JP2001230566A - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the electrical resistance of connections between a cell and a body circuit block of portable information terminal. SOLUTION: The cell 3 is incorporated in a frame 2 of a portable telephone 1, a first conductive layer 7 is formed on the surface of a cell case 4 extending along the cell 3, a second conductive layer 8 is formed on the surface of the frame 2, and the cell case 4 is assembled in the frame 2, so as to sandwich the first and second conductive layers 7, 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information terminal and, more particularly, to a structure of a portion for electrically connecting a battery incorporated in the portable information terminal and a main body circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable information terminals such as portable telephones, notebook computers, and video cameras have become widespread.
These portable information terminals use batteries for supplying power. Generally, a rechargeable secondary battery is used as this battery.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a structure of a battery 3 incorporated in a housing 2 of a conventional portable information terminal 1 and its vicinity.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 2, a battery housing 4 is removably assembled to a housing 2 of the portable information terminal 1, and a battery 3 is arranged between the battery housing 4 and the housing 2. . A circuit board (not shown) is incorporated in the housing 2, and a main body circuit portion including various circuits is formed on the circuit board.

[0005] A connector pin 6 electrically connected to the main body circuit is mounted on the circuit board. The connector pin 6 has a built-in spring, and the battery 3 is connected to the portable information terminal 1.
When the connector pin 6 is incorporated in the housing 2, the connector pin 6 abuts on the electrode 5 of the battery 3 by the elastic force of the spring. Thereby,
The main body circuit and the battery 3 are electrically connected.

[0006]

However, since the connector pins 6 are brought into contact with the electrodes 5 of the battery 3 by the elastic force of the spring as described above, the main circuit portion and the battery 3 are electrically connected. Only the contact between the connector pin 6 and the electrode 5 was in point contact, and the contact area between the connector pin 6 and the electrode 5 was small.

The contact pressure between the connector pins 6 and the electrodes 5 is not so large, and the spring itself has a high resistance. As described above, there is a problem that the electrical resistance at the contact portion between the connector pin 6 and the electrode 5 increases, and the electrical resistance at the connection portion between the main circuit portion and the battery 3 increases.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to reduce the electrical resistance at the connection between the main circuit section and the battery 3.

[0009]

A portable information terminal according to the present invention includes a housing, a circuit board having a main body circuit, and a battery. The circuit board is installed in the housing. The battery is
It is installed in the housing and is electrically connected to the main body circuit.
The housing has a first housing portion extending along the battery, and a second housing portion combined with the first housing portion. A first conductive layer electrically connected to the battery is formed in the first housing, a second conductive layer electrically connected to the main circuit is formed in the second housing, and the first conductive layer is formed. And the second conductive layer are electrically connected. In addition, the above-mentioned first housing part may be formed of, for example, at least a part of a battery pack housing, or may be formed of a part of a housing of a portable information terminal. Further, the second housing section may be composed of a plurality of parts.

By forming the first and second conductive layers in this manner, they can be brought into direct surface contact as described later, and they can be electrically connected via some kind of conductive member. it can. First and second
When a conductive member is interposed between the conductive layers,
It is possible to ensure a large contact area with the first and second conductive layers or a large area of a connection portion between the conductive member and the first and second conductive layers. Therefore, in any of the above cases, the electrical resistance at the connection between the first and second conductive layers can be reduced as compared with the conventional example, and the electrical resistance at the connection between the main circuit portion and the battery can be reduced. can do.

The first conductive layer and the second conductive layer may be electrically connected by bringing the first conductive layer into contact with the second conductive layer.

In this case, the first and second conductive layers can be brought into surface contact with each other, so that the contact area can be significantly increased as compared with the conventional example. In addition, a separate conductive layer is provided between the first and second conductive layers. There is no need to install members.

The first casing preferably has a first engaging portion which engages with the second casing, and the second casing preferably engages with the first casing. It has a second engagement portion. At this time, the first conductive layer is extended so as to reach the first engagement portion,
The second conductive layer extends so as to reach the second engagement portion. Then, by engaging the first and second engagement portions,
The first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are electrically connected.

By thus extending the first and second conductive layers to the first and second engagement portions, respectively,
When the first and second engaging portions are engaged, the first and second conductive layers can be brought into surface contact at the same time. Thus, the contact area between the first and second conductive layers can be significantly increased as compared with the conventional example, and the contact pressure between the first and second conductive layers can also be increased. Further, it is not necessary to provide a spring as in the conventional example, and this can also effectively contribute to the reduction of the electric resistance at the connection between the first and second conductive layers.

The first engaging portion is disposed on the inner side of the housing with respect to the second engaging portion, and after the first housing portion is assembled to the second housing portion, the first housing portion is connected to the second housing portion. It is preferable to prevent detachment from the body.

The present invention is useful for a portable information terminal of a type in which the first housing does not come off the second housing after the first housing is once assembled to the second housing.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a mobile phone 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
For convenience of explanation, FIG. 1 schematically shows only parts necessary for the following description, and illustration of other parts is omitted as appropriate. For example, a circuit board on which a main body circuit section is formed by being incorporated in the mobile phone 1 and a numeric keypad are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes a housing (second housing portion) 2 in which a circuit board having the above-mentioned main body circuit portion, a lithium ion battery, or the like is provided. The battery 3 is assembled. The battery 3 has an electrode 5 at one end, and is attached to a battery housing (first housing portion) 4 via an adhesive or the like. The battery 3 is electrically connected to the main body circuit.

