention, each micro coaxial cable 1 forms an α-shaped loop 1c. For this reason, even when the bending occurs many times, the loop 1c moves following the bending, so that the stress applied to the micro coaxial cable by the bending is reduced and damage is less likely to occur. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ultrafine coaxial cable having excellent bending characteristics that hardly deteriorates in electrical characteristics even after being bent many times. Further, since the individual micro coaxial cables independently form a loop, as shown in Patent Document 1, the size does not increase in the width direction. Therefore, by applying the micro coaxial cable assembly of the present invention, the electronic device can be reduced in size. Furthermore, the position of the loop can be freely changed between the first connection portion and the second connection portion. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform wiring work according to the structure of the applied electronic device.
Further, the shaft portion of the hinge mechanism can be disposed in the α-shaped loop 1 c of the micro coaxial cable 1. Therefore, it is possible to connect via a path having a hinge mechanism using the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 regardless of the size and type of the connecting portions 2 and 3. Therefore, the connection portion can be freely selected according to the applied electronic device, and the electronic device can be reduced in size and thickness.
Further, since each micro coaxial cable 1 is connected to the connection portions 2 and 3 using solder, solder may be disposed near the connection portions 2 and 3 of the micro coaxial cable 1 due to the sucking up of the solder. is there. For this reason, the micro coaxial cable 1 disposed in the vicinity of the connecting portions 2 and 3 has a reduced degree of freedom and is restricted in movement when bent. In the present invention, since it is not necessary to pass the connecting portions 2 and 3 through the shaft portion of the hinge mechanism, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the solder sucking up. Therefore, when applied to the connection via the hinge mechanism, the fine coaxial cable assembly cannot be passed through the shaft portion as in the prior art, and the yield can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a micro coaxial cable assembly 10 </ b> B in which the micro coaxial cable 1 is collectively covered with a jacket material 4 may be used. As the jacket material 4, a known material usually used in a micro coaxial cable assembly can be applied.

  When the micro coaxial cable 10B of this embodiment is used, in addition to the effects described above, the aligned state of the micro coaxial cable 1 can be maintained. Therefore, even if repeated bending occurs in the micro coaxial cable assembly 10B, the micro coaxial cables 1 are prevented from being entangled with each other. Thereby, the kink and disconnection which arise when the micro coaxial cable 1 is entangled can be prevented effectively, and the micro coaxial cable assembly which was excellent in the bending characteristic can be provided. In addition, since the alignment state is maintained, the handling property is excellent, and the workability can be improved. Furthermore, since the micro coaxial cable 1 is protected by the jacket material 4, it is possible to suppress damage to the micro coaxial cable 1 during work.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a micro coaxial cable assembly 10C (10) according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG. 3B is a side view. The micro coaxial cable assembly 10 </ b> C of the present embodiment is different from the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 </ b> A of the first embodiment in that the micro coaxial cable 1 formed between the first connection portion 2 and the second connection portion 3. The support member 5 is disposed on the loop 1c.

The support member 5 has a cylindrical shape, for example, and is inserted into the loop 1c to hold the structure of the loop 1c. When the micro coaxial cable assembly 10C of this embodiment is mounted on an electronic device or the like, the support member 5 can also be used as a shaft portion (rotating shaft) of the hinge mechanism.
The diameter of the support member 5 is preferably greater than or equal to the minimum bending radius of the micro coaxial cable 1 to be used, for example, the radius is 2.0 mm or more. When used as a rotating shaft of a hinge mechanism, it can be used by appropriately changing depending on the electronic device to be applied. However, since the cable having the loop 1c shape is not loaded, the radius can be further reduced.

  By arranging the support member 5, in addition to the effects obtained in the first embodiment described above, even when a force that reduces the diameter of the loop 1 c is applied to the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 C during transportation, for example, It can suppress that the loop 1c becomes too small (becomes less than the minimum bending radius), and damage arises in the micro coaxial cable 1 of the location which forms the loop 1c. Moreover, the diameter of the loop 1c formed in each micro coaxial cable 1 can be made the same, and handling of the micro coaxial cable assembly 10C at the time of wiring becomes easy. Therefore, when mounted on an electronic device or the like, it is possible to improve workability and assemblability. In particular, by using the support member 5 as the rotation axis of the hinge, the micro coaxial cable assembly 10C of the present embodiment can be easily mounted on an electronic device or the like having a hinge mechanism.

  Also in this embodiment, the micro coaxial cable 1 can be collectively covered with the jacket material 4 as in FIG. The same effect as described above can be obtained.

