JP4094581B2 - Connection structure between printed circuit board and hinge unit in foldable portable terminal and connection member thereof - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a connection structure between a printed circuit board and a hinge unit and a connection member thereof in a foldable mobile terminal, and more particularly to a connection structure between a printed circuit board and a hinge unit suitable for use in a foldable mobile phone having a biaxial hinge unit structure. The present invention relates to a connecting member.

  In a mobile phone that is a portable terminal, an upper unit having a display unit and a lower unit having an operation unit are connected using a hinge unit assembly, and the upper unit is configured to be expandable with respect to the lower unit. Folding mobile phones are widely used. In such a foldable mobile phone, an electric circuit is incorporated in the printed circuit board in each of the lower unit and the upper unit, and it is necessary to electrically connect both printed circuit boards. For this purpose, an FPC cable (Flexible Printed Circuit, hereinafter simply referred to as FPC) is used.

The hinge unit assembly, the printed circuit board, and the FPC described above must be mechanically and electrically connected to each other. However, referring to Patent Documents 1 and 2, the connection between the hinge unit assembly and the printed circuit board is connected to the upper unit or the lower unit. The printed circuit board is generally screwed to the unit housing, although there is no particular description. Further, the connection between the FPC and the printed board is performed using a connector.
JP-A-2003-46275 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-152357

  In the structure in which the hinge unit assembly and the printed circuit board are mechanically connected by screwing through the unit housing, these three parts (hinge unit assembly, Since the unit housing and the printed circuit board) must be small, the mounting work during assembly becomes complicated, and screwing is necessary, so that the number of screw parts is increased and the work efficiency is significantly reduced. In addition, in the structure in which the printed circuit board and the FPC are electrically connected using a connector, there are also disadvantages that a component called a connector is required and the reliability of the connector becomes a problem.

  The FPC is connected to the printed circuit board of the upper and lower units via the hinge unit assembly. In this case, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the FPC is stored in the hinge unit assembly, the hinge is assembled. The FPC is wound around the shaft. In this case, the printed circuit board and the hinge unit are connected by FPC. However, since the printed circuit board and the hinge unit are heavy, if the printed circuit board and the hinge unit are connected only by the FPC, Since the FPC is flexible, the heavy printed circuit board and the hinge unit become unstable, so that workability is remarkably lowered when assembled in the case, and force is not applied to the FPC during transportation between processes. By devising, it is necessary to eliminate the FPC cut.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printed circuit board and hinge unit assembly mounting structure that reduces the number of parts, improves workability during assembly, and also improves reliability, and a printed circuit board mounting frame used therefor Is to provide.

The connection structure according to the present invention is a connection structure for connecting a hinge unit for rotatably connecting a first unit and a second unit and a printed circuit board accommodated in the second unit, A connecting member that overlaps the connecting portions of the substrate and the hinge unit and clamps the overlapping portion, and clamps the overlapping portion by a body of the connecting member and an elastically deformable claw portion ; It is characterized by becoming.

A plurality of the claw portions are provided. Further, the hinge unit has a biaxial hinge unit structure, and a receiver is attached to the connecting member .

  Furthermore, the flexible printed board which connects between the printed circuit board of said 1st unit and said 2nd unit is thermocompression-bonded to the printed circuit board of said 2nd unit, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The connecting member according to the present invention connects the hinge unit that rotatably connects the first unit and the second unit and the printed circuit board accommodated in the second unit with the connecting portions being overlapped. A connecting member used in the connecting structure is provided with an elastically deformable claw portion, and the overlapping portion of the connecting portion is clamped by the claw portion and the main body.

  The operation of the present invention will be described. When connecting a hinge unit and a printed circuit board in a portable terminal such as a foldable mobile phone, the connecting portions of the hinge unit and the printed circuit board are overlapped, and the overlapped portion is clamped by an elastically deformable connecting member. That is, a claw portion for clamping is provided on the connecting member, and the overlapping portion of the printed circuit board and the hinge unit can be snap-fastened with a so-called one-touch by the main body portion and the claw portion of the connecting member. Accordingly, parts such as screws are not required, and workability is remarkably improved. Further, the reliability is greatly improved by connecting the printed circuit board and the FPC by thermocompression instead of the connector.

