JP2005121841A - Electronic appliance module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an electronic appliance module more compact by adjusting its shape and to facilitate a design of a portable compact electronic appliance which is constructed by containing it in an enclosure. <P>SOLUTION: A connector part 56 is arranged on one long edge of a liquid crystal panel 53 in the electronic appliance module 2 and a linear light guide member 20 is arranged on the opposite edge side thereof so as to make a planar shape of a display unit 15 nearly square. Other components for forming the module 2, for example a circuit substrate 18 (except for a fitting part) and a charging mechanism, are contained inside the square region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device module mainly composed of a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly to an electronic device module whose form is arranged.

In the liquid crystal panel, one cell serving as an individual light spot is not square but slightly rectangular, so that the entire display area is also rectangular. On the other hand, when an electronic device using a liquid crystal panel is reduced in size for portable use, the electronic device reaches a module structure in which almost all components are contained in an area based on the planar shape of the liquid crystal panel. In this case, a front light may be used to improve the contrast of the liquid crystal display. However, in the case of using a fluorescent tube as the light source, a full-length effective light emitting portion is arranged on the short side of the liquid crystal and Since the dark portion that does not emit light is arranged so as to protrude outward from the short side, the area based on the liquid crystal panel is large. In addition, since the light source is arranged on the short side, the structure in which the light is introduced from the glass end surface of the liquid crystal panel has a long distance to the opposite side and easily produces uneven brightness. In order to solve this problem, the light source is also arranged on the opposite side, so that the area tends to be larger.
In addition, there is a structure in which light is guided linearly using a point light source and a linear light guide member and introduced from one side of the liquid crystal panel, but the arrangement is still the short side of the liquid crystal panel, as in the conventional fluorescent tube On the side.

  In any case, the outer shape of the electronic device module is substantially determined in the form of a liquid crystal panel, and the entire plan view is rectangular. The rectangular shape of the electronic device module is not usually a special problem, but when configuring a small electronic device, for example, a wristwatch type electronic device, an outer frame body (the bezel for the watch type is a bezel). ), It is said that if the electronic device module is rectangular, it is difficult to create a balanced design as a wristwatch.

  Patent Document 1 is a wristwatch-type electronic device in which a glass substrate on which an electroluminescent light emitting layer is formed is superimposed on the upper surface of a liquid crystal panel for the purpose of brightening the entire area of the liquid crystal panel. The technical idea that the outer shape of the entire display unit including the glass substrate and the attached members is substantially square cannot be found. In Patent Document 2, an IC and its connection terminals are arranged in a portion where the long side of the liquid crystal panel is extended, and it is not premised on reducing the electronic device module to almost the size of the liquid crystal panel.

JP 11-125684 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-174846

  The planar shape of the electronic device module, that is, the area based on the liquid crystal panel is compactly combined, and the area is made substantially square to make the small electronic device more compact and to facilitate the design design.

A signal line connection terminal is formed on one long side of a liquid crystal panel having a long side and a short side, and a linear light guide member is disposed on the other long side. The planar shape of the display unit may be approximately square. A linear light guide member is located in the side surface of the upper and lower glass substrates of a liquid crystal panel, and the light from a linear light guide member injects from the side surface of the said glass substrate.
Further, in order to prepare a planar form as an electronic device module, the FPC connected to the signal line connection terminal is folded and overlapped on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel. In the FPC, a liquid crystal driver is mounted on the overlapped part hidden on the back surface, two lead parts are provided, a connector for electrical connection with a circuit board is attached to the tip of one lead part, and the other lead part is attached. Attach the LED to the tip. The FPC is connected or associated with the circuit board or the linear light guide member by being folded within the range of the planar shape of the liquid crystal panel, and does not protrude from the side surface of the electronic device module.

Since the linear light guide member is disposed on the long side of the liquid crystal panel, the distance to the opposite side is short and the luminance unevenness is small. Since the linear light guide member is used, there is no dark part at both ends like a fluorescent tube, and the module space can be used effectively.
Since the linear light guide member is provided on one long side and the connecting portion with the FPC is provided on the opposite long side, the area based on the liquid crystal panel approaches a square.
An electronic device module having a substantially square planar shape facilitates design design of a small form electronic device using the electronic device module.

