JP5913401B2 - Drawer structure, keyboard unit and portable information device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for pulling out a flexible flat collective conductor from a device unit, a keyboard unit having the drawer structure, and a portable information device having the keyboard unit.

  Flexible flat aggregated conductors such as flexible printed wiring boards and membrane wiring boards in which multiple conductor patterns are formed on a flexible substrate using thick film conductors or thin film conductors are thin and lightweight with relatively high degree of freedom in shape. Wiring material. Such a flat assembly conductor electrically connects internal devices within a casing of an electronic device, particularly a portable information device such as a notebook personal computer (notebook PC) that is strongly demanded to be thin and light. Widely used as an internal wiring material.

  For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the present applicant has proposed a structure in which a main body substrate such as a notebook PC and a keyboard unit are connected by a flexible flat collective conductor.

JP 2010-287658 A JP 2012-156262 A

  In the prior art as described above, for example, by covering both surfaces of a conductor pattern formed on a flat collective conductor drawn out from the side surface of a keyboard unit mounted on a notebook PC with an insulating sheet, the flat collective conductor Ensures insulation. Then, in a state in which the flat collective conductor thus insulated is folded back to the lower surface side of the keyboard unit, the connection terminal at the tip is connected to the connector on the main board. As a result, the keyboard unit and the main body substrate can be electrically and reliably connected within the casing of the notebook PC with limited space.

  By the way, an equipment unit such as a keyboard unit is often covered with a sheet-like member having an insulating surface such as a waterproof sheet or a reflective plate (reflective sheet). That is, in the above-described prior art, since the flat collective conductor in which both sides of the conductor pattern are covered with the insulating sheet is disposed on the lower surface side of the equipment unit, one side of the conductor pattern is substantially covered with two insulating layers. As a result, the thickness of the entire device unit has increased.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems of the prior art, and includes a structure in which a flat assembly conductor is drawn out from a device unit that enables the device unit to be thinned, a keyboard unit including the drawer structure, and the keyboard unit. An object is to provide a portable information device provided with a keyboard unit.

  The lead structure according to the present invention is a lead structure from a device unit of a flexible flat aggregate conductor in which both sides of a conductor pattern are covered with an insulating sheet, and has an insulating sheet provided on one surface of the device unit. The shape member is also used as the insulating sheet for covering at least a part of one side of the conductor pattern.

  According to such a configuration, the sheet-like member that covers one surface of the device unit is also used as an insulating sheet that covers at least a part of one surface of the flat aggregate conductor. For this reason, one of the insulating sheets that should cover both surfaces of the flat aggregated conductor can be omitted. That is, the insulating sheet to be provided on one side of the flat aggregate conductor can be substantially omitted. Therefore, the thickness of the flat assembly conductor can be reduced by the thickness of the omitted insulating sheet, and the device unit can be made thinner.

  If the device unit is a keyboard unit, it is possible to reduce the thickness of a housing such as a notebook PC in which the keyboard unit is mounted.

  The sheet-like member may be a protective sheet provided on the lower surface of the keyboard unit. Accordingly, the keyboard unit can be thinned by effectively using a protective sheet such as a waterproof sheet or a reflective sheet provided on the lower surface of the keyboard unit as an insulating sheet covering one side of the flat aggregate conductor.

  The flat collective conductor is pulled out from one side of the keyboard unit, folded back from the lower surface side of the keyboard unit toward the other side surface, and at least a part of one surface of the conductor pattern on the lower surface side is protected. It may be covered with a sheet.

  A keyboard unit according to the present invention includes the above-described drawer structure.

  A portable information device according to the present invention includes the keyboard unit described above.

