JP6088958B2 - Electronic equipment with waterproof connector structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, and a portable music player having a waterproof connector structure.

  Electronic devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, portable music players, and portable game machines are waterproofed. For example, a waterproof seal member (packing) is inserted between the touch panel and the front housing, between the front housing and the rear housing, or the like.

  On the other hand, a connector for charging or external connection is provided in an electronic device, and waterproofing between the connector and the housing is also an important issue.

  In order to achieve waterproofing between the connector and the housing, a waterproof seal member is mounted on the peripheral surface of the connector and inserted into an attachment hole formed in the housing. However, when the connector is inserted into the mounting hole, the waterproof seal member may be deformed and may be detached from the mounting hole or tilted due to its repulsive force or restoring force. In particular, the connector may be misaligned while various electronic components are mounted after the connector is arranged on the housing.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, after the connector is mounted in the mounting hole, a holder is put on the connector and fixed to prevent the displacement.

JP2012-59381A

  However, in order to reduce the thickness and size of electronic equipment, the number of parts, and the number of work processes, it is desirable to avoid fixing with a holder.

  The objective of this invention is providing the electronic device provided with the waterproof connector structure which can temporarily fix a connector without using a holder.

An electronic device provided with a waterproof connector structure according to the present invention,
A waterproof connector to which an external terminal can be connected, and a waterproof seal member is mounted on the peripheral surface;
A flexible printed circuit board electrically connected to the waterproof connector;
A first housing having a mounting hole into which a tip of the waterproof connector is inserted together with the waterproof seal member;
A second housing engaged with the first housing;
With
The flexible printed circuit board is formed with at least one restricting portion protruding in the width direction on the side opposite to the insertion direction of the waterproof connector,
The first housing is formed with a contact portion with which the restriction portion abuts when the waterproof connector is inserted into the mounting hole.

  According to the electronic device of the present invention, the restricting portion of the flexible printed circuit board comes into contact with the contact portion in a state where the waterproof connector is mounted in the mounting hole. Therefore, even if the waterproof seal member is deformed, it is possible to prevent a positional shift such that the waterproof connector is detached from the mounting hole or tilted.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the first housing of the electronic device of FIG. 1, with the main board and the like removed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a waterproof connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a waterproof connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the first housing with the waterproof connector removed from the waterproof connector structure of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the waterproof connector of FIG. 6 as viewed from the flexible printed circuit board side. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the waterproof connector of FIG. FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the waterproof connector of FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective cross-sectional view illustrating a process of temporarily attaching the waterproof connector to the mounting hole. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of temporarily attaching the waterproof connector to the mounting hole. FIG. 12 is a perspective sectional view showing a state in which the waterproof connector is temporarily attached to the attachment hole. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the waterproof connector is temporarily attached to the attachment hole. FIG. 14 is a rear view of the first housing, showing a state in which a main board and the like are attached. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-15 in FIG. 16 is a front view in which a touch panel display is removed from the electronic apparatus of FIG. FIG. 17 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a waterproof connector structure equipped with a second housing. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a waterproof connector structure equipped with a second housing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a smartphone will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, although the electronic device 10 of embodiment illustrated the smart phone by which the substantially whole front surface was covered with the touchscreen type display 20, it is needless to say that it is not limited to the smart phone of this structure. In addition to the smartphone, the electronic device 10 that can employ the waterproof connector structure of the present invention includes a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet terminal, a portable music player, a portable game machine, and the like. .

  FIG. 1 is a front view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 has a touch panel display 20 attached to the front surface. In the display 20, a portion surrounded by a square frame in FIG. 1 is a display surface 22, and a menu button 24, a home button 25, and a return button 26 are provided below the display surface 22. The display surface 22 and the buttons 24, 25, and 26 are all touch-panel type, and the buttons 24, 25, and 26 can be lit by LEDs 42, 62, and 74 as shown in FIGS. In this specification, in order to simplify the description, the longitudinal direction of the electronic device 10 is the vertical direction.

  The display 20 is attached to the first housing 30. More specifically, the first casing 30 has a substantially rectangular rib 31 formed on the peripheral surface, and the display 20 is fitted into the rib 31 from the front side.

  FIG. 2 is a rear view of the first housing 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 30 is formed by insert-molding a metal plate 33 with resin, providing a rib 31 on the outer periphery, and allowing various electronic components to be mounted. For example, reference numerals 34, 35, and 36 (refer to reference numeral 35 for FIG. 16) are through holes formed at positions facing the menu button 24, home button 25, and return button 26 of the display 20. LEDs for lighting these buttons are arranged.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the first housing 30 is formed with a standing wall 32 that is recessed from the rib 31 at a substantially lower center, and the tip of the waterproof connector 50 is inserted into the standing wall 32. A mounting hole 38 is formed through. The waterproof connector 50 is inserted into the attachment hole 38 from the inside of the first housing 30. The attachment hole 38 has an opening on the lower surface side that is the outer side substantially matching the tip shape of the waterproof connector 50, and the inside can be inserted with a waterproof seal member 54 attached to the tip of the waterproof connector 50 in a compressed state. Further, the waterproof connector 50 is formed slightly larger than the tip.