  A display unit, circuit board, battery (secondary battery), and other electrical parts are assembled into a module, centering on the base frame that is the basis of assembly. In the display unit, a signal line connection terminal is formed on one long side of the liquid crystal panel, and a linear light guide member is disposed on the other long side. The outer shape of the module is formed in a substantially square shape, and the above-described electrical parts are accommodated in the plane area of the display unit.

  FIG. 1 shows a wristwatch-type portable small electronic device 1 which is an information terminal capable of obtaining e-mail and Internet information as well as time and storing and editing data. The electronic device 1 includes an electronic device module 2 (hereinafter, referred to as a module) having a display unit, a bezel 3 that attaches this to an arm, a band 4 and a back cover 5. The bezel 3 is an outer frame body of the electronic device module. The band 4 is omitted at the end. In this embodiment, the bezel 3 and the band 4 are integrally molded products of synthetic resin. The bezel 3 has a container shape and is formed with a step portion 6 to which the module 2 is attached and a step portion 7 to which the back cover 5 is fitted and fixed.

  The electronic device 1 includes a lithium battery (secondary battery) 22 and a small secondary coil (both described later) inside the module 2, and is placed on the cradle 8 (broken line) as shown in FIG. The primary coil 9 in the cradle 8 and the secondary coil are electromagnetically coupled to charge the lithium battery 22 by induced electromotive force. The lithium battery 22 is a power source for the entire electronic device 1.

  A thin conductive band is embedded inside the band 4 to form the antenna 10. Both end portions 11 of the antenna 10 are exposed to the inside of the bezel 3 and are located on the step portion 6. When the module 2 is mounted, the antenna end 11 is joined to the exposed antenna terminal (surface pattern on the circuit board) on the module 2 side. The other ends of the antenna 10 are joined when the bands 4 are wound around the arm and the ends are joined to complete the loop as the antenna 10.

  Reference numeral 12 (12a, 12b, 12c) in the bezel 3 is a button for operating the module 2. Two of 12d and 12e protrude on the back side of FIG. 2 (FIG. 3). In FIG. 3, three of the through holes 13 (13 a to 13 e) through which the rod of the button 12 passes are visible on the wall of the bezel 3 facing the wall on which the buttons 12 d and 12 e are displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the module 2 includes a fixing frame 14, a display unit 15, a shield member 16, an intermediate frame 17, a circuit board 18, and a base frame 19 from the upper surface side. Reference numeral 20 denotes a linear light guide member, and reference numeral 21 denotes a reflecting member. Reference numeral 22 denotes a lithium battery, and reference numeral 23 denotes a secondary coil, which is housed in a case 23a and has two terminals 24.

  The base frame 19 (FIG. 4, lower surface side FIG. 5) is a molded product such as ABS resin having high strength and high molding accuracy, and has a battery recess 25 into which the lithium battery 22 is fitted in the center. The battery 22 is fitted from the lower surface side of the base frame 19, and the thickness is almost contained in the battery recess 25. The battery recess 25 has a bottom surface cut out for heat dissipation and weight reduction and for use as a buzzer resonance space described later.

Support base portions 26 (26a, 26b) project from the left and right sides of the base frame 19, and a mounting base 27 for the secondary coil 23 projects from the front side (front side). That is, the lithium battery 22 in the battery recess 25 and the secondary coil 23 of the mounting base 27 are arranged so as not to overlap in plan view.
The secondary coil 23 is housed in the case 23 a and attached to the lower surface side of the mounting base 27. On the lower surface side of the mounting base 7, a positioning hook-shaped projection 28 and vertical pins 29 (29a, 29b) are formed. That is, the secondary coil 23 engages one end of the case with the hook-shaped protrusion 28 to determine the vertical position, and the vertical pin 29 is fitted into the hole provided in the case 23a, so that the vertical direction, horizontal Positioned accurately in both directions.

