JP4573648B2 - Buffer material for disk drive device, relay connector, disk drive device, and connection structure between disk drive device and electronic circuit board - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a buffer material for a disk drive device (hereinafter also referred to as “buffer material”) provided between a disk drive device such as a hard disk drive device, an optical disk drive device, or a magneto-optical disk drive device and an electronic circuit board, and the buffer. The present invention relates to a relay connector used together with a material, a disk drive device, and a connection structure for connecting a disk drive device and an electronic circuit board.

Disk drive devices such as hard disk drive devices, optical disk drive devices, and magneto-optical disk drive devices write data and programs, and read recorded data in information processing devices such as personal computers and electrical / electronic devices. It plays an important role as a recording / reproducing device. Between the disk drive device and the housing of the information processing device, etc., so that external vibrations and shocks are not transmitted to the disk drive device, and vibrations from the disk drive device are not transmitted to the information processing device. A shock-absorbing material made of a material such as sponge, rubber or gel is attached. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-134036 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-55013 (Patent Document 2), a cushioning material is provided at a corner portion between an inner housing and an outer housing. An example is given.
JP 2004-134036 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-55013

  However, with the downsizing of disk drive devices, when disk drive devices are installed in portable music playback devices, image playback devices, mobile phones, etc., the installation type such as device drop or vibration due to movement There is a possibility that unexpected vibrations and impacts may be applied.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the electrical connection between the disk drive device 1 and the electronic circuit board 2 is performed by connecting the male pin 3 (or female pin 4) on the disk drive apparatus 1 side to the electronic circuit board 2 side. A connector type that directly plugs into the female pin 5 (or male pin 6), or a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter also referred to as "FPC") 8 or a cable (as shown in FIG. There is a method of connecting to the socket 9 on the electronic circuit board 2 side using a not-shown).

  However, the method of directly connecting the disk drive device 1 and the electronic circuit board 2 with the male pins 3 (6) and the female pins 5 (4) has no play between them and is easily broken against vibration and impact. Met. Further, since these connection portions have connection terminals such as pins, it is necessary to avoid them and to attach the cushioning material, and the mounting location of the cushioning material is limited. Therefore, the impact absorbing effect around the connecting portion by pins or the like is insufficient. On the other hand, the FPC 8 and the cable connection method have a margin between the connections, but the FPC 8 and the cable occupy a space. For example, in the disk drive device 1 that is increasingly downsized year by year, such as a micro drive having a diameter of 1 inch. The large mounting space on the electronic circuit board 2 is a big problem for portable devices that are required to be downsized.

  For the problem that the place where the cushioning material is attached is limited, a separate casing (outer casing) is provided outside the casing (inner casing), and the cushioning material is placed between these two casings. Although there is a method of providing it, there has been a waste of using an outer casing in addition to the inner casing.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve these problems, and can be compactly designed, can reduce the number of parts, and has excellent effects of damping vibration and buffering shocks. The object is to obtain a shock absorber for a drive device and a connection structure between a disk drive device using the same and an electronic circuit board.

  That is, the present invention provides a disk that damps vibrations transmitted between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board and cushions the shock by being interposed in a gap between the disk drive device that drives the disk-shaped recording medium and the electronic circuit board. Provided as a shock absorber for a drive device is a shock absorber for a disk drive device provided with a shock absorber that damps vibrations and shocks, and a conductive path that conducts the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board. To do.

  Since a conductive path for conducting the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board is provided, an FPC, a cable, and various connectors are unnecessary. Further, the cushioning material can be attached to a place where these members are attached, and the cushioning material for the disk drive device is excellent in vibration attenuation and shock relaxation.

  This conductive path can be formed of magnetic conductor particles. Since the conductive path is formed of magnetic conductor particles, the anisotropic conductive path can be formed with a pitch of about 0.1 mm at the minimum, and the pitch of the electrodes is reduced with the miniaturization of the disk drive device. Yes.

  In the buffer material for a disk drive device of the present invention, the end surface of the conductive path can be formed substantially flush with the end surface of the buffer portion. Since the end surface of the conductive path is formed to be substantially flush with the end surface of the buffer portion, the disk drive device cushioning material can be disposed without any gap between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board, and the vibration is attenuated and the shock is reduced. It is possible to provide a cushioning material for a disk drive device that is excellent in performance.