In the fine coaxial cable assemblies 10A to 10C of the above-described embodiments, a flat cable in which a plurality of fine coaxial cables are arranged in parallel instead of a single wire of the fine coaxial cable and are collectively covered with a sheath of a synthetic resin material. It can also be. In this case, a flat cable is formed and connected to the first connection portion and the second connection portion, and then a loop is produced.
By using a flat cable, an ultrafine coaxial cable assembly having excellent bending characteristics can be obtained.

<Production method>
The micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of the present invention can be manufactured by the following method, for example, as shown in FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a plurality of micro coaxial cables 1 are arranged in parallel, and are aligned in a line at both terminals 1a and 1b. Thereafter, one terminal 1 a is connected to the first connection unit 2.
Next, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, each micro coaxial cable 1 is configured to form an α-shaped loop 1 c between the first connection portion 2 and the second connection portion 3. In addition, the micro coaxial cable 1 is bent one by one, and the other terminal 1 b is connected to the second connection portion 3. At this time, the plane formed by each loop 1c is directed in the same direction.
As described above, as shown in FIG. 4D, the micro coaxial cable assembly 10A of the present embodiment can be obtained.

  After that, if necessary, if all the micro coaxial cables 1 are covered with the jacket material 4, the micro coaxial cable assembly 10B shown in FIG. 2 can be obtained, and if the support member 5 is inserted into the loop 1c, The micro coaxial cable assembly 10C of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 can be obtained.

After connecting both terminals 1a and 1b of all the micro coaxial cables 1 to both connecting portions 2 and 3, the entire loop 1c is formed as a whole, as in the case of using the FPC 111 shown in FIG. The size of the micro coaxial cable assembly will increase in the direction.
On the other hand, according to this manufacturing method in which each α-shaped loop 1c is formed, the micro coaxial having the α-shaped loop 1c between the first connecting portion 2 and the second connecting portion 3. Even the cable 10 can be made small. Therefore, when mounting on an electronic device etc., wiring can be performed in a space-saving manner. Therefore, by applying the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of the present invention, wiring can be performed with a high degree of freedom, and downsizing of the applied electronic device can be achieved.

<Wiring structure>
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a wiring structure 20 using the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of the present invention. A first substrate 21 and a second substrate 22 on which a circuit (not shown in the drawing) is formed are arranged to be bendable via a hinge mechanism. Moreover, the 1st board | substrate 21 and the 2nd board | substrate 22 are electrically connected via the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of this invention. Further, the shaft portion 23 of the hinge mechanism is disposed in a loop 1 c formed in the micro coaxial cable 1.

  According to the wiring structure 20 of the present invention, a wiring structure having a hinge mechanism can be obtained simply by inserting the shaft portion 23 into the loop 1c of the micro coaxial cable 1. In addition, since it is not necessary to pass the micro coaxial cable through the shaft portion 23 of the hinge mechanism, it is possible to suppress damage that has conventionally occurred when the micro coaxial cable is passed through the shaft portion 23. In addition, regardless of the size and type of the connecting portions 2 and 3, the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 can be used for wiring along a path having a hinge mechanism. Accordingly, the connection portion can be freely selected according to the applied wiring structure, and the wiring structure can be reduced in size and thickness. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to pass the micro coaxial cable through the shaft portion 23 of the hinge mechanism, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the sucking up of the solder in the vicinity of the connecting portion. Therefore, when applied to a wiring structure via a hinge mechanism, the fine coaxial cable assembly cannot be passed through the shaft portion as in the prior art, and the yield can be improved.

<Electronic equipment>
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an electronic device 30 to which the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 of the present invention is applied.
In the electronic device 30 shown in FIG. 6, a first housing 31 and a second housing 32 are attached to be foldable by a hinge mechanism. Terminals 34 and 35 are respectively arranged on the first casing 31 and the second casing 32, and the terminals 34 and 35 are electrically connected to the connection portions 2 and 3 of the micro coaxial cable assembly 10. The circuit side connection portions 34a and 35a are arranged. The circuit side connection portions 34a and 35a are electrically connected to the connection portions 2 and 3 of the micro coaxial cable assembly 10, and the shaft portion 33 of the hinge mechanism is inserted into the loop 1c formed in the micro coaxial cable 1. Thus, the terminal 34 in the first housing 31 and the terminal 35 in the second housing 32 are electrically connected via the micro coaxial cable assembly 10. For connection between the circuit side connection portions 34a and 35a and the connection portions 4a and 4b of the micro coaxial cable assembly 10, an appropriate method such as connector or soldering can be used.