  According to the present invention, the printed circuit board and the hinge unit assembly are mechanically coupled via the mounting frame, and in this case, a so-called one-touch snap-fastening structure is employed to eliminate screwing. There is an effect that it can be expected to reduce the amount of work and significantly improve workability. Further, according to the present invention, since the printed circuit board and the FPC are connected by the thermocompression bonding method without using a connector, the number of parts can be reduced and the reliability can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a connection relationship between a biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 to which an FPC 2 is attached and an upper unit printed board 3. The biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 for better understanding.

  2A shows a normal closed state in which the back surface 202 of the upper unit 200 of the mobile phone is the upper surface, and FIG. 2B shows the upper unit 200 having the display surface 201 with the first rotating shaft 11 (FIG. 2). 1) and is opened about 90 degrees with respect to the lower unit 100 having the operation surface 101.

  2C, the upper unit 200 is rotated around the second rotation shaft 14 (see FIG. 1) from the state of (B), and the upper unit 200 is compared with the state of (B). Shows a state in which the direction is changed by exactly 180 degrees, and (D) shows the display of the upper unit 200 by rotating the upper unit 200 around the first rotation shaft 11 from the state of (C). A state is shown in which the surface 201 is on the top.

  In addition, the receiver 6 is also attached to the display surface 201 side of the upper unit 200 so that a call can be made even in the state (D). It is assumed that the first rotation shaft 11 and the second rotation shaft 14 are orthogonal to each other.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the printed circuit board 3 on the upper unit 200 side, the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10, the printed circuit board (not shown) on the lower unit 100 side, and the printed circuit board 3 are used. FPC 2 that is electrically connected to the PC board, a mounting frame 4 for mechanically connecting the printed circuit board 3 and the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10, and a receiver 6. Hereinafter, each of these components will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a six-side view of the printed circuit board 3 on the upper unit 200 side. The connecting portion of the printed circuit board 3 with respect to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 is provided with fitting portions 32a and 32b for fitting with a pair of frame claw portions 42a and 42b of the frame 4 which is a connecting member described later. Holes 31a and 31b are provided to be fitted to the pair of frame claw portions 41a and 41b substantially opposite to the pair of frame claw portions 42a and 42b of the frame 4, respectively. Furthermore, the printed circuit board 3 is provided with guide holes 33a and 33b that fit into the pair of guide pins 44a and 44b of the frame 4.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10. The biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 has a first rotation shaft 11 that functions as a deployment shaft for deploying the upper unit 200 with respect to the lower unit 100, and the upper unit at a predetermined angle (generally 90 degrees). The upper unit further includes a second rotation shaft 14 for rotating the upper unit in a direction orthogonal to the first rotation shaft 11 in a state where the upper rotation unit is unfolded. An attachment mechanism 12 for attaching the second rotation shaft 14 is provided at the center of the first rotation shaft 11. Further, the first rotation shaft 11 is provided with a deployment restriction mechanism portion 13 for regulating a deployment angle (deployment position) when the upper unit is rotated about the first rotation shaft 11 and deployed. ing.

  Further, the second rotating shaft 14 is provided with a hinge bracket 18 for connecting the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 and the printed circuit board 3, and the hinge bracket 18 includes a pair of frames 4. Guide holes 18a and 18b are provided for fitting with the guide pins 44a and 44b.

  FIG. 5 is a six-side view showing details of the mounting frame 4. The frame 4 is made of an elastic material, and a pair of claws 41 a and 41 b that are fitted to the holes 31 a and 31 b of the printed circuit board 3 and a pair of claws that are fitted to the fitting parts 32 a and 32 b of the printed circuit board 3. Portions 42a and 42b are provided. A pair of guide pins 44 a and 44 b are provided in the guide holes 33 a and 33 b of the printed circuit board 3 and the guide holes 18 a and 18 b of the hinge bracket 18, respectively. Reference numeral 40 denotes a frame body, and 43 denotes a receiver mounting portion for mounting the receiver 6.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view of the FPC 2. The FPC 2 basically includes an upper unit connection portion 24 connected to the printed circuit board 3 of the upper unit, a lower unit connection portion 25 connected to the printed circuit board of the lower unit, and the upper unit connection portion 24. The horizontal extension part 21 extended in the horizontal direction, the vertical extension part 22 extended in the vertical direction of the figure from the lower unit connection part 25, and the bent part 23 for connecting these two extension parts. Yes. Each of these parts 21 to 25 has a planar shape.

