JP7498693B2 - Electronic device and substrate device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electronic devices and substrate devices equipped with substrates.

Electronic devices such as notebook PCs use electronic components such as SSDs connected to a connector on a board (motherboard) on which a CPU is mounted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-057737 A

Such electronic devices are required to be both compact and high-performance. High-performance CPUs are often large. However, from the perspective of miniaturizing the housing, it is difficult to increase the size of the board. As a result, the space occupied by the CPU on the board increases relatively, and there is a concern that it may become difficult to secure installation space for electronic components such as SSDs.

The present invention was made in consideration of the problems with the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide an electronic device and a board device that can secure installation space for electronic components.

The electronic device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a substrate on which a connector is mounted, a bracket having a base portion fixed to the substrate, a protrusion disposed to protrude from an edge of the substrate, and a first fixing portion provided on the protrusion, and an electronic component having a connection terminal connected to the connector at a first end and a second fixing portion fixed to the first fixing portion at a second end, such that the second end is installed at a position protruding from the edge of the substrate.

The substrate device according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises a substrate on which a connector is mounted, a base portion fixed to the substrate, a protrusion disposed to protrude from an edge of the substrate, and a fixing portion provided on the protrusion for fixing an electronic component connected to the connector.

According to the above aspect of the present invention, it is possible to secure the installation space for electronic components.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an electronic device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing a schematic internal structure of the housing. FIG. 3A is a schematic exploded perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the upper cover material and the substrate device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the upper cover member shown in FIG. 3A with a substrate device attached thereto. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3B.

The following describes preferred embodiments of the electronic device and board device according to the present invention in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a top view of an electronic device 10 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the electronic device 10 comprises a housing 12, a display housing 14, and a hinge 16. The electronic device 10 according to this embodiment is a clamshell-type notebook PC in which the housing 12 and the display housing 14 are connected by the hinge 16 so that they can rotate relative to one another. The present invention can be applied to various information devices other than notebook PCs, such as tablet PCs, mobile phones, smartphones, portable game consoles, electronic organizers, etc.

In the following, the housing 12 and each of the elements mounted thereon will be described based on the direction as seen by a user of the electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 1, with the near side referred to as the front, the far side referred to as the rear, the width direction referred to as the left and right, and the thickness direction referred to as the top and bottom.

First, the overall configuration of the electronic device 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 12 is a flat box-shaped housing. The housing 12 is composed of an upper cover material 12A and a lower cover material 12B. The upper cover material 12A forms the upper surface and four side surfaces of the housing 12. The lower cover material 12B is a cover plate that covers the opening on the lower surface side of the upper cover material 12A, and forms the lower surface of the housing 12. A keyboard 18 and a touchpad 19 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 12.

The display housing 14 is a flat box-shaped housing that is thinner than the housing 12. A display 20 is provided on the front side of the display housing 14. The display 20 is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The hinge 16 connects the rear edge of the housing 12 to the bottom edge of the display housing 14. For example, a pair of hinges 16 are provided on the left and right sides.

Next, a specific example of the internal structure of the housing 12 will be described. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the internal structure of the housing 12. FIG. 3A is a schematic exploded perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the upper cover material 14A and the substrate device 22 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing the substrate device 22 attached to the upper cover material 14A shown in FIG. 3A.

As shown in Figures 2, 3A, and 3B, various electronic and mechanical components such as a board device 22, a battery device 23, and an antenna element 24 are housed inside the housing 12.

The battery device 23 is a secondary battery that serves as the power source for the electronic device 10. The battery device 23 is connected to the board 26 and supplies power to the board 26. The antenna element 24 is connected to communication modules 37 and 38, which will be described later, and performs wireless transmission and reception. Reference numeral 25 in FIG. 2 denotes a cutout portion formed in the rear end surface of the housing 12, in which the hinge 16 is disposed.

The substrate device 22 has a substrate 26, a bracket 28, and a bracket 30.

The board 26 is the motherboard of the electronic device 10. The board 26 is large enough to occupy, for example, approximately half of the rear area inside the housing 12. Various electronic components such as a CPU 32, connectors 33, 34, and power connector 35 are mounted on the board 26. The CPU 32 and connectors 33, 34 are mounted on a first surface (mounting surface) 26a of the board 26. The back surface (second surface 26b) of the first surface 26a of the board 26 is screwed to the lower surface (inner surface) of the upper cover material 12A and the lower surface of the keyboard 18, thereby fixing the board 26 to the housing 12.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 32 is the main processing unit of the electronic device 10. The CPU 32 has a die 32a and a package substrate 32b. The CPU 32 occupies a large space near the center of the first surface 26a of the substrate 26.