The secondary coil 23 needs to be accurately positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions for proper electromagnetic coupling with the primary coil 9 in the cradle 8. In that sense, the position and thickness dimension of the mounting base 27 in the base frame 19 are important. Reference numeral 30 denotes a lead wire extraction hole of the accommodated lithium battery 22.
A positioning projection 31 and a vertical pin 32 for positioning the circuit board 18 further protrude from the upper surface of the base frame 19. Reference numeral 33 (FIG. 5) is a notch, which is formed to expose a contact surface (a pattern formed on the circuit board) provided at the edge of the circuit board 18.

The circuit board 18 has a CPU, a memory, and parts for input / output arranged and fixed on a printed circuit formed on the board. The circuit board 18 has a planar shape, and has a flange-shaped portion 34 (34a, 34b) of a shape and size that fits the support base portion 26 of the base frame 19 on the left and right sides, and is spaced from the edge of the upper and lower sides. Thus, the contact surface 35 (35a to 35e) is formed. The grounding surface pattern portion of the circuit board 18 is formed in a mesh.
A mesh-like circuit pattern 36 (36a, 36b) is widely formed in a planar shape on the flange-like portion 34.
Reference numeral 37 denotes a contact plate, which is a separate member. The contact plate 37 is formed with contact pieces 38 (38a to 38c) facing the three contact surfaces 35a, 35b, and 35c formed on the front edge of the contact surfaces.

The intermediate frame 17 forms an interval between the circuit board 18 and the display unit 15 and protects parts protruding upward from the circuit board. The contact plate 37 is sandwiched and attached between the circuit board 18 and the intermediate frame 17. The protrusion 39 is for engaging with the intermediate frame 17 to prevent it from being removed.
Above the intermediate frame 17, the shield member 16 and the display unit 15 are overlapped, and the fixing frame 14 is further covered thereon, and spring-like hooks 40 provided on the left and right sides thereof are attached to the four corners of the base frame 19. The intermediate frame 17 and the circuit board 18 are fixed together in a compressed manner by engaging with locking protrusions 41 (41a to 41d) provided so as to protrude slightly.

  The intermediate frame 17 (FIG. 7) includes guide protrusions 42 a to 42 d having inclined surfaces for guiding the hooks 40 a to 40 d of the fixing frame 14 to the locking protrusions 41 a to 41 d of the base frame 19 on the left and right side surfaces, Further, the upper surface is provided with a protruding guide 43 (43a, 43b) on the right side for positioning the shield member 16 and an engagement hole 44 (44a, 44b). Reference numeral 45 denotes spacer protrusions, which are arranged at the four corners of the upper surface of the intermediate frame 17.

  The shield member 16 protects a liquid crystal drive control unit (formed on the FPC) disposed on the lower surface side of a liquid crystal panel (described later) constituting the display unit 15 from electromagnetic noise from the circuit board 18 side. This is a thin frame member made of stainless steel. For this reason, it has the form which left as much as possible except the part punched unavoidably, and is a member which shields at least one of electricity or magnetism.

  The shield member 16 has a U-shaped cross section that is vertically raised to the right side and bent further to the left and has a holding portion 46 that extends over the entire length of the right side, and two contact points that are bent downward on the rear side and formed at both left and right ends thereof. A piece 47 (47a, 47b) and two projecting pieces 48 (48a, 48b) inserted into the engaging hole 44 of the intermediate frame 17 are provided on the left side, and an engaging projecting piece 49 is provided on the front side. The contact piece 47 and the engaging protrusion 49 are springy, and when they are pushed into the intermediate frame 17 from above, both the front and rear sides of the intermediate frame 17 are sandwiched and stabilized.

  The holding part 46 has a stopper 50 bent downward at the rear end of the upper side of the U-shaped cross section, and the LED fixing piece 51 protrudes from the front end. Then, the linear light guide member 20 and the reflecting plate 21 shown in FIG. The linear light guide member 20 is transparent glass-like and is a rectangular solid. The linear light guide member 20 is sandwiched between the reflecting plates 21 bent in a U-shaped cross section, and inserted into the holding portion 46 from the front end in the state. Position by abutting. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 52 denotes a tongue piece, which is a spring-like member bent downward for grounding the shield member. When the assembly of the module is completed, the lower end is the grounding surface pattern portion of the circuit board 18. To touch. This installation surface pattern is also formed in a mesh.