According to the electronic device 30 of the present invention, the electronic device 30 having a hinge mechanism can be obtained simply by inserting the shaft portion 33 into the loop 1c of the micro coaxial cable 1. In addition, since it is not necessary to pass the fine coaxial cable through the shaft portion 33 of the hinge mechanism, it is possible to suppress damage that has conventionally occurred when the fine coaxial cable is passed through the shaft portion 33. In addition, an electronic device having a hinge mechanism can be obtained using the micro coaxial cable assembly 10 regardless of the size and type of the connecting portions 2 and 3. Therefore, the connection portions 2 and 3 can be freely selected according to the electronic device 30 to be applied, and the electronic device 30 can be reduced in size and thickness. For example, when the diameter of the shaft portion 33 of the hinge mechanism is 4 mm and the AWG 42 is used as the micro coaxial cable 1, the diameter of the hinge mechanism including the micro coaxial cable 1 is about 5.8 mm. Therefore, the height (diameter) of the hinge mechanism can be designed at 6 mm to 7 mm. At this time, since there is no influence of the height of the micro coaxial cable 1 and the connection portions 2 and 3 can be selected regardless of the diameter of the shaft portion 33, the height when fitted to the terminals 34 and 35 is low. By using a thin connection portion, the thickness of the first casing 31 and the second casing 32 can be reduced.
Furthermore, since it is not necessary to pass the micro coaxial cable through the shaft portion 33 of the hinge mechanism, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the solder sucking up in the vicinity of the connecting portions 2 and 3. Therefore, when applied to the electronic device 30 having a hinge mechanism, the fine coaxial cable assembly cannot be passed through the shaft portion 33 as in the prior art, and the yield can be improved.

<Experimental example>
Electrical characteristics before and after bending were measured using a single wire of AWG42 and a mandrel having a diameter of 4 mm. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a 25 g weight 71 is attached to one end of the single wire 1 of the AWG 42, and ± 90 ° bending is performed 100,000 times around the mandrels 72a and 72b at intervals of 30 cycles per minute. Added to AWG42. The presence / absence and resistance of cracks in the inner conductor and the outer conductor of the AWG 42 before and after the bending, and the conductor resistance, dielectric strength, capacitance, and impedance in the AWG 42 were measured. The measurement was performed individually using three samples (Sample 1-3, all AWG42). The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 shows the measurement results before bending, and Table 2 shows the measurement results after bending.

  From Table 1 and Table 2, even when bent through a mandrel having a diameter of 4 mm, almost no change was observed in the resistance values of the inner conductor and the partial conductor of the micro coaxial cable. Similarly, almost no change was observed with respect to the conductor resistance, capacitance, and impedance, and sufficient electrical characteristics were maintained. Therefore, it was confirmed that even if the loop diameter is about 4 mm in diameter, the micro coaxial cable assembly of the present invention can be applied without deteriorating the electrical characteristics of the micro coaxial cable.

  The micro coaxial cable assembly of the present invention is applied to a drive unit of a portable electronic device such as a digital camera, a digital video camera, a foldable personal digital assistant (PDA), a PC, a car navigation system, and a game device in addition to a mobile phone. can do.

It is the figure which showed typically 1st Embodiment of the micro coaxial cable of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically another example of 1st Embodiment of the micro coaxial cable of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically 2nd Embodiment of the micro coaxial cable of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically an example of the manufacturing method of the micro coaxial cable assembly of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically the wiring structure using the micro coaxial cable of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically the electronic device to which the micro coaxial cable of this invention was applied. It is the schematic of the measuring method in an Example. It is the figure which showed typically an example of the wiring method in the conventional hinge part. It is the figure which showed typically another example of the wiring method in the conventional hinge part. It is the figure which showed typically the mode at the time of passing the conventional micro coaxial cable through a hinge. It is the figure which showed typically the typical shape and structure of a mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Micro coaxial cable, 1a One terminal, 1b The other terminal, 1c loop, 2 1st connection part, 2nd connection part, 4 Jacket material, 5 Support member, 10 (10A, 10B, 10C) Micro coaxial Cable assembly, 20 Wiring structure, 21 First substrate, 22 Second substrate, 23 Shaft, 30 Electronic device, 31 First housing, 32 Second housing, 33 Shaft, 34 First terminal 35 Second terminal.

Claims (4)

A micro coaxial cable assembly in which a plurality of micro coaxial cables are arranged in parallel and aligned in a line at each of the two terminals, and the first connection portion is connected to one end and the second connection portion is connected to the other end. There,
Each of the micro coaxial cables forms an α-shaped loop between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, and a plane formed by each of the loops is arranged in the same direction. An ultra-fine coaxial cable assembly.   2. The micro coaxial cable assembly according to claim 1, wherein a support member is disposed in the loop. A wiring structure of an electronic device having a hinge mechanism,
A wiring structure using the micro coaxial cable assembly according to claim 1, wherein a shaft portion of the hinge mechanism is arranged in the loop formed in the micro coaxial cable.   An electronic apparatus comprising the micro coaxial cable assembly according to claim 1.

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