The connectors 33 and 34 are compatible with, for example, the M.2 standard. The connector 33 is connected to a storage device 36, for example an SSD (Solid State Drive). The connector 34 is connected to a first communication module 37, for example compatible with a WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network). The power connector 35 is connected to the battery device 23. The board 26 is further equipped with a second communication module 38, for example compatible with a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). The communication modules 37 and 38 are appropriately connected to the antenna element 24 or an antenna element disposed elsewhere in the housings 12 and 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 32 occupies a large space on the first surface 26a of the board 26. For this reason, it is difficult to secure enough space on the first surface 26a to mount the entire storage device 36. As a result, the storage device 36 is connected to the connector 33 with a portion of it protruding from the edge 26c of the board 26. Therefore, the electronic device 10 is provided with a bracket 28 that supports the storage device 36 protruding from the board 26.

As shown in Figures 2 to 3B, the bracket 28 is a metal plate such as stainless steel. The bracket 28 is fixed to the substrate 26 and is a component that complements the first surface 26a of the substrate 26 to support the storage device 36.

The bracket 28 has a base portion 28a, a protruding portion 28b, a step portion 28c, and first positioning portions 41a and 41b.

The base portion 28a is a plate portion that is fixed to the substrate 26. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 3A, the base portion 28a is formed in a substantially U-shape to avoid other components on the underside of the substrate 26. The shape of the base portion 28a is not limited, and may be, for example, rectangular. In this embodiment, the base portion 28a is fixed to the second surface 26b using a double-sided adhesive tape 40 provided on its surface 28a1. The base portion 28a may be fixed to the substrate 26 with an adhesive, screws, or the like instead of or together with the double-sided adhesive tape 40.

The protrusion 28b is a plate portion for supporting the storage device 36. The protrusion 28b is arranged so as to protrude from the edge 26c of the substrate 26, and its surface 28b1 is arranged substantially flush with the first surface 26a of the substrate 26. In other words, the surface 28b1 of the protrusion 28b is essentially an outward extension of a portion of the first surface 26a.

The protrusion 28b is provided with a first fixing portion 42, housing support portions 43 and 44, and a long hole 45.

The first fixing portion 42 and the housing support portions 43, 44 are cylindrical bosses protruding from the surface 28b1. The first fixing portion 42 is provided between the housing support portions 43, 44 and at a position slightly offset toward the base portion 28a. The first fixing portion 42 has a female thread formed on its inner circumference, and the storage device 36 is fixed thereto. The housing support portions 43, 44 are provided so as to straddle the first fixing portion 42. The housing support portions 43, 44 serve as support portions for the bracket 28 relative to the housing 12.

The long holes 45 are locking holes into which the tabs of a metal plate for heat dissipation are locked. This metal plate is positioned to cover the surface (bottom surface) of the storage device 36 supported by the connector 33 and the bracket 28. The long holes 45 may be omitted.

The step portion 28c forms a step between the base portion 28a and the protruding portion 28b. The base portion 28a is fixed with its surface 28a1 in contact with the second surface 26b of the substrate 26. The protruding portion 28b has its surface 28b1 disposed so as to be substantially flush with the first surface 26a of the substrate 26. For this reason, a step equal to the thickness of the substrate 26 is required between the surface 28a1 of the base portion 28a and the surface 28b1 of the protruding portion 28b. Therefore, the step portion 28c forms a step equal to the thickness of the substrate 26 between the surfaces 28a1 and 28b1.

The first positioning portions 41a and 41b are pins that protrude from the surface 28a1 of the base portion 28a at positions close to the step portion 28c. The first positioning portions 41a and 41b are aligned along the step portion 28c. The pitch between the first positioning portions 41a and 41b is greater than the width of the storage device 36 (the width in the left-right direction in FIG. 2).

As shown in Figures 2 to 3B, the substrate 26 is provided with second positioning portions 45a and 45b.

