JPH10321335A - Hinge-type connector and electronic equipment using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge-type connector which has durability and a composition to make electric continuity excellent, and an electronic equipment using it. SOLUTION: A plunger 40C which is movable at least in one direction, a connector main body 40A which supports the tip of the plunger 40C being able to come in contact with conductive patterns 38 in a wiring circuit and a rotary conductive ball 42 located at the tip of the plunger are accommodated. The conductive ball 42 is arranged rotatably being in contact with the surface of the conductive patterns 38 when the plunger 40C advances toward the conductive patterns 38.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connection between two electronic components incorporated in an electronic component which are swingably connected to each other with a pivot axis as a fulcrum. The present invention relates to a hinge-type connector using the above-mentioned swing shaft as a part of a power distribution path when performing the above, and an electronic device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are notebook personal computers and notebook word processors as electronic equipment having a structure in which two members, each of which incorporates an electronic component with a swing axis as a fulcrum, are swingably connected. . Such an electronic device has, for example, a configuration shown in FIG. 10 in order to electrically connect electronic components incorporated in two members. In FIG. 10, an electronic device 10 has an electronic device main body 10 </ b> A in which a keyboard and a control board (not shown) are incorporated through a swing shaft 16 via a swing shaft 16, in which a lid 14 in which electronic components such as a liquid crystal display device 12 are incorporated. It is provided so that it can swing freely, that is, can be opened and closed. The electronic components incorporated in the electronic device body 10A and the lid 14 are:
They are electrically connected by a cable 18 which is coaxially bundled and arranged with the swing shaft 16. The electronic device body 10A
Is provided with a power switch 20 that is turned off when the lid 14 is closed, and the wiring for the power switch 20 is also collected in the cable 18.

[0003]

In the electronic device 10 having the wiring structure for electrical connection as described above,
Each time the lid 14 is repeatedly opened and closed, the cable 1
Since the cable 8 is twisted, metal fatigue tends to occur in the cable 18, and when the metal fatigue increases, the cable 18 may be cut. In particular, in recent years, when the liquid crystal display device 12 has a full display, the cable 18 having a large electric current capacity is required, and the diameter of the core wire of the cable 18 is correspondingly increased, so that the durability life against twisting tends to be short. There was a problem.

On the other hand, the wiring used for electrical connection may be integrated with the terminal of the electronic component by soldering or the like in such a case. The time and labor required for For this reason, one of the wiring terminals is a conductive pattern, and the other wiring terminal is a terminal portion so that it can be inserted into and removed from the conductive pattern, and when the terminal of the other wiring terminal is inserted, it can be brought into pressure contact with the conductive pattern. Possible connectors have been used in the past. However, in such a connector, the same portion of the terminal is constantly rubbed, and moreover,
The friction generated at that time causes wear of the terminals, and in the worst case, the electrical conduction between the terminals may be impaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional wiring structure, and particularly to a problem in a wiring structure used for electrical connection of electronic components incorporated in two members that are relatively swingable via a swing shaft. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a hinge connector having a configuration capable of improving durability and an electrical conduction state, and an electronic device using the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to an electronic component mounted on first and second bases which can swing about a swing axis as a fulcrum. A connector provided in a part of a wiring path for electrically connecting each other, comprising a plunger capable of moving in at least one direction, and supporting a tip of the plunger so as to be able to contact the conductive pattern of the wiring path. A connector body, and a rotatable conductive ball disposed at the tip of the plunger in the connector body, wherein the plunger advances toward the conductive pattern so that the conductive ball is positioned on the conductive pattern surface. It is characterized by being arranged rotatably in a state of contact.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the hinge type connector according to the first aspect, one of the first and second bases is fixed to the swing shaft, and the other of the bases is connected to the other. A rotatable pattern is formed on the surface of the oscillating shaft so as to be rotatable with respect to the oscillating shaft. The connector body is supported by the first and second bases. The plunger has a habit of pressing against the conductive pattern formed on the surface of the swing shaft, and the ball rotates while pressing against the conductive pattern due to the habit of the plunger. It is characterized by.

[0008] The invention described in claim 3 is claim 1 or 2.
In the hinge type connector described above, the ball is caulked at the tip of the plunger and is rotatably supported.