  FIG. 7 shows the structure of the FPC holder 5 for holding the FPC 2 and fixing it to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10. 2A is a front perspective view, FIGS. 2B and C are rear perspective views, and FIG. 2D is a six-view diagram including a front view, a side view, and a rear view. As shown in the figure, the FPC holder 5 has an FPC placement surface and three FPC clamping claws 51 to 53 provided in a plane parallel to the FPC placement surface on the back surface portion. 8 shows the mounting relationship between the FPC 2 and the FPC holder 5, the three claw portions 51 to 53 of the FPC holder 5 and the FPC mounting which is the holder main body at three portions of the bent portion 23 of the FPC 2. It is clamped between the surfaces and fixed.

  That is, by inserting the three side edge portions of the bent portion 53 of the FPC 2 into the gap between the claw portions 51 to 53 of the FPC holder 5 and the FPC placement surface, the FPC placement surface of the FPC holder 5. On the upper side, the bent portion 23 of the FPC 2 is positioned and placed, and fixed by the three FPC clamping claw portions 51 to 53.

  On the back surface of the FPC holder 5, holder fixing claws 54 and 55 for attaching the holder to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 are further provided. The pair of claw portions 54 and 55 are adapted to be fitted to the central portion 12 of the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 (so-called snap fastening).

  Since the FPC holder 5 is made of an elastically deformable plastic material or the like, when the FPC holder 5 is attached to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10, the holder fixing claws 54 and 55 are deformed. When the fixed position is reached, the central portion 12 of the first rotating shaft 11 is sandwiched between the claw portions 54 and 55 so that the FPC holder 5 can be easily attached to the central portion 12 by a so-called one-touch operation. (Snap stop) can be done.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, with the FPC holder 5 attached to the bent portion 23 of the FPC 2, the FPC 2 and FPC holder 5 are attached to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 as shown in FIGS. However, after processing the horizontal extension portion 21 and the vertical extension portion 22 of the FPC 2 as described below, the FPC holder 5 is moved to the second rotation shaft attachment mechanism portion that is the central portion of the first rotation shaft 11. 12 will be attached.

  Referring to FIG. 9, (A) is a front view when the FPC 2 is attached to the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 via the FPC holder 5, and (B) is a rear view thereof.

  In the state shown in FIG. 8, that is, with the FPC holder 5 attached to the bent portion 23 of the FPC 2, the horizontal extending portion 21 of the FPC 2 protrudes vertically from the central portion 12 of the hinge unit assembly 10. Wrap around 14 several times with a margin. After that, the FPC holder 5 is attached to the second rotating shaft attaching mechanism 12 with the one-touch operation snapping as described above.

  Then, the vertical extending portion 22 of the FPC 2 is wound around the first rotating shaft 11 of the hinge unit assembly 10 several times with a margin. At this time, the first rotating shaft 11 is wound around a portion having a smaller diameter (a portion other than the second rotating shaft attaching mechanism portion 12 and the deployment restricting mechanism portion 13). Thereafter, the upper unit connection portion 24 of the FPC 2 is connected to the printed circuit board 3 of the upper unit shown in FIG. 1, and the lower unit connection portion 25 is connected to the printed circuit board of the lower unit (not shown). At this time, the electrical connection between the printed circuit board and the FPC 2 is directly performed by a thermocompression bonding method instead of using a connector having a problem in reliability.

  FIG. 10 is a six-sided view showing the attachment state of the printed circuit board 3 and the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 of the upper unit, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. In FIG. 10, the FPC 2 is omitted for easy understanding. With reference to FIGS. 1, 10, and 11, a method of attaching the printed circuit board 3 and the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The guide pins 44a, 44b of the mounting frame 4 are inserted into the guide holes 18a, 18b provided in the hinge bracket 18 of the biaxial hinge unit assembly 10, and from above, the guide holes 33a, Insert into 33b.

  In this state, the connecting portions of the hinge unit assembly 10 and the printed circuit board 3 are overlapped to complete the alignment. At this time, the pair of fitting claws (frame claws) 41a and 41b of the mounting frame 4 are inserted into the fitting holes 31a and 31b of the printed circuit board 3, and the tip portions of the claws are elastically deformed to form a peripheral edge with the holes. So-called snapping is possible for the part. At the same time, the distal end portions of the pair of fitting claws (frame claws) 42a and 42b of the mounting frame 4 are elastically deformed, and snapped to the distal ends of the fitting portions 32a and 32b of the printed circuit board 3. Will be.

  Note that the receiver 6 is attached to the receiver attachment portion 43 of the attachment frame 4, and the receiver 6 is connected to the display surface 201 2 so that a call can be made even in the state shown in FIG. The shaft hinge unit assembly 10 is installed near the shaft hinge unit assembly 10. By doing so, it is possible to mount the printed circuit board and the hinge unit assembly in the mounting frame 4 without specially providing a space for installing the receiver 6, thereby preventing an increase in mounting area.