The second positioning parts 45a, 45b are aligned along the edge 26c. When the direction along the edge 26c (left-right direction) is used as a reference, the second positioning parts 45a, 45b are arranged to straddle the connector 33, and the positional relationship with respect to the connector 33 is specified with high precision. The pitch between the second positioning parts 45a, 45b is the same as the pitch between the first positioning parts 41a, 41b. This allows the second positioning parts 45a, 45b to engage with the first positioning parts 41a, 41b. In this embodiment, one of the second positioning parts 45a is formed as a long hole that is long in the left-right direction, making it possible to absorb dimensional tolerances between the first positioning parts 41a, 41b.

Next, an example of a method for mounting the storage device 36 to the substrate 26 using the bracket 28 will be described. Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 3B.

As shown in Figures 2, 3B, and 4, the memory device 36 is a thin, card-shaped electronic component. The memory device 36 is, for example, an SSD, and is a card-shaped substrate on which various semiconductor chips are mounted. The memory device 36 has a connection terminal 48 at its rear end (first end 36a) in the insertion/removal direction (front-rear direction) relative to the connector 33, and a second fixing portion 49 at its front end (second end 36b).

The connection terminal 48 is the part that is connected to the connector 33, and is a plurality of terminals arranged in parallel at the end of the substrate that constitutes the memory device 36. In other words, the connection terminal 48 is configured to be connectable to the M.2 standard connector 33. The second fixing portion 49 is a cutout hole, for example a semicircular hole, cut out from the center of the end of the substrate that constitutes the memory device 36. The second fixing portion 49 is arranged coaxially with the first fixing portion 42 of the bracket 28 when the connection terminal 48 is connected to the connector 33.

When fixing such a storage device 36 to the substrate 26, first, the bracket 28 is fixed to the substrate 26. The bracket 28 has a base portion 28a fixed to the second surface 26b of the substrate 26 with double-sided adhesive tape 40. At this time, the first positioning portions 41a and 41b are engaged with the second positioning portions 45a and 45b, respectively, from the second surface 26b side.

As a result, the bracket 28 is fixed to the board 26 with its positional relationship with the connector 33 accurately determined. Here, the step portion 28c is positioned to face the end face of the edge portion 26c of the board 26. The protrusion portion 28b is positioned approximately flush with the first surface 26a of the board 26 and protrudes forward from the edge portion 26c.

Then, the board 26 is fixed to the upper cover material 14A and the underside of the keyboard 18. Mounting holes 26d are formed in various places on the board 26. Screws 50a (see FIG. 4) are inserted into each mounting hole 26d from the first surface 26a side. Each screw 50a is screwed into the female threads of bosses 50 provided in various places on the upper cover material 14A and the underside of the keyboard 18. As a result, the board 26 is fixed to the housing 12.

When the board 26 is fixed to the housing 12, the protruding portion 28b of the bracket 28 is arranged coaxially with the boss 51 that the housing supports 43, 44 are provided on the underside of the upper cover material 14A. Then, the protruding portion 28b of the bracket 28 is supported by the housing 12 by screwing the screw 51a from the housing supports 43, 44 side toward the female thread of the boss 51 (see FIG. 4).

Finally, the storage device 36 is fixed. First, the connection terminal 48 of the storage device 36 is connected to the connector 33. Next, when the storage device 36 is placed on the first surface 26a and the surface 28b1, the second fixing portion 49 is positioned coaxially with the first fixing portion 42. Then, the screw 52 is tightened from the second fixing portion 49 side toward the first fixing portion 42 side (see Figure 4). This completes the installation of the storage device 36 to the board 26.

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, it is difficult to secure enough space on the first surface 26a of the substrate 26 to accommodate the entire first communication module 37. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first communication module 37 is also connected to the connector 34 with a portion of it protruding from the edge 26c of the substrate 26.

However, the bracket 30 supports the first communication module 37, and apart from the difference in the mounting position relative to the board 26, the basic configuration may be the same or similar to the bracket 28 described above. Therefore, the elements of the bracket 30 are given the same reference numbers in FIG. 2 as the elements of the bracket 28, and detailed descriptions are omitted. The mounting structure of the first communication module 37 to the board 26 and bracket 30 may also be substantially similar to the mounting structure of the memory device 36 to the fan 26 and bracket 28. Therefore, the elements of the first communication module 37 are given the same reference numbers in FIG. 2 as the elements of the memory device 36, and detailed descriptions are omitted.

On the other hand, the first communication module 37 of the WWAN standard is often smaller than the storage device 36, and in many cases can be stored on the board 26 even with the arrangement of the connector 34 shown in FIG. 2. The first communication module 37A shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 is shorter than the first communication module 37 shown by the solid line, and therefore has a shape that allows the entire module to be placed on the board 26. It goes without saying that such a first communication module 37A can be fixed by screwing the second fixing portion 49 directly to the board 26 without using the bracket 30.