The battery housing 4 is assembled to the housing 2 of the mobile phone 1 and forms a part of the housing 2. This battery case 4
Has an engaging portion 4a protruding from one end and an engaging portion 4b protruding bifurcated from the other end.

The housing 2 of the mobile phone 1 includes a part located on the front side and a part located on the back side. The portion located on the back side has an engaging portion 2a projecting from one end thereof, and the portion located on the front side also has an engaging portion 2b projecting from one end thereof. The engaging portion 4a engages with the engaging portion 2a, and the engaging portion 4b engages with the engaging portion 2b.

In the present invention, the first conductive layer 7 is formed on the surface of the battery housing 4 by plating or the like, and the second conductive layer (lead wire) is formed on the surface of the housing 2 located on the back side by plating or the like. 8
It is an important feature that the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 are electrically connected. The first conductive layer 7 is electrically connected to the electrode 5 of the battery 3, and the second conductive layer 8 is electrically connected to the main circuit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first and second conductive layers 7,
The first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 may be electrically connected via some kind of conductive member. By bringing the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 into surface contact, the contact area between the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 can be significantly increased as compared with the conventional example.

When a conductive member is interposed between the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8, the conductive member can be brought into surface contact with the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8. Further, even when the conductive member is connected to the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 by another method, the area of the connection portion can be made larger than that of the conventional example.

Therefore, in any of the above cases, the first
The electrical resistance at the connection between the first conductive layer 7 and the second conductive layer 8 can be reduced as compared with the conventional example, and the electrical resistance at the connection between the main circuit portion and the battery 3 can be reduced.

When the portion extending along the battery 3 is a part of the housing 2, the first conductive layer 7 may be formed on a part of the surface of the housing 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first conductive layer 7 extends on the surface of the engaging portion 4a, and the second conductive layer 8 extends on the surface of the engaging portion 2a.

Accordingly, when the battery housing 4 is assembled to the housing 2 so that the engaging portion 4a is engaged with the engaging portion 2a,
At the same time, the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 can be brought into surface contact. More specifically, the battery housing 4 can be mounted on the housing 2 so as to sandwich the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8.

As a result, the contact area between the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 can be ensured, and the contact pressure between the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8 can be increased. it can.
Further, there is no need to provide a spring as in the case of the connector pin in the conventional example, and this can also effectively contribute to the reduction of the electric resistance at the connection between the first and second conductive layers 7 and 8.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the engaging portion 4a is located on the inner side of the mobile phone 1 with respect to the engaging portion 2a, and the engaging portion 4b is located on the inner side of the mobile phone 1 with respect to the engaging portion 2b. It has a part extending to the side. Thereby, the battery housing 4 is temporarily
, The battery case 4 does not come off the case 2. The present invention is useful for this type of mobile phone 1.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, when a housing of a portable information terminal is formed by combining a plurality of parts, a conductive layer is formed on each of the parts of the housing combined with each other, and they are electrically connected to each other by contacting them. Any method other than the above can be adopted as long as the substantial resistance can be reduced by increasing the substantial contact area between the conductive layers and the like as compared with the point contact as in the conventional example. be able to.

The shape of the engaging portions 2a and 4a can be arbitrarily selected as long as they can be engaged with each other. Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable to a mobile phone 1 of a type from which the battery housing 4 can be removed. Also,
The present invention is applicable to portable information terminals other than the portable telephone 1.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the electrical resistance at the connection between the main body circuit and the battery can be reduced, so that the performance of the portable information terminal can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a mobile phone according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 mobile phone, 2 housings, 2a, 2b, 4a, 4b
Engaging portion, 3 batteries, 4 battery housing, 5 electrodes, 7 first conductive layer, 8 second conductive layer.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Ioka 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (reference) 5H040 AS13 AS14 AS15 AT04 AY02 AY05 CC01 CC13 DD09 DD10 DD13 DD21 DD27 DD28 DD29 5K011 AA03 AA08 AA16 KA13 5K023 AA07 LL04 PP01 PP11 5K067 AA33 BB04 EE02 KK05 KK17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing, comprising: a housing; a circuit board installed in the housing and having a main body circuit portion; and a battery installed in the housing and electrically connected to the main body circuit portion. A body that extends along the battery;
A second housing part combined with the first housing part, a first conductive layer electrically connected to the battery is formed on the first housing part, and the second housing part is formed on the second housing part. A portable information terminal, wherein a second conductive layer electrically connected to the main body circuit portion is formed, and the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are electrically connected. 2. The portable information according to claim 1, wherein the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are electrically connected by bringing the first conductive layer into contact with the second conductive layer. Terminal. 3. The first housing portion has a first engagement portion that engages with the second housing portion, and the first conductive layer extends to reach the first engagement portion. The second housing portion has a second engagement portion that engages with the first housing portion, and the second conductive layer extends to reach the second engagement portion; The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first and second conductive layers are electrically connected to each other by engaging the first and second engagement portions. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement portion is disposed on an inner side of the housing with respect to the second engagement portion, and the first housing portion is connected to the second housing.
The portable information terminal according to claim 3, wherein the first housing unit is prevented from being detached from the second housing unit after being assembled to the housing unit.