KR101261997B1 - Portable phone having side key - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having a side key, comprising: a side key coupled to a side surface of a terminal body; A flexible printed circuit board plate (FPCB) coupled to a rear surface of the side key; A plate inserting support portion provided on a front panel which forms one side of the terminal main body and in which the flexible circuit board plate is partially inserted and supported; And a key insertion support portion provided on the front panel and supporting the side key. Accordingly, the size of the mobile terminal can be prevented from becoming large, thereby realizing slimness of the mobile terminal and preventing the use of the additional component, thereby reducing the cost problem associated with an increase in the number of parts and thus the workload .

Mobile terminal, side key, FPCB plate, assembly, rib

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile phone having a side key,

1 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal having a side key according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the folder in the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1,

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the side key region shown in Figures 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3,

5 is a front view of the flexible circuit board plate shown in Fig.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

10: terminal body 12:

12a: front panel 18:

19a: internal liquid crystal 19b: external liquid crystal

30: Side keys 31a, 31b:

32: actuator 40: flexible printed circuit board plate

40a, 40b: dome sheet 41:

42: flange portion 50: plate insertion support portion

50a: rear barrier portion 50b: front barrier portion

50c: connecting wall portion 51: penetrating portion

60: key insertion support

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having a side key, and more particularly, it is possible to prevent a size of a mobile terminal from becoming large, thereby realizing a slim of the mobile terminal, And to a mobile terminal having a side key capable of reducing a cost problem due to an increase in the number of parts and a corresponding work flow.

The side, i.e., the side of the mobile terminal is provided with a so-called side key.

Unlike the function of the plurality of input buttons provided on the inner surface of the main body, the side key is used for selecting functions such as manipulating the volume of reception or key tone, or an additional menu. This side key can increase the user's convenience to the mobile terminal.

The side keys are assembled together with a flexible printed circuit board plate (FPCB plate) provided at the rear side thereof in such a manner that they are integrally inserted into a key mounting groove portion provided in the main body portion. At this time, a pair of ribs for stably supporting and fixing the side key and the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) plate are further formed on both sides of the key mounting recess.

However, in this conventional technique, the width (size) of the mobile terminal must be increased by at least 1.0 millimeter (mm) due to the rib applied to the key mounting groove portion. That is, even if the ribs are made thin, a minimum rib thickness, for example, 0.5 to 0.6 millimeters (mm) is required. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to implement a slim of the mobile terminal.

In order to reduce the size of the mobile terminal in order to realize slimness, a method of deleting the rib has been considered.

However, when the rib is simply deleted as described above, the side key can not be stably fixed at the corresponding position, so it is necessary to fix the side key using a double-sided tape or the like.

However, when a double-sided tape is used to assemble and fix the side key, the number of parts increases, and since the process is added, the overall loss increases. Therefore, a countermeasure must be taken.

It is an object of the present invention to prevent a size of a mobile terminal from becoming large, thereby realizing a slim of a mobile terminal and preventing an additional component from being used, And a side key capable of reducing the size of the mobile terminal.

The above-mentioned object is achieved by a portable terminal comprising: a side key coupled to a side surface of a terminal body; A flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) plate coupled to a rear surface of the side key; A plate inserting support portion provided on a front panel forming one side surface of the terminal main body and partially supporting the flexible circuit board plate; And a side key provided on the front panel and including a key insertion support portion for supporting the side key.

Here, the flexible printed circuit board includes: a main body having at least one dome sheet formed on a surface thereof; And a flange portion protruding from both side surfaces of the main body portion.

A cutout may be further formed on one side of the main body.

The plate inserting support portion includes a rear wall portion; A front wall part disposed in front of the rear wall part to be parallel to the rear wall part in a state of being separated from the rear wall part by a thickness of the flexible printed circuit board plate; And a connecting wall portion connecting the front wall portion and the rear wall portion.

The front wall portion may have a length corresponding to the protruding length of the flange portion.

The rear wall portion may have a through portion formed at a position corresponding to the incision portion.