  According to the present invention, the insulating sheet to be provided on one side of the flat assembly conductor can be substantially omitted, and the thickness of the flat assembly conductor is reduced by the thickness of the omitted insulating sheet. Thinning can be achieved.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a state in which a keyboard unit having a drawer structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention is installed in a portable information device. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the keyboard unit according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the membrane sheet. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a membrane sheet provided in the keyboard unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the flat aggregated conductor of the membrane sheet shown in FIG. 4 is covered with a protective sheet. FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing a state in which the flat assembly conductor is folded back from the state shown in FIG. 5 and the protective sheet and the flat assembly conductor are disposed on the lower surface side of the base plate. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the action of the cut formed in the protective sheet. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a keyboard unit having a drawer structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a membrane sheet provided in the keyboard unit shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the flat aggregated conductor of the membrane sheet shown in FIG. 9 is covered with a protective sheet. FIG. 11 is a bottom view showing a state in which the flat assembly conductor is folded back from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the protective sheet and the flat assembly conductor are disposed on the lower surface side of the base plate.

  Hereinafter, the drawer structure according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by exemplifying a preferred embodiment by exemplifying a keyboard unit and a portable information device having this structure.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a state in which the keyboard unit 12 having the drawer structure 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is installed in the portable information device 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the portable information device 14 is a notebook PC that includes a main body 16 on which a keyboard unit 12 is mounted as an input device, and a display unit 18 that is a display of the main body 16.

  The main body 16 includes a box-shaped housing (main body housing) 20 and a main body substrate 22 that is an electronic circuit board such as a mother board housed in the housing 20. An opening 20 a into which the keyboard unit 12 can be attached is formed on the upper surface side of the housing 20. A central processing unit (CPU), a chip set, a memory, etc. (not shown) are mounted on the main body substrate 22. On the upper surface of the main board 22, a connector 22 a that is used when the keyboard unit 12 is electrically connected to the main board 22 is provided.

  The display unit 18 is a lid that is rotatably connected to the main body unit 16 by a pair of left and right hinges 24 and 24. The display unit 18 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display panel on the inner surface thereof. The display unit 18 is electrically connected to the main body substrate 22 by a cable (not shown) that has passed through the hinge 24.

  The keyboard unit 12 has a key top group 26 in which a plurality of keys are arranged in a predetermined pattern on an upper surface thereof, and a flat collective conductor 28 is drawn out from one side surface (a front side surface in the present embodiment). The flat collective conductor 28 drawn out from one side surface of the keyboard unit 12 is folded back from the lower surface side toward the other side surface, and connected to the connector 22a of the main board 22 on the lower surface side of the keyboard unit 12 (also in FIG. 2). reference).

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the keyboard unit 12 according to the present embodiment, and shows a state in which the connection terminals 28 a provided at the distal ends of the flat collective conductors 28 are connected to the connectors 22 a of the main body substrate 22. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the membrane sheet 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard unit 12 includes a base plate 30, a membrane sheet 32 laminated on the upper surface side of the base plate 30, a laminated film on the upper surface side of the membrane sheet 32, and a key top group 26 provided on the upper surface. And a keyboard body (key frame) 34. The lower surface of the base plate 30 is covered with a protective sheet (insulating sheet, sheet-like member) 36.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the membrane sheet 32 is composed of an upper insulating sheet (insulating sheet) 32a and a lower insulating sheet (insulating sheet) 32b each formed of an insulating material. 32c is laminated. The upper insulating sheet 32a and the lower insulating sheet 32b have predetermined conductor patterns 32d formed on the surfaces facing each other.

  One of the two insulating sheets 32a and 32b, in the present embodiment, a part of the upper insulating sheet 32a is extended laterally together with the conductor pattern 32d, and this extended portion is a flat assembly. A conductor 28 is formed. As described above, the flat collective conductor 28 is composed of a flexible cable (membrane wiring board) drawn from one side of the membrane sheet 32. The flat collective conductor 28 may be formed of a flexible printed wiring board or the like that is electrically connected to the membrane sheet 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the membrane sheet 32 is cut out of a spacer sheet 32 c corresponding to each key constituting the key top group 26 in a state of being incorporated in the keyboard unit 12. Therefore, when each key is pressed, the contact part of the upper insulating sheet 32a and the contact part of the lower insulating sheet 32b come into contact with each other, and the circuits provided in the both insulating sheets 32a and 32b are connected. As a result, an electrical signal corresponding to the pressed key is transmitted to the main body substrate 22 side via the flat aggregate conductor 28. In the membrane sheet 32, when each key is released, the contact portions are separated by an elastic repulsive force such as a rubber dome (not shown).