  The display unit 15 includes an FPC 54 equipped with a liquid crystal panel 53 and its drive control unit 54, the linear light guide member 20, the reflection plate 21, and the LEDs 57. The connecting portion between the FPC 54 and the liquid crystal panel 52 is on the left side, and the linear light guide member 20 and the reflecting plate 21 mounted on the holding portion 46 of the shield member 16 are on the right side. In this way, the shape of the liquid crystal panel 53, which is a rectangle that is long in the vertical direction in the figure, is morphologically balanced so that the plan view is close to a square, and the electronic device is designed so that the planar shape of the entire module 2 is close to a square. The design of the device 1 is easy to create.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes a connector portion to the circuit board 18, which is provided at the tip of the lead portion 58 a separated from the main portion of the FPC 55. Reference numeral 57 denotes an LED (one of point light sources), which is attached to the tip of the lead portion 58b of the FPC 55. The main part of the FPC 55 is configured to be housed in the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 53 when bent, and the liquid crystal drive control unit 54 is formed in this part. Further, when the main portion is folded on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 53, the LED 57 can be arranged at the front end of the right side of the liquid crystal panel 53, that is, the front end of the shield member 16 by twisting the lead portion 58b (FIG. 9). Dashed line). The light emitting surface is in contact with the end of the linear light guide member 20.

  The above members are stacked while positioning the circuit board 18, the intermediate frame 17, the shield member 16 and the display unit 15 sequentially with the base frame 19 as a reference, and finally the fixing frame 14 is put between the base frame 19 and the base frame 19. The module 2 is completed by binding these members. At that time, the linear light guide member 20 and the reflection member 21 are assembled in advance to the holding portion 46 of the shield member 16, and then the liquid crystal panel 53 of the display unit 15 is overlaid on the shield member 16 with the LED 57 as the position. The fixing piece 51 is caulked to fix the LED 57 to the front end of the holding portion 46. The end face on the right side of the liquid crystal panel 53 is joined to the left end face of the linear light guide member 20 housed in the holding portion 46, receives light (leakage light) that is guided from the LED 57 and reflected from the reflecting member 21.

  The completed module 2 is substantially square when viewed from above as shown in FIG. 10, and is also substantially square when viewed from the lower surface side as shown in FIG. That is, the module 2 has a square main part, and support bases 26a and 26b of the base frame 19 project from the left and right sides. When viewed from above, mesh-like patterns 36a, 36b is visible. When viewed from the lower surface side, the lithium battery 22 and the secondary coil 23 are visible. Reference numeral 59 denotes a connector that couples the circuit board 18 and the lithium battery 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the completed module 2 is fitted into the bezel 3 integrated with the band 4, and the reinforcing members 60 (60a, 60b) are applied to the support base portion 26 of the base frame 19 and fixed by screws. At this time, the mesh-like patterns 36a and 36b of the flange-like portion 34 on the circuit board 18 on the upper surface side of the support base 26 and the antenna end 11 on the band 4 side are joined, and the antenna 10 is coupled to the circuit of the circuit board 18. Is done. Next, the back cover 5 is put on and screwed. The back cover 5 is made of the same synthetic resin as the bezel 3. The bezel 3 is designed on the basis that the planar shape of the module 2 is substantially square.

A flat piezoelectric buzzer 60 such as piezoceramic is disposed on the inner surface side of the back cover 5 (FIG. 12). The piezoelectric buzzer 61 is located below the lithium battery 22 and avoids overlapping with the secondary coil 23 as much as possible. Conversely, the mounting base 27 to which the secondary coil 23 is attached is disposed at a location where the base frame 19 avoids a position overlapping the piezoelectric buzzer 61 in a planar manner.
A space between the inner surface of the back cover 5 and the lithium battery 22 also becomes a resonance space of the piezoelectric buzzer 61.

  Finally, the rod of the button 12 is inserted from the through hole 13, and the contact piece 38 (FIG. 6) or the contact piece 47 (FIG. 8) is pushed by the tip of the rod so that the contact surface 35 of the circuit board 18 can be contacted. These contact pieces 38 and 47 are springy and when the force of pressing the button 12 is loosened, the rod is pushed back and the button 12 is returned to its original position.