The key inserting / supporting part may be provided on one side of the plate inserting / supporting part so that the side key can be partially inserted and supported, and may be recessed from the upper surface of the front panel.

The space formed between the front wall portion and the rear wall portion may communicate with the key insertion support portion.

The side key includes at least one pressing portion; And an actuator that is disposed between the pressing portion and the flexible printed circuit board plate and transmits the pressing operation of the pressing portion to the dome sheet.

The actuator may be made of a urethane material.

The pusher and the actuator may be integrally formed by double injection.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal having a side key according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1 with a folder closed.

As shown in these drawings, a mobile terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal main body 10 and a battery pack 22 connected to the terminal main body 10 to supply power . The illustrated mobile terminal 1 refers to a so-called folding cellular phone.

The main body 10 includes a main body 12 having a printed circuit board (PCB) built therein, a folder 18 for opening and closing a front surface of the main body 12, And a hinge 21 provided between the main body 12 and the main body 12 to rotate the folder 18 with respect to the main body 12.

On both sides of the hinge 21, a bidirectional stereo speaker 23 is provided. An antenna 24 is provided on the upper side of the speaker 23. Bidirectional stereo speakers 23 and cameras not shown are optional. And thus need not be limited to those shown. The antenna 24 may also be a built-in antenna.

A plurality of input buttons (13) are provided on the inner surface of the main body (12). Below the input buttons 13, a transmitter 14 for transmitting a voice of a user to the other party or for recording a voice message is formed, and a menu search button 15 is formed on the upper portion thereof.

On the inner surface of the folder portion 18, a large-screen internal liquid crystal 19a on which a character or screen is formed including a telephone number, a charged state of the battery, a vibration state, and an alarm status display is provided. The internal liquid crystal 19a is employed as a so-called LCD. On the upper portion of the internal liquid crystal 19a is formed a receiving portion 20 for receiving voice from the other party.

The external liquid crystal 19b is provided on the outer surface of the folder portion 18. [ The external liquid crystal 19b displays simple information such as a character receiving state, a time, and a telephone receiving state.

The battery pack 22 is detachably coupled to the back surface of the main body 12. The battery pack 22 is typically used as a rechargeable battery. Depending on the type of the battery pack 22, the battery pack 22 may be a lead-acid battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, ), A lithium polymer rechargeable battery (Polymer), or the like.

On the other hand, the side key 30 is provided on the side surface of the main body portion 12, that is, on the side of the main body portion 12.

As described above, the side key 30 is provided for enhancing the convenience of the user with respect to the mobile terminal 1. [ The side key 30 is used for selecting a function such as manipulating the reception volume or key tone or an additional menu, unlike the functions of the input button 13 and the menu search button 15 described above.

The side key 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 as follows.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the side key region shown in Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the flexible circuit board plate shown in Fig.

Referring to these figures, the side key 30 includes two pressing portions 31a and 31b exposed on one side of the main body portion 12, pressing portions 31a and 31b, and a flexible printed circuit board plate (40a, 40b, dome sheet) formed on the front surface of the flexible printed circuit board plate (40) by pressing the pushing portions (31a, 31b) arranged between the flexible printed circuit board plate (40, FPCB plate) And an actuator (32) for transmitting the signal.

The pushing portions 31a and 31b are portions that the user directly presses with the fingers. Therefore, the pushing portions 31a and 31b can be exposed to one side of the main body 12. [ These pushing portions 31a and 31b may be made of a plastic material or stainless steel (SUS) material.

However, unlike the present embodiment, the switch cover may be exposed on one side of the main body 12 after further providing a switch cover (not shown) that forms an outer appearance of the pressing portions 31a and 31b. In this case, the user operates the mobile terminal 1 while pressing the switch cover.

In the present embodiment, two pushers 31a and 31b are provided to form different signals, but one or more pushers 31a and 31b may be provided. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated ones.