As described above, the electronic device 10 according to this embodiment includes a substrate 26 on which a connector 33 is mounted, a bracket 28 (30) having a base portion 28a fixed to the substrate 26, a protrusion portion 28b arranged to protrude from an edge portion 26c of the substrate 26, and a first fixing portion 42 provided on the protrusion portion 28b, and a memory device 36 (first communication module 37) which is an electronic component having a connection terminal 48 connected to the connector 33 (34) at a first end 36a and a second fixing portion 49 fixed to the first fixing portion 42 at a second end 36b, and is installed at a position where the second end 36b protrudes from the edge portion 26c of the substrate 26.

Therefore, the electronic device 10 is unable to accommodate the entire storage device 36 (first communication module 37) on the first surface 26a of the board 26 due to the size of the CPU 32 and the size constraints of the housing 12, and is forced to be installed so that part of the storage device 36 protrudes from the board 26. However, the bracket 28 (30) can be used to secure the installation space for the storage device 36 (first communication module 37).

For example, consider the case where the second fixing portion 49 of the storage device 36 is fixed directly to the upper cover material 14A by screwing or the like without using the bracket 28. In this case, the first end 36a of the storage device 36 is fixed to the board 26 via the connector 33, and the second end 36b is fixed to the housing 12. Therefore, due to the influence of the variation in the mounting position of the board 26 relative to the housing 12 and the variation in the formation position of the fixing part of the second fixing portion 49 (e.g., the boss for fastening the screw 52) within the housing 12, the storage device 36 may be connected in an inclined position relative to the connector 33. In this case, there is a concern that the contact portion between the connection terminal 48 and the connector 33 may cause a contact failure. In addition, when the housing 12 is distorted by an external force, the distance between the board 26 and the storage device 36 changes, the connection terminal 48 slides on the connector 33, and the contact portions of both wear out, which may cause a connection failure.

On the other hand, it is also possible to extend the substrate 26 in a peninsula-like shape to the protruding portion 28b of the bracket 28. However, in this case, there is a concern that the yield of the PCB (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl) that constitutes the substrate 26 during manufacturing will decrease, resulting in a significant increase in the cost of the substrate 26.

In contrast, in the electronic device 10, the protruding portion of the storage device 36 is supported by a bracket 28 fixed to the substrate 26, so that the entire storage device 36, including the portion protruding from the substrate 26, is integrated with the substrate 26. As a result, the electronic device 10 can avoid the problems of poor contact at the contact portion between the connection terminal 48 and the connector 33, and the problem of increased costs for the substrate 26.

In particular, there is concern that poor contact with the connector 33 of the storage device 36, which is an SSD, could have a serious impact on the entire system of the electronic device 10. For this reason, the mounting structure of the storage device 36 using the bracket 28 is extremely important. Also, SSDs can generate a lot of heat, but the contact with the metallic bracket 28 provides a cooling effect.

On the other hand, even if the first communication module 37 has a poor contact with the connector 34, communication will only be temporarily interrupted and will not have a serious impact on the entire system. For this reason, even if the first communication module 37 is positioned protruding from the board 26, the second fixing portion 49 can be fixed directly to the housing 12 without using the bracket 30, for example.

In the electronic device 10, the bracket 28 (30) can be positioned with higher accuracy relative to the board 26 by engaging the first positioning portions 41a, 41b with the second positioning portions 45a, 45b. Here, the first positioning portions 41a, 41b and the first fixing portion 42 are both formed on the bracket 28 (30), so the positional accuracy between the two can be high. Similarly, the second positioning portions 45a, 45b and the through-hole in which the connector 33 (34) is mounted are both formed on the board 26, so the positional accuracy between the two can also be high.

As a result, the bracket 28 (30) is positioned with high precision on the board 26 via the positioning portions 41a, 41b, 45a, and 45b, which also increases the positional precision between the connector 33 (34) and the first fixing portion 42. That is, the electronic device 10 has high positional precision between the connector 33 to which the connection terminal 48 of the storage device 36 is connected, and the first fixing portion 42 to which the second fixing portion 49 of the storage device 36 is fixed. Therefore, the electronic device 10 can further reduce the occurrence of poor contact between the storage device 36 and the connector 33, and the same effect can be obtained for the first communication module 37.

