JP2018078239A - spacer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacer which is excellent in mounting workability and can be retained by surely separating two printed wiring boards from each other.SOLUTION: Disclosed is a spacer by which a second printed wiring board is separated from a first printed wiring board in the thickness direction of the first printed wiring board to be held. The spacer includes: two or more positioning parts: one or more plurality of fixed parts; and a spacer body. Two or more positioning parts are engaged with the second printed wiring board at a position separated from each other. One or more plurality of fixed parts can be fixed to the first printed wiring board. The spacer body couples two or more positioning parts with one or more plurality of fixed parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure relates to spacers.

  In electronic devices that perform communication, a main board that is a printed wiring board on which a main circuit is formed and a sub board that is a printed wiring board on which an antenna circuit and the like are formed are used in combination. These substrates are generally arranged apart from each other in the thickness direction. As a method of arranging two substrates apart from each other, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, there is a method in which posts (so-called collars) are arranged between substrates and fixed to the substrate with screws.

  Also known are a method of providing a boss on one or both of the main board and the sub board and fixing with screws, a method of providing a through hole in both boards, and inserting a rod-shaped spacer made of resin into this through hole. Yes.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-125390

  In the above-described method using the collar, the position adjustment between the collar and the substrate, the position adjustment between the screw hole and the collar, the work of attaching the screw, and the like are necessary, and the number of steps is relatively large. In addition, the number of parts increases.

  In the method of providing the boss on the substrate, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the collar and the substrate, but the boss installation processing on the substrate is necessary, and the design needs to be changed for each substrate. Also, the cost is not much different from the method using the above-mentioned color.

  In the method using a resin spacer, if the spacer is miniaturized in response to the recent miniaturization of the circuit, the size of the spacer is minimized, and inconvenience is likely to occur in manufacture and attachment to the substrate. Moreover, there exists a possibility that attachment strength may become inadequate.

  One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a spacer that is easy to mount and can securely hold two printed wiring boards apart.

  One embodiment of the present disclosure is a spacer for holding the second printed wiring board in the thickness direction of the first printed wiring board with respect to the first printed wiring board. The spacer includes two or more positioning portions, one or a plurality of fixing portions, and a spacer body. The two or more positioning portions engage with the second printed wiring board at positions separated from each other. One or a plurality of fixing portions can be fixed to the first printed wiring board. The spacer main body connects two or more positioning parts and one or more fixing parts.

  According to such a configuration, the spacer and the second printed wiring board (that is, the sub board) can be easily and reliably positioned by the two or more positioning portions. Therefore, the second printed wiring board can be fixed without performing complicated position adjustment work by fixing the fixing portion of the spacer attached to the second printed wiring board to the first printed wiring board (that is, the main board). Can be held away from the first printed wiring board. Moreover, since these positioning parts and fixing | fixed parts are connected by the spacer main body, these can be handled as one component. Therefore, even if the size is reduced in accordance with the miniaturization of the circuit, the printed wiring board can be stably held without impairing workability.

  In one aspect of the present disclosure, the two or more positioning portions include a clamp that restricts movement of at least the thickness direction of the second printed wiring board, and a protrusion that protrudes in the thickness direction of the second printed wiring board. But you can. According to such a configuration, one end of the second printed wiring board is inserted into the clamp, and the protrusion is locked to the second printed wiring board, so that the second printed wiring board and the spacer can be easily connected. Positioning can be performed. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the spacer from falling off the second printed wiring board.

  In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the spacer main body may be a frame having an outer shape that is rectangular and has an opening. Further, the two or more positioning portions may be arranged on one side in the direction passing through the opening of the spacer body, and the one or more fixing portions may be arranged on the other side in the direction passing through the opening of the spacer body. According to such a configuration, the handling of the spacer is further facilitated, and the stress applied to the second printed wiring board by the spacer body can be dispersed.

  In one aspect of the present disclosure, two or more positioning portions may be arranged one by one near the four corners of the spacer body. According to such a configuration, the positioning accuracy of the two printed wiring boards can be increased.