The actuator 32 is made of a urethane material. Since the actuator 32 transmits the operation of the pushing portions 31a and 31b to the dome sheets 40a and 40b formed on the front surface of the flexible printed circuit board 40, it is preferable that the actuator 32 is generally made thin .

In addition, as shown in Fig. 4, the pressing portions 31a and 31b and the actuator 32 do not necessarily have to be separated from each other, and the actuator 32 has the pressing portions 31a and 31b adhered to the pressing portions 31a and 31b It may be integrated. Therefore, the pushing portions 31a and 31b and the actuator 32 may be integrally manufactured by double injection molding the release material.

Although not shown in detail, on the rear surface of the actuator 32 toward the flexible printed circuit board plate 40, two pressing projections 40a, 40b corresponding to the dome sheets 40a, 40b formed on the front surface of the flexible printed circuit board plate 40, (Not shown). Accordingly, when the user presses the pressing portions 31a and 31b, the pressing projections push the dome sheets 40a and 40b, so that a signal system can be formed.

3, the side key 30 formed by the pressing portions 31a and 31b and the actuator 32 is disposed at a predetermined position on the front surface of the flexible printed circuit board plate 40. As shown in Fig. To this end, a key insertion support portion 60 is formed on the upper surface of the front panel 12a so as to be depressed from the upper surface thereof, and the side key 30 is partially inserted and supported.

The key insertion support portion 60 is provided on one side of the plate insertion support portion 50, more specifically, in front of the plate insertion support portion 50, which will be described later. The space formed between the front wall portion 50b and the rear wall portion 50a of the insertion support portion 50 communicates with the key insertion support portion 60. [

The flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is inserted into the space between the front wall portion 50b and the rear wall portion 50a of the plate inserting and supporting portion 50 and the key inserting / The side key 30 and the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 can be easily fixed at the corresponding positions by inserting a part of the lower end portion of the side key 30 formed by the actuators 31a and 31b and the actuator 32. [

On the other hand, as described above, the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is disposed on the rear surface of the side key 30. This flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is substantially coupled to the side key 30 to form a body. Although not shown in detail, the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is connected to a main board (not shown) in the mobile terminal 1 by a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) (not shown).

The flexible printed circuit board plate 40 has a body portion 41 and a flange portion 42 formed to protrude from both sides of the body portion 41.

As described above, two dome sheets 40a and 40b are formed on the front surface of the main body portion 41 so as to face the side key 30. As shown in Fig. The two dome sheets 40a and 40b correspond to the pressing projections of the pressing portions 31a and 31b and the actuator 32 described above.

For reference, the two dome sheets 40a and 40b are formed by a first signal line whose outer shape is dome-shaped and a second signal line formed inside the first signal line. Accordingly, when the user presses the pressing portions 31a and 31b, the pressing projection of the actuator 32 presses the first signal line, and finally the first signal line contacts the second signal line to form a signal system will be. The description of the structure of the dome sheets 40a and 40b will be omitted here, and the technique, which is proposed by the present applicant, will be referred to when necessary.

The body portion 41 of the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 further has a cutout 41a. The incision 41a is cut from the lower surface of the main body 41 to the upper end by a predetermined area. The cut-out portion 41a is in communication with the penetration portion 51 to be described later, and can be utilized as a passage through which the above-described flexible printed circuit board (FPC) passes.

The flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is fixed by a plate inserting support portion 50 protruding from a front panel 12a forming one side surface of the main body portion 12. That is, the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is supported and fixed in such a manner as to be partially inserted into the plate inserting support portion 50.

The plate inserting and supporting portion 50 is provided on the rear wall portion 50a so as to be parallel to the rear wall portion 50a in a state of being separated from the rear wall portion 50a by the thickness of the rear wall portion 50a and the flexible printed circuit board plate 40, And a connecting wall portion 50c connecting the front wall portion 50b and the rear wall portion 50a to each other.