  In this embodiment, the waterproof connector 50 mounted in the mounting hole 38 is a mini USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal. The waterproof connector 50 is not limited to a mini USB terminal, and may be, for example, a USB terminal, a mini HDMI (registered trademark: high precision multimedia interface) terminal, an HDMI terminal, or the like.

  The waterproof connector 50 is mounted on a flexible printed circuit board 60 connected to the main board 70 (see FIG. 14) of the electronic device 10, as shown in FIGS. The waterproof connector 50 has a cylindrical tip at the tip, the connector terminal 51 is disposed inside, and the outer periphery is covered with resin. In the waterproof connector 50, the connector terminals 51 are water-tightly processed with an adhesive or the like, so that waterproofing is achieved.

  A waterproof seal member 54 is fitted on the front peripheral surface of the waterproof connector 50 covered with resin. The waterproof seal member 54 can be made of rubber such as silicone rubber, resin, or the like. The waterproof seal member 54 shown in the figure is formed with two protrusion rows 55.

  In the waterproof connector 50, a plurality of electrical contacts 52 extending from the connector terminals 51 are exposed on the proximal end side, and these electrical contacts 52 are electrically connected to the flexible printed circuit board 60.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the flexible printed circuit board 60 is formed with a regulating portion 62 that protrudes in the width direction at a position slightly away from the waterproof connector 50. In the drawing, the restricting portion 62 is formed in both the width direction, but it can be either one.

  In the figure, the waterproof connector 50 side is wider than the restricting portion 62 and the side away from the waterproof connector 50 is narrow, but the restricting portion 62 has a shape protruding from the flexible printed circuit board 60 in the width direction. It doesn't matter. Further, the illustrated flexible printed circuit board 60 is provided with a sub flexible printed circuit board 64 extending in the width direction at a circuit board part near the tip of the waterproof connector 50, and the flexible printed circuit board 60 is bent by bending the sub flexible printed circuit board 64. It is trying to overlap with. An LED 66 is mounted on the sub-flexible printed circuit board 64. In the following description, the entire flexible printed board including the sub flexible printed board 64 is referred to as a flexible printed board 60.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the first housing 30 is formed with a contact portion 40 at a position where it comes into contact with the restriction portion 62 of the flexible printed circuit board 60 with the waterproof connector 50 mounted in the attachment hole 38. . The illustrated contact portion 40 is a projection extending downward, that is, toward the attachment hole 38, and is formed with a gap S wider than the narrow portion of the flexible printed circuit board 60. The contact portion 40 is formed at the tip of the guide surface 42 as shown in FIGS. The guide surface 42 is formed so as to be inclined toward the insertion direction of the waterproof connector 50 (the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 10 and 11 described later). The inclination angle of the illustrated guide surface 42 is 8 degrees with respect to the vertical direction.

  The process of attaching the waterproof connector 50 to the first housing 30 having the above-described configuration includes the temporary attachment process shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 and the fixing process of the waterproof connector 50 by the second housing 80 shown in FIGS. Become.

First, the temporary mounting process will be described.
The temporary mounting process is a process in which various electronic components such as the waterproof connector 50, the main board 70 (rigid board), the display 20, and the like are attached to the first housing 30 to be electrically connected. The order of attaching these electronic components is not limited to the one shown below.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the waterproof connector 50 is attached after the display 20 is previously attached to the front side of the first housing 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the waterproof connector 50 is slanted so that the distal end of the waterproof connector 50 faces the mounting hole 38 and the flexible printed board 60 slides on the guide surface 42 (FIGS. 10 and 11). 11 is inserted from arrow A). The waterproof connector 50 enters the mounting hole 38 while the waterproof sealing member 54 is compressed and deformed by the inner surface of the mounting hole 38. In order to prevent twisting of the waterproof seal member 54 and to improve waterproofness, it is desirable to apply grease or the like to the mounting holes 38 in advance.

  Since the waterproof connector 50 can be inserted from an oblique direction, the space required for mounting can be reduced as compared with the case where the waterproof connector 50 is mounted by sliding parallel to the mounting hole 38, and the electronic device 10 can be downsized. And can be made thinner.