  Alternatively, in the buffer material for a disk drive device according to the present invention, the end surface of the conductive path may protrude from the end surface of the buffer portion. Since the end face of the conductive path is extended beyond the end face of the buffer section, the conductive path is pushed more than the buffer section of the buffer material for the disk drive device, and a strong pressing force acts on the conductive path. Therefore, the contact with the disk drive device or the electronic circuit board is ensured, and a stable electrical connection can be obtained.

  Then, the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board can be electrically connected to the disk drive device buffer material by surface contact by pressing against the conductive path. Since the electrical connection between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board is made by surface contact by pressing against the conductive path, conduction contact is possible even if there is a deviation in the plane direction, ensuring stable and reliable conduction. be able to.

  The present invention also provides a disk drive device including an electrode pad that can be electrically connected to the cushioning material for the disk drive device. Since the disk drive device includes an electrode pad that can be electrically connected to the buffer material for the disk drive device described above, plug-in pins, cables, FPCs, female connectors for electronic circuit boards, and the like are not required. For this reason, it is possible to save space on the electronic circuit board without requiring a space for connectors and terminals.

  The present invention is also a relay connector for electrical connection between the buffer material for the disk drive device and the disk drive device, and has a terminal for connecting to a terminal provided in the disk drive device on one side. The relay connector is provided with electrode pads on the other surface for connection to the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device.

  This relay connector has a terminal for connecting to a terminal provided in the disk drive device on one side and an electrode pad for connecting to the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device on the other side. There is no need to design and develop a new disk drive device such as a disk drive device having a pad, and an existing disk drive device on the market can be used.

  The present invention further includes a disk drive device including the electrode pad, a buffer material for the disk drive device, and an electronic circuit board including an electrode pad electrically connected to a conductive path of the buffer material. And the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device, and the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are electrically connected by surface contact by pressing. Provided is a connection structure between a disk drive device and an electronic circuit board.

  Since each of the electrode pad of the disk drive device and the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device, and the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are electrically connected by pressing, electric It is possible to eliminate the space for terminals and connectors for performing a general connection. Therefore, a compact design is possible.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes a disk drive device, the relay connector, the buffer material for the disk drive device, and an electronic circuit board having an electrode pad that is electrically connected to a conductive path of the buffer material. A conductive path of the electrode pad and the buffer material for the disk drive device, and a conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are electrically connected by surface contact by pressing. Provide a connection structure between a drive device and an electronic circuit board

  Since each of the electrode pad of the relay connector and the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device, and the conductive path of the buffer material for the disk drive device and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are electrically connected by pressing, It is possible to eliminate the space for terminals and connectors for performing a general connection. Therefore, a compact design is possible.

  The cushioning material for a disk drive device according to the present invention is a cushioning material that has a high degree of freedom in the mounting position and is excellent in damping vibration and mitigating impact. In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the number of assembly steps, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the disk drive device of the present invention, when used together with the cushioning material for the disk drive device of the present invention, the degree of freedom of the mounting position of the cushioning material can be increased, and an excellent device that is not easily affected by vibration or impact. It can be.

  According to the relay connector of the present invention, when used with the cushioning material for the disk drive device of the present invention, the degree of freedom of the mounting position of the cushioning material can be increased while using the existing disk drive device, and the vibration is attenuated. In addition, a cushioning material excellent in relaxation of impact can be used.

  According to the connection structure between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board of the present invention, a compact design is possible, and a structure excellent in vibration attenuation and shock relaxation can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on embodiments, but description of materials, manufacturing methods, and the like common to the embodiments is omitted.

First Embodiment A cushioning material 11 for a disk drive device (hereinafter referred to as “buffering material”) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external perspective view of a state in which a shock absorber 11 according to the first embodiment and another shock absorber 13 are attached to a hard disk drive device (hereinafter also referred to as “HDD”) 12.

  In FIG. 1, the cushioning material 11 according to the first embodiment located on the front side of the HDD 12 includes a front cover portion 11 a that covers the front short side surface 14 a of the housing 14 of the HDD 12 and an edge side portion of the housing upper surface 14 b. The upper surface covering portion 11b that covers the bottom surface covering portion 11c that covers the edge side portion of the housing bottom surface 14c, and the short side surface covering portions 11d and 11e that respectively cover the right long side surface 14d and the left long side surface 14e of the housing 14 are integrated. Thus, it is formed of a rubber-like elastic body, and serves as a buffer portion 15 that attenuates vibration and relaxes impact. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of substantially cylindrical conductive paths 16 that penetrate the buffer portion 15 up and down are formed in the bottom surface covering portion 11 c.