[0011] The invention according to claim 4 is that the electronic device main body includes:
In an electronic device in which a lid on which an electronic component is disposed is freely opened and closed by a pivot shaft, a conductive pattern forming a wiring path formed on the surface of the pivot shaft, the electronic device and the lid are provided. A connector body provided with a plunger having a habit of pressing against the conductive pattern, and a rotatable conductive member disposed at an end of the plunger of the connector body facing the conductive pattern. And a hinge-type connector comprising:

[0010]

According to the present invention, the conductive ball located at the tip of the plunger of the connector body can rotate while being pressed against the surface of the conductive pattern.
The frictional resistance with the conductive pattern surface is reduced.
Thereby, abrasion at the contact portion in the conductive pattern can be reduced, so that a favorable electrical conduction state can be maintained and the wiring path can be reliably prevented from being broken.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the conductive ball which rotates while being pressed against the conductive pattern formed on the surface of the swinging shaft is provided, the electronic ball is mounted on the electronic device body and the lid. The increase in frictional resistance, which causes breaks in the wiring that electrically connects the electronic components to each other, is suppressed, thereby ensuring the durability of the wiring path between the electronic device body and the lid. it can.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a main part structure according to an embodiment of a hinge connector according to the present invention. In the drawings after FIG. 1, the same components as those shown in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 1, a hinge type connector 30 is shown.
Is provided for a swing shaft 32 provided separately from the swing shaft 16 used in the notebook personal computer or notebook word processor shown in FIG. In other words, the swing shaft 32 has a first base 34 attached to the electronic device body near one end thereof along the axial direction, and a second base attached to the lid at the other end in the axial direction.
Base 36 is inserted. The first base 34 has a support bracket 34 </ b> A inserted into the swing shaft 32 at both ends along the axial direction of the swing shaft 32.
The head of a screw (not shown) screwed into A is pressed against the peripheral surface of the oscillating shaft 32 so as to be integrated with the oscillating shaft 32 and provided immovably. In the first base 34 in which the support bracket 34A is inserted into the swing shaft 32, the outer surface between the support brackets 34A has a slight gap formed with respect to the peripheral surface of the swing shaft 32, so that the swing shaft 32 32.

The second base 36 has, at both ends, support brackets 36A to be inserted into the swing shaft 32 in the same manner as the first base 34, but is integrated with the swing shaft 32. The swing shaft 32 can be freely swung about the swing shaft 32 as a fulcrum just by being positioned in the axial direction of the swing shaft 32 and being prevented from coming off. The second base 36 in which the support bracket 36A is inserted into the swing shaft 32
The outer surface between the support brackets 36A is opposed to the peripheral surface of the pivot shaft 32 with a slight gap formed with respect to the peripheral surface of the pivot shaft 32. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 34B denotes a fastening hole for attaching the electronic device body 10A shown in FIG. 10, and reference numeral 36B denotes a fastening hole for attaching the lid 14 shown in FIG. ing.

On the surface of the oscillating shaft 32, there is formed a conductive pattern 38 which forms a part of a wiring path for electrically connecting electronic components mounted on the electronic device and the lid. The conductive pattern 38 is a thin film pattern formed in accordance with the number of electronic components as shown in FIG. 2 which is a developed view of the swing shaft 32, and the terminal portion 38 corresponding to a terminal portion thereof.
A is formed so as to be positioned between the support brackets 34A and 36A on the first base 34 and the second base 36. Among the terminal portions of the conductive pattern 38, the terminal portion 38 </ b> A facing the second base 36 has a length in a circumferential direction matched with a swing angle set when the second base 36 is opened and closed. Is set.

On the other hand, the first and second bases 34 and 36 have
A connector is provided facing the terminal portion of the conductive pattern 38 of the swing shaft 32. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the connector 40. In FIG. 3, the connector 40 has a connector main body 40A integrated with the first and second bases 34 and 36. The connector main body 40A is formed of a cylindrical body fitted and integrated with the support portions 34C, 36C of the first and second bases 34, 36, and has a coil spring 40B loaded therein. A terminal rod 40C integrated with the connector main body 40A is arranged on one side in the longitudinal direction of the coil spring 40B, and the conductive pattern 3 of the swing shaft 32 is urged by the coil spring 40B on the other side in the longitudinal direction.
Plunger 40 provided with a habit of protruding toward 8
D is arranged. The terminal rod 40C is set, for example, to a length that enables wire wrapping.
The length of the plunger 40D is set such that the plunger 40D can always contact the conductive pattern 38 of the swing shaft 32 by the coil spring 40B.