  The protective sheet 36 is an insulating sheet-like member that covers the lower surface side of the base plate 30. The protective sheet 36 also has a waterproof function for preventing water leakage from the plurality of mounting holes provided in the base plate 30 to the lower side of the keyboard unit 12. In the case where the keyboard unit 12 has a backlight structure, the protection sheet 36 is configured by a reflection sheet (reflection plate) for a backlight module (not shown). When the keyboard unit 12 does not have a backlight structure, the protective sheet 36 is formed of a waterproof sheet made of synthetic resin or the like.

  The lead-out structure 10 according to the present embodiment is such a lead-out structure of the flat collective conductor 28 from the keyboard unit 12. As shown in FIG. 2, in the lead structure 10, one surface of the conductor pattern 32d provided on the flat aggregate conductor 28 is covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a, and a part of the other surface (a portion excluding the region near the connection terminal 28a) ) Is covered with a protective sheet 36 provided on the lower surface of the keyboard unit 12. That is, the protective sheet 36 that covers the lower surface of the keyboard unit 12 is also used as an insulating sheet that covers the other surface of the conductor pattern 32 d formed on the flat aggregate conductor 28. Note that a portion of the flat assembly conductor 28 in the vicinity of the tip (connecting terminal 28a) that is not covered with the protective sheet 36 is covered with an insulating protective sheet 38. The protective sheet 38 is made of the same material as the waterproof sheet.

  In the drawer structure 10, since the protective sheet 36 of the keyboard unit 12 is also used as an insulating sheet that covers at least a part of one side of the flat aggregate conductor 28, both sides of the flat aggregate conductor 28 are provided as in the prior art. It is not necessary to cover each with an insulating sheet. For this reason, the insulating sheet which should be provided in the single side | surface of the flat type | mold collective conductor 28 can be substantially omitted. Therefore, the thickness of the flat collective conductor 28 is reduced by the thickness of the omitted insulating sheet (for example, about 0.07 mm), whereby the thickness of the entire keyboard unit 12 can be reduced.

  Then, next, one procedure of the manufacturing method of the keyboard unit 12 to which the drawer structure 10 which concerns on this embodiment is applied is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the membrane sheet 32 provided in the keyboard unit 12 shown in FIG. 2, and is a view of the membrane sheet 32 as viewed from the lower surface side without the flat aggregate conductor 28 being folded back. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the flat aggregate conductor 28 of the membrane sheet 32 shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing a state in which the flat assembly conductor 28 is folded back from the state shown in FIG. 5 and the protective sheet 36 and the flat assembly conductor 28 are disposed on the lower surface side of the base plate 30.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the membrane sheet 32 is in a state where the flat assembly conductor 28 extends from one side surface thereof and is not folded back. In this state, one surface (the lower surface in FIG. 4) of the flat collective conductor 28 is covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a, and the conductor pattern 32d is exposed on the other surface (the upper surface in FIG. 4). In the vicinity of the connection terminal 28a of the flat assembly conductor 28, the conductor pattern 32d is covered with a protective sheet 38 attached from above.

  A predetermined adhesive 40 is applied to a portion of the flat aggregate conductor 28 where the conductor pattern 32d is exposed (see FIG. 4), and a protective sheet 36 is adhered thereon (see FIG. 5). The protective sheet 36 has an outer shape that can cover the entire lower surface of the keyboard unit 12. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the flat aggregate conductor 28 is completely buried in the lower surface side of the protective sheet 36. A double-sided tape or the like may be used instead of the adhesive 40.

