The present invention relates to a printed circuit board unit on which an expansion card such as a PCI-Express Mini Card is mounted.
An expansion card such as a PCI-Express Mini Card is incorporated in a notebook personal computer. The expansion card is assembled in a motherboard. The motherboard includes a printed wiring board. A socket and a fixation member are mounted on the printed wiring board. The fixation member is spaced from the socket at a predetermined distance. One end of the expansion card is held on the socket. The other end of the expansion card is held on the fixation member. In this manner, the expansion card is electrically connected to the printed wiring board.
The fixation member includes a base immobilized on the printed wiring board. The expansion card is received on the base. A claw member is coupled to the base. The claw member is configured to move in a horizontal direction between a reference position and a withdrawing position. When the claw member is positioned at the reference position, the claw member enters a space right on the expansion card. When the claw member is positioned at the withdrawing position, the claw member withdraws from the space. The claw member at the reference position serves to hold the expansion card on the base. An elastic member is coupled to the base. The elastic member is configured to exhibit an elastic force urging the claw member toward the reference position. The expansion card is removably mounted on the printed wiring board with the assistance of the claw member.
The socket and the fixation member are sometimes fixed on the printed wiring board at positions shifted from the designed positions so that the relative position between the socket and the fixation member deviates from the designed one. If the interval between the socket and the fixation member is larger than a predetermined interval, the claw member cannot sufficiently enter the space right on the expansion card. As a result, even when a small impact is applied to the motherboard, the expansion card easily separates from the printed wiring board. Accordingly, what is required is means for reliably fixing the expansion card to the printed wiring board.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a printed circuit board unit includes: a printed wiring board; a socket mounted on the surface of the printed wiring board, the socket supporting one end of a module substrate; a fixation member fixed to the surface of the printed wiring board, the fixation member spaced from the socket at a predetermined distance; a movable member connected to the fixation member for relative horizontal movement in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board, the movable member receiving the other end of the module substrate; a first restriction member connected to the movable member, the first restriction member received in a through hole of the module substrate, the first restriction member configured to restrict horizontal movement of the module substrate in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board; and a second restriction member connected to the movable member, the second restriction member covering over the module substrate, the second restriction member configured to restrict perpendicular movement of the module substrate in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed wiring board.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a printed circuit board unit includes: a printed wiring board; a socket mounted on the surface of the printed wiring board, the socket supporting one end of a module substrate; a fixation mechanism fixed to the surface of the printed wiring board at a position spaced from the socket at a predetermined distance, the fixation mechanism supporting the other end of the module substrate; a slot defined in the socket, the slot receiving the one end of the module substrate; and an inner wall surface defined inside the socket, the inner wall surface defining a predetermined gap between the inner wall surface itself and the one end of the module substrate inserted through the slot.
The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the embodiments, as claimed.
Description will be made below on an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.
A printed circuit board unit, namely a motherboard, is enclosed in the flat main enclosure 12, for example. The motherboard will be described later in detail. A large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) chip package, a main memory, and the like, are mounted on the motherboard. The LSI chip package is configured to execute various kinds of processing based on a software program and data temporarily held in the main memory, for example. The software program and the data may be stored in a large capacity storage, such as a hard disk drive, HDD, likewise enclosed in the flat main enclosure 12.
A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel module 16 is incorporated in the flat display enclosure 13, for example. The screen of the LCD panel module 16 gets exposed in a window opening 17 defined in the flat display enclosure 13. Text and graphics appear on the screen. Users can see the ongoing operation of the notebook personal computer 11 based on the appearing text and graphics. The flat display enclosure 13 can be superposed on the flat main enclosure 12 through the pivotal movement relative to the flat main enclosure 12.
The expansion card 25 can be any one of a wireless local area network (LAN) card, a memory card, and the like. The expansion card 25 includes a module substrate 26 and electronic components 27, such as LSI chips, mounted on the upper surface of the module substrate 26. The module substrate 26 has a rectangular contour. Electrically-conductive terminals are arranged along the outer periphery of the module substrate 26 at one of the short sides, namely a first end of the module substrate 26, as described later. The electrically conductive terminals are connected to electrically conductive terminals inside the socket 23, respectively. The expansion card 25 is in this manner electrically connected to the printed wiring board 22. The function of the notebook personal computer 11 is thus expanded.