Plunger 40 of connector body 40A
D has a conductive ball 42 disposed at its tip. As shown in FIG. 3, the conductive ball 42 is swaged at the tip of a plunger 40D having a cross-sectional shape that can be fitted in a state of covering at least half or more of the peripheral surface of the hollow or conductive ball 42. It is supported in a state where it can rotate and can prevent falling. The caulking of the conductive ball 42 is performed as shown in FIG.
This is performed by pressing the tip of the plunger 40 </ b> D into the inside and bringing the tip of the plunger into contact with the peripheral surface of the conductive ball 42. Note that among the members constituting the connector 40, members other than the connector main body 40A are made of a conductive member, and the surface thereof is plated with gold or silver to improve conductivity. In addition, the coil spring 4
The contact surface between one of the ends of OB and the plunger 40 is a well-known bias cut surface.

Since the present embodiment has the above configuration,
The first base 34 is integrated with the swing shaft 32, and the second base 36 is inserted and fitted and is rotatably supported. Since the swing shaft 32 facing the second base 36 comes into contact with the inner surface of the support bracket 36A, a part of the conductive pattern 38 on the surface thereof is prevented from being rubbed by this contact. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 5, a protective ring 46 having a low coefficient of friction and electrical insulation is disposed between the support ring 36A and the inner surface of the support bracket 36A.

On the other hand, the connector 40 facing the terminal portion 38A of the conductive pattern 38 on the swing shaft 32 causes the plunger 40D to project toward the conductive pattern 38 by the bias of the coil spring 40B. For this reason, the plunger 40
The conductive ball 42 located at the tip of D rotates the conductive pattern 38 of the swing shaft 32 by the bias of the coil spring 40B.
Can be pressed against. Now, when the cover 14 is opened, the second base 36 also swings around the swing shaft 32 in conjunction with the swing of the cover 14. When the second base 36 swings,
Plunger 40D of connector 40 supported by this
Is displaced from the previous position, and the conductive ball 42 located at the tip moves on the peripheral surface of the swing shaft 32 while rotating. Accordingly, the connector 40 in contact with the conductive pattern 38 moves without rubbing the conductive pattern 38 because the conductive ball 42 rolls on the peripheral surface of the swing shaft 32, and When the body 14 has been released, a new surface of the conductive pattern 38 can be pressed.

According to the above embodiment, the swing shaft 32
With a simple structure in which the conductive ball 42 that rolls on the surface of the conductive pattern 38 provided on the tip of the plunger 38D can be prevented from breaking the wiring path formed by the conductive pattern 38. .

The conductive pattern 38 provided on the swing shaft 32 is not limited to the case of directly forming a thin film pattern for the above-described embodiment, but may be, for example, a flexible printed circuit board on which a wiring pattern is formed by printing. The swing shaft 32
May be worn around the circumference. In this case, the swing shaft 3
In the circumferential direction 2, the ends of the flexible printed circuit board may be attached slightly apart. FIG. 6 shows this state. In FIG. 6, the flexible printed circuit board 50 is worn on the outer peripheral surface of the swing shaft 32, and its circumferential end is slightly apart. Also in this case, the hinge according to the present invention can apply another connector. That is, the second base 34 located on the side of the lid 14 has one terminal portion of the conductive pattern 38,
A pair of connectors 40 are arranged so as to straddle the separated ends of the flexible printed circuit board 50. By connecting the rod terminals 40C between the pair of connectors 40, the same state as when a single connector 40 is in contact with one terminal portion of the conductive pattern 38 can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as a configuration of the connector 40, as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 0 and D protrude from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the connector main body 40A. In this case, a coil spring 40B is used instead of the terminal rod 40C shown in FIG.
Plunger 40 provided with a protruding habit by
D is disposed, and a conductive ball 42 is provided at the tip thereof similarly to one plunger 40D. In this way, a good electrical conduction state can be ensured even if the connection work is not required.