  Next, after the membrane sheet 32 in the state shown in FIG. 5 was stuck on the upper surface of the base plate 30, the flat assembly conductor 28 was folded back so as to sandwich the base plate 30 as shown in FIG. The protective sheet 36 is attached to the lower surface of the base plate 30. Thereby, the keyboard unit 12 having the drawer structure 10 in which both surfaces of the conductor pattern 32d of the folded flat collective conductor 28 are respectively covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a and the protective sheet 36 is formed.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the protective sheet 38 is provided on the proximal end side (membrane sheet 32 side) of the protective sheet 38 provided on the distal end side of the flat aggregate conductor 28 and the protective sheet 36. A cut 42 is formed in the protective sheet 36 at a position near the boundary. The cuts 42 extend in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the flat aggregate conductor 28 and cut the protective sheet 36 into a gate shape with both end sides extending toward the base end side of the flat aggregate conductor 28. Is. Circular holes 42 a are formed at both ends of the cut 42. Accordingly, when connecting the connection terminal 28a side of the flat assembly conductor 28 to the connector 22a, as shown in FIG. 7, the front end of the flat assembly conductor 28 that is not bonded to the protection sheet 36 with the protection sheet 38 interposed therebetween. When the side (connection terminal 28 a side) is lifted, the rectangular portion 42 b surrounded by the cuts 42 is lifted together with the flat assembly conductor 28. At that time, the circular holes 42a are formed at both ends of the portion 42b, so that the protective sheet 36 is prevented from being damaged by the lifting operation of the flat assembly conductor 28.

  FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a keyboard unit 52 provided with a drawer structure 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the drawer structure 50 and keyboard unit 52 according to the second embodiment, elements having the same or similar functions and effects as those of the drawer structure 10 and keyboard unit 12 according to the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals. A detailed description will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the drawer structure 50 according to the present embodiment has a connection terminal 28 a of the flat assembly conductor 28 that is pulled out from one side surface of the keyboard unit 52 and folded back to the lower surface side. It has a configuration that protrudes beyond the side. For this reason, in the lead-out structure 50, the protective sheet 38 in FIG. 2 is omitted, and the flat aggregate conductor 28 is covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a on one surface of the conductor pattern 32d and the protective sheet 36 on the other surface. It has been broken. Here, the protective sheet 36 has a shape in which a protruding portion 36a (see FIG. 10) is provided in part so as to cover a portion covered by the omitted protective sheet 38 (the front end side of the flat aggregate conductor 28). ing.

  Also in the drawer structure 50, since the protective sheet 36 of the keyboard unit 52 is also used as an insulating sheet that covers one side of the flat aggregate conductor 28, an insulating sheet that should cover one side of the flat aggregate conductor 28 is substantially formed. Can be omitted. Therefore, the thickness of the flat collective conductor 28 can be reduced by the thickness of the omitted insulating sheet (for example, about 0.07 mm), whereby the thickness of the entire keyboard unit 52 can be reduced.

  Then, next, one procedure of the manufacturing method of the keyboard unit 52 to which the drawer structure 50 according to the present embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the membrane sheet 32 provided in the keyboard unit 52 shown in FIG. 8, and is a view of the membrane sheet 32 as viewed from the lower surface side without the flat aggregate conductor 28 being folded back. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the flat aggregate conductor 28 of the membrane sheet 32 shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a bottom view showing a state in which the flat assembly conductor 28 is folded back from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the protective sheet 36 and the flat assembly conductor 28 are disposed on the lower surface side of the base plate 30.

  Also in this embodiment, the membrane sheet 32 is in a state in which the flat aggregated conductor 28 extends from one side surface thereof and is not folded back, as shown in FIG. In this state, one surface (the lower surface in FIG. 9) of the flat aggregate conductor 28 is covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a, and the conductor pattern 32d is exposed on the other surface (the upper surface in FIG. 9).