A fixation mechanism 28 is rigidly mounted on the surface of the printed wiring board 22 at a position spaced from the socket 23 at a predetermined distance. The fixation mechanism 28 has one end facing to the slot 24 of the socket 23. The other end or a second end of the expansion card 25 is fixed to the fixation mechanism 28. A pair of screws 29, 29 is utilized to fix the expansion card 25, for example. The screws 29 are screwed into the fixation mechanism 28. The rotation axes of the screws 29 are set in the perpendicular direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The screws 29 serve to reliably immobilize the expansion card 25 on the printed wiring board 22. The expansion card 25 is reliably prevented from falling off the printed wiring board 22.
The fixation mechanism 28 includes a fixation member, namely a base 31, immobilized on the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The base 31 extends in parallel with the slot 24 of the socket 23. The fixation mechanism 28 includes a movable member 32 located inside the base 31. The other of the short sides, namely a second end of the module substrate 26 is placed on the movable member 32. The module substrate 26 is received on the bottom plate of the movable member 32. The movable member 32 is coupled to the base 31 for relative horizontal movement along the surface of the printed wiring board 22, as described later. The base 31 may be made of a metallic material, for example. The movable member 32 may be made of a resin material, for example. Molding process may be employed to form the movable member 32, for example.
As illustrated in
The base 31 also includes a pair of side walls 31b, 31b standing upright from the bottom plate. The inner wall surfaces of the side walls 31b are opposed to the outer wall surfaces of side walls 32b standing upright from the bottom plate of the movable member 32, respectively. An elastic member, namely a leaf spring 34, is attached to the inner wall surface of the individual side wall 31b. The leaf spring 34 receives the outer wall surface of the side wall 32b. The elastic forces of the leaf springs 34, 34 are set equal to each other.
As illustrated in
The movable member 32 is configured to move in the horizontal direction along the upper surface of the bottom plate 31c of the base 31 in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22, as described above. The horizontal movement of the movable member 32 enables the movement of the shaft 37a inside the through hole 36. Since the diameter of the through hole 36 is sufficiently larger than that of the shaft 37a, the shaft 37a is allowed to move inside the through hole 36 over a predetermined range. Likewise, the plate 37b is allowed to move in the horizontal direction along the lower surface of the bottom plate 31c. The connecting member 37 may be made of a metallic material, for example. So-called caulking process may be employed to form the connecting member 37, for example.
Screw bores 41 are formed in the bottom plate 32c of the movable member 32. Screw shafts 29a of the screws 29 are received in the screw bores 41, respectively. The screw bores 41 are connected to through holes 42 formed in the module substrate 26. The positions of the through holes 42 on the module substrate 26 are determined in accordance with the standards. The screws 29 are screwed into the screw bores 41 through the through holes 42, respectively. Screw heads 29b of the screws 29 are positioned directly on the upper surface of the module substrate 26. As a result, the screw heads 29b serve to restrict the perpendicular movement of the module substrate 26 in the perpendicular direction perpendicular to the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The screw shafts 29a serve to restrict the horizontal movement of the module substrate 26 in the horizontal direction.
When the screws 29 are sufficiently screwed into the screw bores 41, the tip ends of the screw shafts 29a project from the ends of the screw bores 41, for example. The screw shafts 29a are thus received in receiving holes 43 formed in the bottom plate 31c of the base 31, respectively. The receiving holes 43 have the diameter sufficiently larger than that of the screw shafts 29a. Consequently, even though the movable member 32 moves in the horizontal direction as described later, the screws 29 are prevented from interfering with the base plate 31c of the base 31. Here, the screw shaft 29a of the screw 29 serves as a first restriction member according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. The screw head 29b of the screw 29 serves as a second restriction member according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.
A front wall 31d is formed on the base 31 at the front end of the base 31. The front wall 31d stands upright from the bottom plate 31c. The interval between the front wall 31d and the rear wall 31a is set larger than the entire length of the movable member 32 from its front end to the rear end. The rear wall 32a of the movable member 32 defines an inclined surface 32d at the top of the rear wall 32a. The inclined surface 32d is connected to the inner wall surface of the rear wall 32a. The inclined surface 32d gets farther from the surface of the module substrate 26 as the position gets farther outward in the horizontal direction from the contour of the module substrate 26. A pair of electrically conductive terminals 44, 44 is formed integral with the base 31, for example. The electrically conductive terminals 44 are soldered on pads 45 formed on the surface of the printed wiring board 22. In this manner, the fixation mechanism 28 is fixed on the surface of the printed wiring board 22.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The socket 23 includes first electrically conductive terminals 54 rigidly fixed to the socket body 51. Second electrically conductive terminals 55 are rigidly fixed to the socket body 51. The individual first electrically conductive terminal 54 exhibits an elastic force to urge one end of the first electrically conductive terminal 54 against the corresponding front-side electrically conductive terminal 52. The other end of the individual first electrically conductive terminal 54 is soldered to an electrically conductive pad 56 on the printed wiring board 22. The individual second electrically conductive terminal 55 exhibits an elastic force to urge one end of the second electrically conductive terminal 55 against the back-side electrically conductive terminal 53. The other end of the individual second electrically conductive terminal 55 is soldered to an electrically conductive pad 57 on the printed wiring board 22. In this manner, the expansion card 25 is electrically connected to the printed wiring board 22.