In the above, an example was given of a configuration in which the first positioning portions 41a, 41b of the brackets 28, 30 are pins, and the second positioning portions 45a, 45b of the board 26 are engagement holes with which the pins engage. However, it is of course also possible for the first positioning portions 41a, 41b of the brackets 28, 30 to be engagement holes, and the second positioning portions 45a, 45b of the board 26 to be pins.

The positioning of brackets 28 and 30 relative to substrate 26 can also be achieved without using positioning parts 41a, 41b, 45a, and 45b. For example, when fixing bracket 28 to substrate 26, the positional relationship between them can be controlled by using a specified jig.

The electronic device 10 includes a screw 51a that fastens the housing support parts 43, 44 of the bracket 28 (30) to the boss 51 of the housing 12 as a support member that supports the protruding part 28b of the bracket 28 (30) relative to the housing 12. This prevents the storage device 36 protruding from the board 26 and the protruding part 28b of the bracket 28 from vibrating, which can cause poor contact between the connection terminal 48 and the connector 33 or abnormal noise.

As described above, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, the screw 51a is exemplified as a support member that supports the protrusion 28b against the housing 12. Instead of the screw 51a, this support member may be a screw that supports the protrusion 28b in a floating manner on the housing 12 with a certain amount of gap, or a sponge or rubber. In a configuration in which the protrusion 28b is completely fixed to the housing 12, depending on the rigidity and strength of the housing 12, for example, the influence of distortion of the housing 12 may be directly transmitted from the bracket 28 to the storage device 36. On the other hand, in a structure in which the rigidity and strength of the housing 12 can be guaranteed to a certain extent, it may be preferable to completely fix the protrusion 28b to the housing 12 and suppress the influence of the vibration described above.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can of course be freely modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Electronic device 12 Housing 14 Display housing 22 Board device 26 Board 28, 30 Bracket 28a Base portion 28b Protruding portion 28c Step portion 32 CPU
33, 34 Connector 36 Storage device 37, 37A First communication module 41a, 41b First positioning portion 42 First fixing portion 45a, 45b Second positioning portion 48 Connection terminal 49 Second fixing portion

Claims (6)

An electronic device,
A substrate having a connector mounted on a first surface thereof ;
a bracket having a base portion fixed to the substrate, a protruding portion arranged to protrude from an edge portion of the substrate, and a first fixing portion provided on the protruding portion;
a card-like electronic component having a connection terminal connected to the connector at a first end and a second fixing portion fixed to the first fixing portion at a second end, so that the second end is disposed at a position protruding from an edge portion of the substrate;
Equipped with
the substrate has a surface on which the electronic component can be placed between the edge portion and the connector by disposing the connector at a position spaced apart from the edge portion in a direction opposite to a protruding direction of the protrusion,
the protrusion extends along a first surface of the board on which the connector is mounted, and has a plate-like surface on which the electronic component can be placed,
The electronic component is placed on the surface between the edge and the connector and on the surface of the protrusion.
1. An electronic device comprising: 2. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The bracket has a first positioning portion which is one of a pin and an engagement hole,
the substrate has a second positioning portion which is the other of the pin and the engagement hole and which engages with the first positioning portion to position the substrate relative to the first positioning portion. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1,
a housing that houses the substrate, the bracket, and the electronic components;
a support member that supports the protruding portion of the bracket on the housing;
The electronic device further comprises: The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the substrate has a second surface that is a surface opposite to the first surface,
The electronic device further includes a processing device mounted on the first surface of the substrate,
the bracket has a step portion between the base portion and the protrusion, the base portion is fixed to a second surface of the substrate, and a surface of the protrusion is positioned approximately flush with a first surface of the substrate. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device, wherein the electronic component is a storage device. A substrate device,
A substrate having a connector mounted on a first surface thereof ;
a bracket having a base portion fixed to the board, a protruding portion arranged to protrude from an edge portion of the board, and a fixing portion provided on the protruding portion for fixing a card-shaped electronic component connected to the connector;
Equipped with
the substrate has a surface on which the electronic component can be placed between the edge portion and the connector by disposing the connector at a position spaced apart from the edge portion in a direction opposite to a protruding direction of the protrusion,
The protrusion extends along a first surface of the board on which the connector is mounted, and has a plate-like surface on which the electronic component can be placed.
1. An electronic device comprising:

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