  A predetermined adhesive 40 is applied to the exposed portion of the conductor pattern 32d of the flat aggregated conductor 28 (see FIG. 9), and a protective sheet 36 is adhered thereon (see FIG. 10). With the protective sheet 36 having the protruding portion 36a, the flat aggregate conductor 28 is buried in the lower surface side of the protective sheet 36 except for the connecting terminal 28a portion at the tip.

  Next, after the membrane sheet 32 in the state shown in FIG. 10 is stuck on the upper surface of the base plate 30, the flat assembly conductor 28 is folded back so as to sandwich the base plate 30 as shown in FIG. Adhere to the lower surface of. Thereby, both sides of the conductor pattern 32d of the folded flat collective conductor 28 are covered with the upper insulating sheet 32a and the protective sheet 36, respectively, and the keyboard unit 52 having the lead structure 50 in which the connection terminal 28a protrudes to the other side surface. Is formed.

  As described above, the drawer structure 10 (50) according to the first (second) embodiment is a keyboard as a device unit of the flexible flat collective conductor 28 in which both surfaces of the conductor pattern 32d are covered with an insulating sheet. The structure is a drawing structure from the unit 12 (52), and the protective sheet 36 provided on one surface of the keyboard unit 12 (52) is also used as an insulating sheet for covering at least a part of one surface of the conductor pattern 32d. .

  Thus, in the drawer structure 10 (50), the protective sheet 36 that covers the lower surface of the keyboard unit 12 (52) is also used as an insulating sheet that covers at least a part of one side of the flat assembly conductor 28. For this reason, one of the insulating sheets that should cover both surfaces of the flat assembly conductor 28 can be omitted. That is, the insulating sheet to be provided on one side of the flat aggregate conductor 28 can be substantially omitted, and the flat aggregate conductor 28 is integrated with the keyboard unit 12 (50). Therefore, the thickness of the flat assembly conductor 28 can be reduced by the thickness of the omitted insulating sheet, and the keyboard unit 12 (52) can be reduced in thickness.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be freely changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  In each of the above embodiments, a notebook PC is exemplified as the portable information device 14, but the present invention can be suitably used as long as the device is equipped with various device units such as a keyboard unit such as a mobile phone or an electronic notebook. That is, the present invention can be applied to various electronic device units as long as a flexible flat aggregate conductor is drawn out in addition to the keyboard unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,50 Drawer structure 12,52 Keyboard unit 14 Portable information apparatus 16 Main body part 18 Display part 20 Housing | casing 22 Main body board | substrate 22a Connector 26 Key top group 28 Flat type assembly conductor 28a Connection terminal 30 Base plate 32 Membrane sheet 32a Upper insulation Sheet 32b Lower insulating sheet 32d Conductor pattern 34 Keyboard body 36, 38 Protective sheet 42 Notch

Claims (6)

It is a lead-out structure from a device unit of a flexible flat aggregate conductor in which both sides of a conductor pattern are covered with an insulating sheet,
A drawer structure characterized in that an insulating sheet-like member provided on one surface of the device unit is also used as the insulating sheet for covering at least a part of one surface of the conductor pattern. The drawer structure according to claim 1,
A drawer structure according to claim 1, wherein the device unit is a keyboard unit. The drawer structure according to claim 2,
The drawer structure, wherein the sheet-like member is a protective sheet provided on a lower surface of the keyboard unit. The drawer structure according to claim 3,
The flat collective conductor is pulled out from one side of the keyboard unit, folded back from the lower surface side of the keyboard unit toward the other side surface, and at least a part of one surface of the conductor pattern on the lower surface side is protected. A drawer structure characterized by being covered with a sheet.   A keyboard unit comprising the drawer structure according to claim 1.   A portable information device comprising the keyboard unit according to claim 5.

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