On the other hand, FIG. 8 is an external view partially cut away for explaining an electronic device using a hinge type connector. In FIG. 8, the electronic device is similar to the conventional one shown in FIG. The cover 14 is swingably supported by the electronic device main body 10A via a swing shaft (a member indicated by reference numeral 16 in FIG. 10). The lid 14 is formed so that it can be vertically divided into two parts so as to sandwich the swing shaft from the front and rear, and by combining these, the structure of the swingable lid 14 can be easily configured. . As shown in FIG.
The second base 36 is attached using fixing screws 70. In FIG. 9, the second base 36 can be integrated by fitting the connector 40 to the support portion 36 </ b> C, and the integrated connector 40 is projected to the side opposite to the swing shaft 32. The electrical connection from the connector or cable extended from the electronic component on the lid 14 side to the terminal rod 40C (see FIG. 3) from the wiring portion of the flexible printed circuit board is made by an appropriate method such as connection or soldering. Done. Similarly, on the first base 34 side, the first base 3 is attached to the electronic device body 10 using the fixing screw 72.
4 is attached. As shown in FIG. 9, the first base 34 can be integrated by fitting the connector 40 to the support portion 34C.
Similarly to the second base 36 side, the terminal rod 40C (see FIG. 3) is electrically connected to the connector or cable extended from the electronic component of the electronic device main body 10A or the wiring portion of the flexible printed circuit board. Is made.

In such a configuration, the second base 34 swings around the swing shaft 32 around the swing shaft 32 as the opening and closing operation of the lid 14 occurs.
The conductive ball 42 of the plunger 40D is kept in contact with the conductive pattern 38 on the oscillating shaft 32 while rolling on the peripheral surface of the oscillating shaft 32, so that the cable does not twist. Electrical conduction can be maintained. Moreover, even when the number of terminals of the conductive pattern 38 is relatively large, the frictional resistance when the conductive balls 42 roll can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the terminals are rubbed against each other. Also, the conductive pattern 38 is not broken or worn.

[0024]

As described above, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the conductive ball located at the tip of the plunger of the connector body can rotate while being pressed against the surface of the conductive pattern. The frictional resistance with the conductive pattern surface is reduced. Thereby, abrasion at the contact portion in the conductive pattern can be reduced, so that a favorable electrical conduction state can be maintained and the wiring path can be reliably prevented from being broken.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the conductive ball which rotates while being pressed against the conductive pattern formed on the surface of the oscillating shaft is provided, the electronic device body and the lid are provided. The increase in frictional resistance, which causes breakage in the middle of the wiring for electrically connecting the electronic components to each other, is suppressed, thereby ensuring the durability of the wiring path between the electronic device main body and the lid. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view for explaining an embodiment of a hinge connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a development view for explaining a conductive pattern formed on a swing shaft to which the hinge type connector shown in FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the hinge connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a configuration relating to a method of forming a conductive ball used in the hinge type connector shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a relational structure between a second base on which the hinge type connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is mounted and a swing shaft.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment when the hinge-type connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is mounted on a base.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view for explaining a modification of the hinge connector shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an external view for explaining an electronic apparatus using the hinge connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a mounting portion of another connector with a hinge used in the electronic device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an external view for explaining a conventional example of a wiring state of an electronic device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic device main body 14 Lid 32 Swing axis 34 First base 36 Second base 38 Conductive pattern 40 Hinge is another connector 40A Connector main body 40B Coil spring 40C Terminal rod 40D Plunger 42 Conductive ball

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A connector provided in a part of a wiring path for electrically connecting electronic components mounted on first and second bases which can swing with respect to a swing axis as a fulcrum. A connector body that includes a plunger that can advance and retreat in at least one direction, and that supports a tip of the plunger so that the tip of the plunger can contact the conductive pattern of the wiring path; A hinged connector, wherein the plunger advances toward the conductive pattern so that the conductive ball is rotatably disposed in contact with the surface of the conductive pattern. . 2. The hinge-type connector according to claim 1, wherein one of the first and second bases is fixed to the swing shaft, and the other of the bases is connected to the swing shaft. A conductive pattern forming a part of a wiring path is formed on the surface of the swing shaft; the connector body is supported by the first and second bases; The hinge type is provided with a habit of pressing against the conductive pattern formed on the surface of the swing shaft, and the ball rotates while being pressed against the conductive pattern due to the habit of the plunger. connector. 3. The hinge type connector according to claim 1, wherein the ball is caulked at a tip end of the plunger and is supported rotatably. 4. An electronic device in which a lid on which an electronic component is disposed is disposed on an electronic device main body so as to be openable and closable by a pivot shaft, wherein the conductive pattern forming a wiring path formed on the surface of the pivot shaft is provided. A connector body provided on the electronic device and the lid body, the connector body including a plunger having a habit of pressing against the conductive pattern; and an end of the plunger of the connector body facing the conductive pattern. An electronic device, comprising: a hinge-type connector comprising: a conductive ball rotatably disposed in a portion;