  In one aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more fixing portions may be convex portions that are fitted into through holes provided in the first printed wiring board. According to such a configuration, the workability of attaching the spacer to the first printed wiring board can be further improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a spacer according to an embodiment. 2A is a schematic front view of the spacer of FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a schematic rear view of the spacer of FIG. 1, FIG. 2C is a schematic side view of the spacer of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2E is a schematic bottom view of the spacer of FIG. 1. FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view for explaining a procedure for attaching the second printed wiring board to the spacer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is a schematic side view showing the state of FIG. 3A. 4A is a schematic perspective view for explaining the next procedure of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4B is a schematic side view showing the state of FIG. 4A. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a procedure for attaching the spacer of FIG. 1 to the first printed wiring board.

Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1. First Embodiment]
[1-1. Constitution]
The spacer 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a spacer for holding the second printed wiring board spaced apart from the first printed wiring board in the thickness direction of the first printed wiring board.

  The spacer 1 includes four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B that engage with the second printed wiring board at positions separated from each other, and two fixing portions 4A and 4B that can be fixed to the first printed wiring board. The spacer main body 5 which connects four positioning part 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and two fixing | fixed part 4A, 4B is provided.

  The four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, the two fixing portions 4A, 4B, and the spacer body 5 are integrally formed. The material of the spacer 1 is not particularly limited, but a resin is preferable in consideration of the influence on the antenna circuit and the like.

  Hereinafter, for convenience, the side of the spacer 1 on which the first printed wiring board is disposed is referred to as “lower side”, and the side on which the second printed wiring board is disposed is referred to as “upper side”. The direction of use is not limited.

<Spacer body>
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 </ b> D, and 2 </ b> E, the spacer body 5 is a frame body that has a rectangular outer shape in plan view and has an opening.

  Specifically, the spacer body 5 includes a rod-shaped first member 51 that extends in the Y-axis direction, a second member 52 that also extends in the Y-axis direction and faces the first member 51, and the X-axis direction. A pair of third members 53 </ b> A and 53 </ b> B that extend and connect the first member 51 and the second member 52 are provided.

  The pair of third members 53A and 53B has an inner surface (that is, a surface on the center side of the spacer body 5) outside the X-axis direction in the vicinity of the corner where the pair of clamps 2A and 2B are disposed. Each has an inclined surface region 57 which is inclined in the direction. In other words, the inclined surface region 57 is a region in which the width in the Y-axis direction of the pair of third members 53A and 53B decreases as the clamps 2A and 2B are approached.

<Positioning part>
The four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B protrude in the Z-axis direction with a pair of clamps 2A, 2B that restrict movement of at least the thickness direction (Z-axis direction in the figure) of the second printed wiring board. And a pair of protrusions 3A and 3B.

  The pair of clamps 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B is disposed in the vicinity of two corners aligned in the Y-axis direction among the four corners of the spacer body 5. The pair of protrusions 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B is disposed in the vicinity of the remaining two corners among the four corners of the spacer body 5. That is, the four positioning portions 2 </ b> A, 2 </ b> B, 3 </ b> A, 3 </ b> B are arranged one by one near the four corners of the spacer body 5.

(Clamp)
The pair of clamps 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B is disposed on the upper side of the spacer body 5. Further, as described above, the pair of clamps 2A and 2B are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction. One of the pair of clamps 2A and 2B is a mirror image of the other XZ plane. Therefore, one clamp 2A will be described below.

  The clamp 2 </ b> A is formed on the upper side of the corner portion 55 formed by the first member 51 and the third member 53 </ b> A of the spacer body 5. The clamp 2A extends in the Z-axis direction from the first side wall 21 extending in the Z-axis direction from the first member 51 parallel to the Y-axis of the spacer body 5 and from the third member 53A parallel to the X-axis of the spacer body 5. From the second side wall 22, the upper wall 23 supported by the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 and extending in the direction perpendicular to the Z axis (that is, the XY plane direction), and the central portion of the first member 51 And a bottom wall 24 extending inward in the X-axis direction. Accordingly, the clamp 2A has a configuration in which the second printed wiring board is surrounded and supported so as to be supported in three directions of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis.