As described above, the rear wall portion 50a is formed with the penetrating portion 51 at a position corresponding to the cutout portion 41a. The space formed between the front wall portion 50b and the rear wall portion 50a communicates with the key insertion support portion 60. [

The front wall portion 50b has a relatively short length, while the back wall portion 50a has a relatively long length except the penetrating portion 51. [ That is, the front wall portion 50b is formed to have a length corresponding to the protruding length of the flange portion 42 formed on the flexible printed circuit board plate 40. [

3 and 4, first, the flange portion 42 of the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is fixed to the front wall portion 50b forming the plate insertion supporting portion 50 And inserted into the space between the rear wall portions 50a.

A portion of the lower end of the side key 30 formed by the pressing portions 31a and 31b and the actuator 32 is inserted into the key insertion supporting portion 60 formed in the front of the plate insertion supporting portion 50.

The flexible printed circuit board plate 40 is inserted into the plate insertion support portion 50 and the side key 30 is inserted into the key insertion support portion 60 so that the pressing portions 31a, 31b, the positions of the pressing projections of the actuator 32 and the dome sheets 40a, 40b coincide naturally. Then, the assembling work is easily completed by connecting the flexible printed circuit board plate 40 to the main board.

When the user presses the pressing portions 31a and 31b in this assembled state, the dome sheets 40a and 40b are operated while the pressing projections of the actuator 32 are pressed, so that a desired signal system can be formed.

When the side key 30 and the flexible printed circuit board 40 are assembled in this manner, the ribs are formed or the flexible printed circuit board 40 You do not need to use tapes.

Therefore, the size of the mobile terminal 1 can be prevented from becoming large, and the slim of the mobile terminal 1 can be realized. In addition, by preventing the use of additional parts, cost problems due to an increase in the number of parts and thus the number of working hours can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to provide an effect of reducing the occurrence of loss as a whole.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Although the embodiments described above are shown for a folding mobile terminal, the idea of the present invention can be applied to a flip type or slider type mobile terminal.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the size of the mobile terminal is prevented from being increased, the slim of the mobile terminal can be prevented, and further, the use of additional parts is prevented, So that it is possible to reduce the work flow.

Claims (11)

A terminal body including a front panel; A side key coupled to a side surface of the terminal body; And A flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) plate coupled to a rear surface of the side key; Lt; / RTI > The flexible printed circuit board plate A main body portion having at least one dome sheet formed on a surface thereof; And A first flange portion protruding in a first direction from one side of the main body portion; a second flange portion protruding from the other side surface of the main body portion in the first direction; Lt; / RTI > The front panel A plate insertion support portion in which the flexible circuit board plate is partially inserted and supported; And A key insertion support portion in which the side key is partially inserted and supported; Lt; / RTI > The plate inserting / A rear wall portion extending in the first direction; A first front wall portion and a second front wall portion disposed in front of the rear wall portion to be parallel to the rear wall portion; A first connecting wall portion extending in a second direction intersecting with the first direction and connecting one end of the first front wall portion and one end of the rear wall portion; And A second connection wall part extending in the second direction and connecting one end of the second front wall part and the other end of the rear wall part; Lt; / RTI > Wherein the first front wall portion and the second front wall portion are spaced apart in the first direction, Wherein the key insertion support portion includes a depression recessed from an upper surface of the front panel in a third direction (Third Direction) intersecting with the first and second directions, Wherein a space formed between the first and second front wall portions and the rear wall portion communicates with the depressed portion, The first flange portion is inserted into a space formed between the first front wall portion and the rear wall portion, And the second flange portion has a side key inserted into a space formed between the second front wall portion and the rear wall portion. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein a cut-out portion is further formed on one side of the body portion. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first and second front wall portions have a length corresponding to a protruding length of the flange portion. The method of claim 3, Wherein the rear wall portion is formed with a through portion at a position corresponding to the cut-out portion. delete delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the side key comprises: At least one pusher; And An actuator disposed between the pressing portion and the flexible printed circuit board plate to transmit a pressing operation of the pressing portion to the dome sheet; And a side key including the side key. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the actuator is made of a urethane material. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the pushing portion and the actuator are integrally formed by double injection molding.

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