  Below, the procedure of the work of mounting the FPC 2 on the hinge unit assembly 10 and connecting the FPC 2 to the printed circuit board 3 will be described. In this procedure, the FPC is thermocompression-bonded to the printed circuit board, and then the FPC is wound around the hinge unit assembly. The integrated FPC and printed circuit board are wound around the rotating shaft of the hinge unit. However, as described above, after the FPC is wound around the rotating shaft of the hinge unit, the FPC is thermocompression bonded to the printed circuit board. Since the printed circuit board is not yet connected, the winding work is performed with a single FPC, and workability is facilitated.

  Further, after the FPC 2 is attached to the hinge unit assembly 10, as described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the hinge unit assembly 10 and the printed board 3 are connected using the attachment frame 4, and then the FPC 2 and the printed board are connected. 3 to perform thermocompression bonding. By doing so, since the position of the FPC is already almost fixed at the time of FPC crimping, the crimping operation becomes easy.

  Furthermore, since the printed circuit board 3 and the hinge unit assembly 10 are heavy, if only the FPC is connected and the printed circuit board 3 and the hinge unit 10 are connected to each other, only the flexible FPC is used. It will support the printed circuit board and the hinge unit assembly, which is not stable, the workability will be significantly worse when assembled into the case, and it will be devised so that force is not applied to the FPC during transportation between processes. It is necessary to eliminate the risk of running out of FPC. However, by connecting the printed circuit board and the hinge unit assembly with the mounting frame as in the present invention, all of the above problems can be solved.

  In the above embodiment, the two-axis hinge unit assembly has been described. However, it is obvious that the present invention can be similarly applied to a single-axis hinge unit, and is not limited to a mobile phone, such as a digital camera or a video camera. Of course, it can be widely applied to electronic devices.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of this invention, and is an exploded perspective view which shows the attachment relation of the biaxial hinge unit assembly to which FPC was attached, and an upper unit printed circuit board. 1 is an external perspective view of a foldable mobile phone to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a six-side view of the printed circuit board in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the biaxial hinge unit assembly in FIG. It is a 6-plane figure which shows the structure of the attachment frame in FIG. It is a top view of FPC in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the FPC holder for attaching FPC. It is a figure which shows the attachment relationship of FPC and an FPC holder. (A) is a front view when FPC is attached to a biaxial hinge unit assembly via an FPC holder, and (B) is a rear view thereof. It is a 6th page figure which shows the attachment state of the printed circuit board of embodiment of this invention, and a biaxial hinge unit assembly. It is sectional drawing of the arrow direction which follows the BB line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Hinge unit
2 FPC
3 Upper unit printed circuit board
4 Mounting frame
5 FPC holder
6 Receiver
10 2-axis hinge unit assembly
11 First pivot
12 Second rotating shaft mounting mechanism
13 Deployment Regulation Department
14 Second pivot
18 Hinge bracket 18a, 18b, 33a, 33b Guide hole
31a, 31b fitting hole
32a, 32b Fitting part 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b Frame claw part
44a, 44b Guide pins
100 Lower unit
101 Operation surface
200 Upper unit
201 Display surface
202 back

Claims (8)

A hinge unit for pivotally coupling the first unit and the second unit and a printed circuit board accommodated in the second unit, wherein the printed circuit board and the hinge unit are connected to each other. It includes a connecting member that overlaps the connecting portions and clamps the overlapping portion, and the overlapping portion is clamped by a main body of the connecting member and an elastically deformable claw portion. Connected structure. Coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein the claw portion, characterized in that provided in plural. The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the hinge unit has a biaxial hinge unit structure. The connection structure according to claim 3 , wherein a receiver is attached to the connection member. The connection according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a flexible printed board connecting the printed circuit boards of the first unit and the second unit is thermocompression-bonded to the printed circuit board of the second unit. Construction. Foldable portable terminal, characterized by employing the connection structure in accordance with claim 1-5. A connecting member for use in a connecting structure for connecting a hinge unit for rotatably connecting the first unit and the second unit and a printed circuit board accommodated in the second unit with the connecting portions being overlapped with each other. Because
A connecting member characterized in that an elastically deformable claw portion is provided, and the overlapping portion of the connecting portion is clamped by the claw portion and the main body. The connecting member according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the claw portions are provided.

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