  The inner surfaces of the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 of the clamp 2A (that is, the surface on the center side of the spacer main body 5) are flush with the inner surfaces of the first member 51 and the third member 53A of the spacer main body 5, respectively. Yes. The upper surface of the bottom wall 24 is flush with the upper surface of the first member 51. Further, as shown in FIG. 2D, the bottom wall 24 is spaced apart so as not to overlap the upper wall 23 in plan view. Further, the bottom wall 24 extends to the inside of the spacer body 5 from the upper wall 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the distance D between the inner surface (that is, the lower surface) of the upper wall 23 of the clamp 2A and the upper surface (that is, the upper surface of the spacer body 5) of the bottom wall 24 is It is formed to be the same as the thickness of the second printed wiring board or slightly larger than the thickness of the second printed wiring board. That is, the distance D is designed such that the second printed wiring board can be inserted between the upper wall 23 and the bottom wall 24 and the second printed wiring board after insertion does not move in the Z-axis direction. ing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper wall 23 of the clamp 2 </ b> A has an inclined portion 25 whose thickness gradually decreases toward the tip end in the X-axis direction at an inner portion in the X-axis direction. By this inclined portion 25, the second printed wiring board can be easily inserted into the clamp 2A.

(Projection)
The pair of protrusions 3A and 3B are arranged on the upper side of the spacer body 5 like the pair of clamps 2A and 2B.

  As described above, the pair of protrusions 3A and 3B are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction. One of the pair of protrusions 3A and 3B is a mirror image with respect to the other XZ plane. Therefore, hereinafter, one of the protrusions 3A will be described.

  The protrusion 3A is formed in the vicinity of a corner portion 56 formed by the second member 52 and the third member 53A of the spacer body 5. Here, “in the vicinity of the corner A” means that the distance from the corner A to another corner B adjacent to the corner A (that is, the length of one side of the rectangle) is L1. It means a region whose distance from A is 1/3 or less of the distance L1, and preferably a region whose distance from the corner A is 1/10 or less of the distance L1.

  Specifically, the protrusion 3 </ b> A is a columnar body disposed on the upper surface of the plate-like pedestal 58 extending inward in the X-axis direction from the second member 52. The pedestal 58 protrudes from the inner surface of the second member 52 in the vicinity of the corner portion 56 of the second member 52. The upper surface of the pedestal 58 is flush with the upper surface of the second member 52.

  The protrusion 3A has a central axis arranged parallel to the Z axis. The diameter of the protrusion 3A is designed to be a size that can be locked by fitting into a through hole provided in the second printed wiring board. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the height of the protrusion 3A is larger than the distance D. That is, the protrusion 3A has a height that penetrates the second printed wiring board.

<Fixed part>
The two fixing portions 4A and 4B are arranged on the lower side of the spacer body 5, that is, on the side opposite to the four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B in the Z-axis direction of the spacer body 5.

  The two fixing portions 4A and 4B are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction. The two fixing portions 4A and 4B have a symmetrical shape and arrangement with respect to a virtual plane that passes through the center of gravity of the spacer 1 and is perpendicular to the Y axis. Therefore, below, one fixed part 4A is demonstrated.

  The fixing portion 4A protrudes from the lower surface in the Z-axis direction at a central portion of the third member 53A, that is, at a position away from the corner portion. 4 A of fixing | fixed parts are formed as a convex part inserted in the through-hole provided in the 1st printed wiring board. Note that the position of the fixing portion 4A is appropriately determined according to the position of the corresponding through hole of the first printed wiring board.

  Specifically, the fixing portion 4A is configured to be fixable to the through hole of the first printed wiring board by a snap fit mechanism. As the snap-fit mechanism in the fixing portion 4A, a publicly known one can be used. For example, as shown in FIG.

[1-2. how to use]
Next, the usage method of the spacer 1 is demonstrated, referring drawings.
First, the 1st printed wiring board and 2nd printed wiring board which are the object which uses the spacer 1 are demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first printed wiring board 100 has a male connector 101 mounted on one surface in the vicinity of the end. The first printed wiring board 100 has a pair of through holes 102A and 102B.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the second printed wiring board 200 has a female connector 201 mounted on one surface in the vicinity of the end. Further, the second printed wiring board 200 has a pair of through holes 202A and 202B provided in the vicinity of the end portion where the female connector 201 is mounted. For example, an antenna circuit and a case for shielding the antenna circuit are disposed on the second printed wiring board.

  The spacer 1 is used in a first step of attaching the second printed wiring board 200 to the spacer 1 and a second step of fixing the spacer 1 to which the second printed wiring board 200 is attached to the first printed wiring board 100. With.