  The HDD 12 is provided with electrode pads 12a for electrical connection with the electronic circuit board 18, instead of the male pins 3 and the female pins 4 as seen in the HDD 1 shown in FIGS. On the other hand, the buffer material 13 located on the back side of the HDD 12 has only the buffer part 15 without the conductive path 16.

  When the front edge of the HDD 12 is covered with the buffer material 11, the electrode pad 12 a of the HDD 12 comes into contact with the conductive path 16 that is provided above the bottom surface covering portion 11 c of the buffer material 11. On the other hand, the back side of the HDD 12 is covered with a buffer material 13. Thus, all the corners of the HDD 12 are covered with the buffer material 11 or the buffer material 13. The HDD 12 to which the cushioning materials 11 and 13 are attached is arranged on the electronic circuit board 18 so that the conductive path 16 extending to the bottom surface covering portion 11 c of the cushioning material 11 hits the electrode pad 18 a provided on the electronic circuit board 18. In this way, the electrode pad 12a provided on the HDD 12 and the electrode pad 18a provided on the electronic circuit board 18 can be electrically connected by sandwiching the conductive path 16 of the buffer material 11 with pressure. Become.

  FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the HDD 12 covered with the buffer material 11 and placed on the electronic circuit board 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the HDD 12 and the electronic circuit board 18 are in contact with each other through the cushioning material 11 without any gap, and vibrations from the outside are not easily transmitted to the inside, and vibrations generated in the HDD 12 are not easily transmitted to the outside. In addition, since no FPC or cable is used, it is compact, and all the corners of the HDD 12 can be covered with the buffer material 11.

  Next, the buffer part 15 and the conductive path 16 constituting the buffer material 11 will be described in more detail. Since the buffer part 15 has a function of absorbing and relaxing vibrations, various rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers, and gel-like materials are used as its material. For example, silicone rubber, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, 1,2-polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, acrylic rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, fluorine Rubber materials such as rubber and urethane rubber, styrene thermoplastic elastomer, olefin thermoplastic elastomer, polyester thermoplastic elastomer, urethane thermoplastic elastomer, amide thermoplastic elastomer, vinyl chloride thermoplastic elastomer, fluoride Examples thereof include thermoplastic elastomers such as thermoplastic thermoplastic elastomers and ion-crosslinked thermoplastic elastomers, and gel-like materials mainly composed of silicone such as silicone gel.

  The conductive path 16 has a function of establishing electrical connection between the HDD 12 and the electronic circuit board 18, and forms a continuous path that continues from one surface of the buffer material 11 to another surface. The conductive path 16 is formed through the non-conductive buffer portion 15 using conductive rubber, a fine metal wire, or magnetic conductive particles. These conductive paths 16 are formed by insert molding, two-color molding, or a method of solidifying the liquid material after orienting the magnetic conductive particles in the liquid material for the buffer material 11.

  Among these methods, the method of orienting the magnetic conductive particles by a magnetic field does not require changing the mold for each type of the conductive path 16, so that the cost for manufacturing the mold can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, since the fine conductive path 16 can be manufactured, it is most suitable for a compact design for portable use. Therefore, it is preferable to form the conductive path 16 with magnetic conductive particles.

  Magnetic conductive particles include, for example, nickel, cobalt, iron, ferrite, gold, silver, platinum, aluminum, nickel, copper, iron, stainless steel, palladium, cobalt, chromium, etc., or alloys thereof, resin, ceramic Or the like, or particles obtained by plating a metal of a good conductor on a magnetic conductor powder can be used. The average particle size is preferably 5 μm to 100 μm, more preferably 5 μm to 20 μm. This is because it is easy to arrange. On the other hand, it is preferable that the buffer portion 15 and the conductive path 16 are integrally formed using a liquid elastic body such as liquid silicone rubber as a material for the buffer portion 15 in this case.

  4 to 6 are enlarged views of the region P shown in FIG. 3 and show an example of the shape of the peripheral portion of the conductive path 16. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the end face of the conductive path 16 and the end face of the buffer portion 15 are substantially flush, the buffer material 11 for the disk drive device and the housing 14 of the HDD 12 are provided. In addition, the contact area with the electronic circuit board 18 can be widened, and the vibration attenuation and impact relaxation characteristics are excellent. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when the end surface of the conductive path 16 extends beyond the end surface of the buffer portion 15, the conductive path 16, the electrode pad 12 a of the HDD 12, and the electrode pad 18 a of the electronic circuit board 18 There is an advantage that the adhesion is improved and stable conduction is obtained. Here, the degree to which the conductive path 16 sticks out is determined by the pressing force when the disk drive device 12 and the electronic circuit board 18 are sandwiched with the disk drive device buffer material 11 interposed therebetween. The protrusion in the range in which the buffer part 15 can contact the HDD 12 and the electronic circuit board 18 is assumed.