  As described above, since the lithium battery (secondary battery) 22 and the secondary coil 23 are arranged at positions where they do not overlap in a plane, there is no mutual interference between them and the efficiency of coupling by electromagnetic induction is good. Further, by using the base frame 19, it is easy to determine the position of the lithium battery 22 and the position of the secondary coil 23 and to maintain the positions. Moreover, the positioning and attachment of the secondary coil 23 with respect to the mounting base 27 are simple by the hook-shaped protrusion 28 and the vertical pin 29. Since the positional relationship between the secondary coil 23 and the primary coil 9 is accurately defined, the coupling state by electromagnetic induction is stabilized.

Since the linear light guide member 20 is disposed on the long side of the liquid crystal panel 53, the distance to the opposite side is short and luminance unevenness is small. Furthermore, light can be guided from a point light source without wasting space.
Since a relatively large battery recess 25 can be formed at the center of the base frame 19, a lithium battery 22 having a large capacity can be employed.
The electronic device module 2 can be attached to the bezel 3 (outer frame body) simply by being placed on the step portion 6 of the bezel 3 and screwed from the support base portion 26 of the base frame 19. It can be securely connected to the antenna end 11 which is an electrical part, and is easy to install.
When the electronic device module 2 is fixed to the bezel 3, the flange-like portion 34 of the circuit board 18 is fixed via the support base portion 26 of the base frame 19. Can do.

The perspective view which shows the outline of the whole Front view showing the cradle Exploded perspective view (viewed from below) The perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the module 2 Perspective view of base frame (viewed from below) Perspective view of contact plate Perspective view of the intermediate frame Perspective view of shield member Perspective view of display unit Module top view (top view) Module top view (bottom) A perspective view showing the inner surface of the back cover

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic device 2 Module 3 Bezel 4 Band 5 Back cover 6 Step (for module)
7 steps (for back cover)
8 Cradle 9 Primary coil 10 Antenna 11 Antenna end 12 Button (12a-12e)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Through-hole 14 Fixing frame 15 Display unit 16 Shield member 17 Intermediate frame 18 Circuit board 19 Base frame 20 Linear light guide member 21 Reflective member 22 Secondary battery (lithium battery)
23 secondary coil 23a case 23b engagement hole 24 terminal 25 battery recess 26 support base 27 mounting base 28 hook-shaped projection 29 vertical pin (mounting base)
30 Lead wire lead-out hole 31 Positioning protrusion 32 Vertical pin (base frame)
33 Notch 34 Flange-shaped part 35 Contact surface 36 Circuit pattern 37 Contact plate 38 Contact piece (38a to 38c)
39 Projection 40 Hook 41 Locking Projection 42 Guide Projection 43 Projection Guide 44 Engagement Hole 45 Spacer Projection 46 Holding Portion 47 Contact Piece 48 Projection Piece 49 Engagement Projection Piece 50 Stopper 51 LED Fixing Piece 52 Grounding Tongue Piece 53 Liquid Crystal Panel 54 Drive controller 55 FPC
56 Connector part 57 LED
58 Lead part 59 Connector 60 Reinforcement member 61 Buzzer

Claims (5)

  A signal line connection terminal is formed on one long side of a liquid crystal panel having a long side and a short side, and a linear light guide member is arranged on the other long side so that light enters from the side surfaces of the upper and lower glass substrates of the liquid crystal panel. An electronic device module characterized by comprising a display unit.   The electronic device module according to claim 1, wherein an outer shape of the display unit is substantially square.   2. An FPC is connected to the signal line connection terminal, and a liquid crystal driver, a connector for a circuit board side, and an LED as a light source of a linear light guide member are mounted on one surface of the FPC. Or the electronic device module of 2.   The FPC includes an overlapping portion that is folded back and hidden behind the liquid crystal panel, a lead portion having a connector at the tip, and a lead portion having an LED attached to the tip, and a liquid crystal driver is formed in the overlapping portion. The electronic device module according to claim 3. A watch-type portable electronic device in which the electronic device module according to claim 1 is mounted on a bezel.

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