<First step>
In the first step, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the second printed wiring board 200 is placed on the upper side of the spacer body 5 with respect to the XY plane with the mounting surface of the female connector 201 facing the spacer 1. Place in an inclined state. Specifically, the end of the second printed wiring board 200 opposite to the female connector 201 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the pair of third members 53A and 53B of the spacer body 5. At this time, the second printed wiring board 200 is held in such a direction that the female connector 201 side becomes the pair of protrusions 3A and 3B.

  Next, the second printed wiring board 200 is slid in the X-axis direction on the pair of third members 53A and 53B while being inclined with respect to the XY plane, and is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4B. As described above, the end opposite to the female connector 201 is inserted into the pair of clamps 2A and 2B.

  As described above, the pair of clamps 2A and 2B have the inclined portions 25, respectively. Since the inclined portion 25 functions as a guide when the second printed wiring board 200 is inserted into the pair of clamps 2A and 2B, the insertion operation can be performed relatively easily. The second side wall 22 also functions as a guide for restricting the movement of the second printed wiring board 200 in the Y-axis direction.

  After the end portion is inserted, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second printed wiring board 200 is rotated so that the end portion inserted into the pair of clamps 2A and 2B is tilted toward the spacer 1 side. At this time, the pair of protrusions 3A and 3B are inserted into the pair of through holes 202A and 202B of the second printed wiring board 200. Thereby, the second printed wiring board 200 is attached to the spacer 1.

<Second step>
In the second step, as shown in FIG. 5, the spacer 1 and the first printed wiring board 100 are overlapped so that the lower side of the spacer 1 faces the mounting surface of the male connector 101 of the first printed wiring board 100. Match.

  At this time, the two fixing portions 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B of the spacer 1 are fixed to the pair of through holes 102 </ b> A and 102 </ b> B of the first printed wiring board 100. Further, the male connector 101 of the first printed wiring board 100 is connected to the female connector 201 of the second printed wiring board 200.

  By the above procedure, the second printed wiring board 200 is held by the spacer 1 in a state of being spaced apart from the first printed wiring board 100 by a certain distance in the thickness direction. The first printed wiring board 100 and the second printed wiring board 200 are electrically connected by a connector.

[1-3. effect]
According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1a) The positioning of the spacer 1 and the second printed wiring board 200 can be easily and reliably performed by the four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B. Therefore, by fixing the fixing portions 4A and 4B of the spacer 1 attached to the second printed wiring board 200 to the first printed wiring board 100, the second printed wiring board can be performed without performing complicated position adjustment work. 200 can be held away from the first printed wiring board 100.

  (1b) Since the four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and the fixing portions 4A, 4B are connected by one spacer body 5, they can be handled as one spacer 1. Therefore, even if the size of each part of the spacer 1 is reduced in accordance with the miniaturization of the circuit, the substrate can be stably held without impairing workability.

  (1c) Since the positioning portion includes a pair of clamps 2A and 2B and a pair of protrusions 3A and 3B, one end of the second printed wiring board 200 is inserted into the pair of clamps 2A and 2B and then inserted. The second printed wiring board 200 and the spacer 1 can be easily positioned by rotating the other end with the portion as a fulcrum and engaging the protrusions 3A and 3B with the second printed wiring board 200. . In particular, connector connection between the first printed wiring board 100 and the second printed wiring board 200 is facilitated. Further, since the movement of the second printed wiring board 200 in the three directions can be restricted by the pair of clamps 2A and 2B, the spacer 1 is prevented from falling off from the second printed wiring board 200 by a force in a single direction. it can. Further, the presence of the pair of protrusions 3A and 3B prevents the second printed wiring board 200 from falling off when a moment is applied from the side opposite to the pair of clamps 2A and 2B.

  (1d) Since the four positioning portions 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B are provided one by one at the corner of the spacer body 5, the second printed wiring board 200 can be easily attached and two printed wirings The positioning accuracy of the plate can be increased.

  (1e) Since the spacer body 5 is a rectangular frame, it abuts on the four sides of the second printed wiring board 200. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the second printed wiring board 200, the stress can be dispersed to prevent the substrate from being bent or bent. Furthermore, the distance between the first printed wiring board 100 and the second printed wiring board 200 can be accurately maintained as a result of preventing bending and bending.