  The conductive path 16 shown in FIG. 6 is manufactured by orienting magnetic conductive fine particles, and the thickness thereof is fine. Therefore, although the positioning of the HDD 12 and the buffer material 11 for the disk drive device is not significant, the electrode pad 12a of the HDD 12 and the electrode pad 18a of the electronic circuit board 18 are in contact with a plurality of any of the conductive paths 16, and therefore reliable. Conductivity is obtained. In this case, the connector portion 17 is formed by the conductive path 16 and the surrounding insulating portion. Similarly to the conductive path 16, the connector portion 17 is a part having a function of achieving electrical connection between the HDD 12 and the electronic circuit board 18.

  The HDD 12 that can use the buffer material 11 does not have a terminal having the male pin 3 or the female pin 4 as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, and is exposed in a plane on the surface of the housing 15. The electrode pad 12a is provided. On the other hand, the electronic circuit board 18 that is electrically connected to the HDD 12 is also provided with an electrode pad 18a as an electrical connection terminal. The electrode pads 12a and 18a are preferably plated with good conductivity such as solder plating or gold plating, and more preferably gold plating with little oxidation deterioration.

  According to the buffer material 11 for the disk drive device, a male connector or a female connector provided on a plug-in type pin, cable, FPC, or electronic circuit board is not required, and a buffer material is provided at that location because there is a connector. The problem of not being able to be solved. In addition, the number of parts and assembly man-hours can be reduced.

Second Embodiment : In the first embodiment, the HDD 12 with the electrode pad 12a as shown in FIG. 1 is used. However, in this embodiment, a commercially available product having a male pin 3 as a terminal for electrical connection is used. As shown in FIG. 7, the HDD 1 is used, and the relay connector 21 is used for the HDD 1 and the cushioning material 11 shown in the first embodiment.

  A state in which the buffer material 11 for the disk drive device, the relay connector 21 and the HDD 1 are combined is shown in a sectional view of FIG. By using the relay connector 21 provided with the electrode pad 21a for connecting to the conductive path 16 of the buffer material 11 for the disk drive device shown in the first embodiment, the terminal of the male pin 3 is connected to the electrode pad 21a through the relay connector 21. It is converted into the shape.

  Since the relay connector 21 is used, the disk drive device cushioning material 11 can be used for an existing HDD such as the HDD 1 having the male pin 3 and is excellent in damping vibration and shock. A connection structure between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board 18 can be provided.

Third Embodiment In a third embodiment, a holder type disk drive device cushioning material 31 for a small HDD 33 having a diameter of 1 inch or less will be described. The buffer material 31 for the disk drive device has a shape that encloses the small HDD 33, and the conductive path 36 is exposed on the back surface 31 c of the buffer material 31 so that it can be electrically connected to the electrode pad 18 a provided on the electronic circuit board 18. The upper surface 31 b is provided with a plurality of protrusions 34 for evenly pressing and sandwiching the conductive path 36 so that vibrations and impacts are not easily transmitted to the small HDD 33.