  When the tip of the waterproof connector 50 inserted from an oblique direction is completely inserted into the mounting hole 38, the restricting portion 62 of the flexible printed circuit board 60 gets over the guide surface 42 as shown in FIGS. When the narrow portion of the flexible printed circuit board 60 fits into the gap S (see FIG. 4) formed between the contact portions 40, 40, the waterproof connector 50 becomes parallel to the mounting hole 38, and the restricting portion 62 abuts against the contact portion 40 at the tip of the guide surface 42. Thereby, the temporary attachment of the waterproof connector 50 to the first housing 30 is completed.

  In the present embodiment, the LED 66 is mounted on the flexible printed circuit board 60, and the waterproof connector 50 is completely attached to the mounting hole 38, so that the LED 66 has the first housing as shown in FIGS. The home button 25 of the display 20 can be turned on by fitting in the through-hole 35 established in the body 30. By mounting the LED 66 on the flexible printed circuit board 60, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to separately install a circuit board or wiring in order to light the home button 25.

  When the waterproof connector 50 is temporarily attached, the restriction portion 62 of the flexible printed circuit board 60 is in contact with the contact portion 40. Even if the connector 50 tries to move in the direction of coming out of the mounting hole 38, the movement is prevented.

  With the waterproof connector 50 temporarily attached to the first housing 30, various electronic components such as the main board 70 are attached to the first housing 30 as shown in FIGS. Etc. are performed. When attaching these electronic components, the orientation of the first housing 30 may have to be changed or turned over. However, as described above, since the waterproof connector 50 is temporarily attached to the first housing 30 and the possibility of displacement is reduced, a holder that is a separate member for fixing the waterproof connector 50 is not necessary. Can do. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the mounting process. Further, since the space occupied by the holder is unnecessary, the electronic device 10 can be reduced in thickness and size.

  The main board 70 attached to the first housing 30 can have a U-shape, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, and a notch 71 is provided at the lower end so as to avoid the waterproof connector 50. At the lower end of the main board 70, LEDs 72 and 74 for lighting the menu button 24 and the return button 26 of the display 20 are mounted on the front side with the notch 71 interposed therebetween, and the main board 70 is attached to the first housing 30. Thus, the LEDs 72 and 74 can light these buttons through the through holes 34 and 36 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.

  Thus, by providing the notch in the main board 70, the waterproof connector 50 and the main board 70 do not overlap, so that the electronic device 10 can be thinned.

  After attaching necessary electronic components to the first housing 30, the second housing 80 is attached to the back side of the first housing 30. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the second casing 80 is provided with a pressing portion 82 that abuts on the base end of the waterproof connector 50, and the second casing 80 is engaged with the first casing 30. The base end of the waterproof connector 50 can be sufficiently fixed by the pressing portion 82. In FIGS. 17 and 18, reference numeral 84 denotes a member that seals the first housing 30 and the second casing 80 in a watertight manner.

  As described above, the electronic device 10 is obtained by engaging the second casing 80 with the first housing 30. External terminals (not shown) are inserted into the waterproof connector 50 to which the electronic device 10 is fixed, as necessary, and electrical connection is made.

  In the present embodiment, a mini USB terminal is employed as the waterproof connector 50, and the waterproof connector 50 is provided on the lower surface of the electronic device 10. For this reason, even when an external terminal is connected to the waterproof connector 50 and charging or the like is performed, for example, the external terminal and its wiring do not obstruct the operation of the electronic device 10 or a call.

  The above description is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or limiting the scope thereof. Further, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic device 20 Display 30 1st housing | casing 38 Mounting hole 40 Contact part 42 Guide surface 50 Waterproof connector 54 Waterproof sealing member 60 Flexible printed circuit board 62 Restriction part 80 Second housing 82 Holding part

Claims (4)

A waterproof connector to which an external terminal can be connected, and a waterproof seal member is mounted on the peripheral surface;
A flexible printed circuit board electrically connected to the waterproof connector;
A first housing having a mounting hole into which a tip of the waterproof connector is inserted together with the waterproof seal member;
A second housing engaged with the first housing;
With
The flexible printed circuit board is formed with at least one restricting portion protruding in the width direction on the side opposite to the insertion direction of the waterproof connector,
The first housing has a contact portion with which the restricting portion comes into contact when the waterproof connector is inserted into the mounting hole.
Electronic equipment with a waterproof connector structure. The contact portion is formed at the tip of a guide surface that is inclined so as to be lowered in the insertion direction of the waterproof connector,
The waterproof connector is inserted obliquely along the guide surface.
An electronic device comprising the waterproof connector structure according to claim 1. The waterproof connector is a mini USB terminal.
An electronic device comprising the waterproof connector structure according to claim 1. The second casing is formed with a pressing portion that comes into contact with the waterproof connector.
An electronic device comprising the waterproof connector structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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