  (1f) Further, since the spacer body 5 is a frame body having an opening inside, interference with electronic components mounted on the second printed wiring board 200 can be avoided. Furthermore, when the printed wiring board falls, the electronic components inside the spacer body 5 can be protected.

[2. Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this indication was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this indication can take various forms, without being limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

  (2a) In the spacer 1 of the said embodiment, the positioning part does not necessarily need to be a combination of a clamp and a protrusion. If the second printed wiring board 200 can be positioned, the shape and combination of the positioning portions can be changed as appropriate. For example, the positioning part may have a shape that can be fixed to the printed wiring board by a snap-fit mechanism.

  (2b) Accordingly, in the spacer 1 of the above-described embodiment, the number of positioning portions may be two or three as long as a structure that can be engaged with the first printed wiring board 100 at two or more spaced apart positions can be secured. Conversely, it may be 5 or more.

  (2c) In the spacer 1 of the above embodiment, the positioning portion is not necessarily arranged near the corner portion of the spacer body 5. If the second printed wiring board 200 can be positioned, the corner portion It may be provided other than.

  (2d) In the spacer 1 of the above embodiment, since the first printed wiring board 100 and the second printed wiring board 200 are fixed by a connector, the number of fixing portions may be one. Conversely, the number of fixed portions may be three or more.

  (2e) In the spacer 1 of the above embodiment, the fixed portion may not be a convex portion that fits into the through holes 102 </ b> A and 102 </ b> B provided in the first printed wiring board 100. For example, a configuration such as a clip that holds the first printed wiring board 100 may be adopted as the fixing portion.

  (2f) In the spacer 1 of the above embodiment, the shape of the spacer body 5 is an example. That is, the spacer body 5 is not limited to a rectangular frame. Therefore, the spacer body does not necessarily have an opening.

  The spacer body may be a rod-shaped member. That is, a spacer in which two or more positioning portions and one or more fixing portions are connected by a rod-shaped spacer body is also a form intended by the present disclosure. This spacer may be used alone, or a plurality of spacers may be combined to hold the second printed wiring board against the first printed wiring board.

  (2g) The functions of one constituent element in the above embodiment may be distributed as a plurality of constituent elements, or the functions of a plurality of constituent elements may be integrated into one constituent element. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit a part of structure of the said embodiment. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other embodiment. In addition, all the aspects included in the technical idea specified from the wording described in the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

1 ... spacer, 2A, 2B ... clamp (positioning part),
3A, 3B ... projection (positioning part), 4A, 4B ... fixing part, 5 ... spacer body,
21 ... 1st side wall, 22 ... 2nd side wall, 23 ... Top wall, 24 ... Bottom wall, 25 ... Inclined part,
51 ... 1st member, 52 ... 2nd member, 53A, 53B ... 3rd member, 55, 56 ... Corner | angular part,
57 ... inclined surface area, 58 ... pedestal,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... 1st printed wiring board, 101 ... Male connector, 102A, 102B ... Through-hole,
200 ... 2nd printed wiring board, 201 ... Female connector, 202A, 202B ... Through-hole.

Claims (5)

A spacer for holding the second printed wiring board apart from the first printed wiring board in the thickness direction of the first printed wiring board,
Two or more positioning portions engaged with the second printed wiring board at positions separated from each other;
One or a plurality of fixing parts fixable to the first printed wiring board;
A spacer comprising: a spacer main body that connects the two or more positioning portions and the one or more fixing portions. The spacer according to claim 1,
The two or more positioning portions include a clamp that restricts movement of at least the thickness direction of the second printed wiring board and a protrusion that protrudes in the thickness direction of the second printed wiring board. The spacer according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The spacer body is a frame having a rectangular outer shape and an opening;
The two or more positioning portions are arranged on one side in a direction penetrating the opening of the spacer body,
The one or more fixing portions are spacers arranged on the other side in a direction penetrating the opening of the spacer body. The spacer according to claim 3,
The two or more positioning portions are arranged one by one near the four corners of the spacer body. The spacer according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The one or more fixing portions are spacers that are convex portions that fit into through holes provided in the first printed wiring board.