  The above embodiment relates to the disk drive device cushioning material applied to the hard disk drive device, but can also be applied to other disk drive device cushioning materials such as an optical disk drive device.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the connection of the disk drive apparatus using the buffer material for disk drive apparatuses of this invention, and an electronic circuit board. FIG. 2A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line SA-SA. FIG. 2 is a view showing a connection between a disk drive device using the buffer material for a disk drive device of the present invention and an electronic circuit board, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section taken along the line SA-SA of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view corresponding to a region P in FIG. 3 showing a shape around a conductive path. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view corresponding to a region P in FIG. 3 showing a shape around another conductive path. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view corresponding to a region P in FIG. 3 showing a shape around another conductive path. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the connection of the disc drive apparatus using the relay connector of this invention, and an electronic circuit board. It is the figure which showed the connection of the disk drive apparatus using the relay connector of this invention, and an electronic circuit board, and is sectional drawing equivalent to the SC-SC line cross section after the assembly | attachment of FIG. FIG. 9A is an external perspective view, and FIG. 9B is a bottom view, illustrating another cushioning material for a disk drive device according to the present invention. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the connection of the conventional disk drive apparatus and an electronic circuit board. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the connection of another conventional disk drive apparatus and an electronic circuit board. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the connection of another conventional disk drive apparatus and an electronic circuit board.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disk drive apparatus 2 Electronic circuit board 3,6 Male pin 4,5 Female pin 7 End part 8 Flexible printed circuit board (FPC)
9 Socket 11 Buffer material for disk drive device 11a Front cover 11b Top cover 11c Bottom cover 11d, 11e Short side cover 12 Hard disk drive (HDD)
12a Electrode pad 13 Buffer material 14 Housing 14a Front side short side surface 14b Top surface 14c Bottom surface 14d Right side long side surface 14e Left side long side surface 15 Buffer part 16 Conductive path 17 Connector part 18 Electronic circuit board 18a Electrode pad 21 Relay connector 21a Electrode pad 31 Buffer material for disk drive device 31b Upper surface 31c Bottom surface 33 Small HDD
34 Protrusion 36 Conductive path

Claims (6)

A disk drive device having a male pin and driving a disk-shaped recording medium;
A buffer unit that attenuates vibrations and cushions shocks, and a conductive path that conducts the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board are interposed in a gap between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board. A cushioning material that damps vibrations transmitted between circuit boards and cushions shocks;
A relay connector having a terminal for connecting to the male pin on one side and an electrode pad for connecting to the conductive path of the buffer material on the other surface for electrical connection between the buffer material and the disk drive device When,
An electronic circuit board provided with an electrode pad electrically connected to the conductive path of the buffer material,
The buffer material surrounds the relay connector, and the male pin is surrounded by the buffer material in both the pin axis direction of the male pin and the direction intersecting the pin axis direction,
A disk drive device and an electronic circuit board characterized in that each of the electrode pad of the relay connector and the conductive path of the buffer material, and the conductive path of the buffer material and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are brought into electrical contact by pressing Connection structure. The connection structure according to claim 1 , wherein the conductive path of the buffer material is formed of magnetic conductive particles. The connection structure according to claim 1 , wherein an end surface of the conductive path of the buffer material is formed substantially flush with an end surface of the buffer portion. The connection structure according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein an end surface of the conductive path of the buffer material protrudes from an end surface of the buffer portion. A disk drive device having a male pin and driving a disk-shaped recording medium;
A buffer unit that attenuates vibrations and cushions shocks, and a conductive path that conducts the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board are interposed in a gap between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board. A cushioning material that damps vibrations transmitted between circuit boards and cushions shocks;
A relay connector for electrical connection between the buffer material and the disk drive device;
An electronic circuit board having an electrode pad electrically connected to the conductive path of the buffer material, and the relay connector interposed in a connection structure for connecting the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board,
A terminal for connecting to the male pin is provided on one side and an electrode pad for connecting to the conductive path of the buffer material is provided on the other side to perform electrical connection between the buffer material and the disk drive device,
By being surrounded by the cushioning material, the male pin is surrounded by the cushioning material in both the pin axis direction of the male pin and the direction intersecting the pin axis direction,
The conductive path of the buffer material and the electrode pad of the relay connector are brought into surface contact by pressing, and the conductive path of the buffer material and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are brought into surface contact so that the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board can be electrically connected. Featured relay connector. A disk drive device having a male pin and driving a disk-shaped recording medium;
A buffer unit that attenuates vibrations and cushions shocks, and a conductive path that conducts the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board are interposed in a gap between the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board. A cushioning material that damps vibrations transmitted between circuit boards and cushions shocks;
A relay connector having a terminal for connecting to the male pin on one side and an electrode pad for connecting to the conductive path of the buffer material on the other surface for electrical connection between the buffer material and the disk drive device When,
An electronic circuit board having an electrode pad electrically connected to the conductive path of the buffer material, and the buffer material interposed in a connection structure for connecting the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board,
Surrounding the relay connector, surrounding the male pin in both directions of the pin axis direction of the male pin and the cross direction with respect to the pin axis direction,
The conductive path of the buffer material and the electrode pad of the relay connector are brought into surface contact by pressing, and the conductive path of the buffer material and the electrode pad of the electronic circuit board are brought into surface contact so that the disk drive device and the electronic circuit board can be electrically connected. Characteristic cushioning material.

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