As is apparent from
Next, description will be made on a method of making the motherboard 21. The socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28 have beforehand been fixed on the surface of the printed wiring board 22. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
When the operator pushes the second end of the module substrate 26, the module substrate 26 pivotally moves toward the printed wiring board 22 so that the second end of the module substrate 26 is receive on the inclined surface 32d of the movable member 32. As the operator further pushes the second end of the module substrate 26, the second end of the module substrate 26 slides down along the inclined surface 32d. The urging force to pivotally move the module substrate 26 allows the movable member 32 to move in the horizontal direction in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The movable member 32 is subjected to the elastic forces of the leaf springs 33. Here, no shift is assumed in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28 in the lateral direction of the module substrate 26. The module substrate 26 is thus received on the bottom plate 32c of the movable member 32, as illustrated in
In general, a deviation of the distance between the rear wall 32a and the screw bore 41 or between the side walls 32b and the screw bores 41 from the distance between the outer periphery of the module substrate 26 and the through holes 42 is quite smaller than a shift in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28. Accordingly, when the module substrate 26 is received on the movable member 32, the through holes 42 of the module substrate 26 are connected to the screw bores 41 of the movable member 32. The screws 29 are then screwed into the screw bores 41 through the through holes 42. The screws 29 serve to restrict the horizontal movement and perpendicular movement of the module substrate 26. In this manner, the module substrate 26 is reliably fixed to the movable member 32, namely the fixation mechanism 28 in a rigid manner.
Assume that a shift is observed in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28 in the lateral direction of the module substrate 26. In this case, the module substrate 26 is received not only on the inclined surface 32d of the rear wall 32a but also on the inclined surface 32e of either one of the side walls 32b. As the operator pushes, the second end of the module substrate 26 slides down on the inclined surface 32e. The urging force to pivotally move the module substrate 26 allows the movable member 32 to move in the horizontal direction in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The module substrate 26 is received on the bottom plate 32c of the movable member 32 in the same manner as described above. Either one of the side walls 31b receives the outer periphery of the module substrate 26 based on the elastic force of the leaf spring 34.
The first end of the module substrate 26 is supported on the socket 23 when the expansion card 25 is to be set on the motherboard 21. The second end of the module substrate 26 is rigidly fixed to the fixation mechanism 28. The movable member 32 is connected to the base 31 for relative horizontal movement in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22. As a result, even if the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28 shifts from the designed relative position, the horizontal movement of the movable member 32 enables a reliable rigid fixation of the module substrate 26 to the movable member 32. A shift can be acceptable in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28. Additionally, the screws 29 are utilized to rigidly fix the module substrate 26 to the movable member 32. The module substrate 26 is reliably prevented from falling off.
A movable member 62 in the shape of a plate is located inside the base 61, for example. The movable member 62 is received on the bottom plate of the base 61. The movable member 62 is connected to the base 61 for relative horizontal movement in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22 as described later. An engagement member 63 is coupled to the movable member 62. The module substrate 26 is placed in a space between the engagement member 63 and the movable member 62. The engagement member 63 extends inward from the contour of the module substrate 26 in parallel with the surface of the movable member 63. Simultaneously, the module substrate 26 is placed in a space between the engagement member 63 and the socket 23. The through holes 42 of the module substrate 26 receive protrusions 64 standing upright from the bottom plate of the movable member 62, respectively. The movable member 62 and the engagement member 63 are made of a resin material, for example. Molding process may be employed to form the movable member 62 and the engagement member 63, for example.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The individual protrusion 64 is formed in the shape of a cylinder, for example. The protrusions 64 are formed integral with the bottom plate of the movable member 62. Here, the protrusions 64 may be arranged along the front end of the movable member 62. An inclined surface 64a is defined on the tip end of the individual protrusion 64. The inclined surface 64a gets farther from the surface of the bottom plate of the movable member 62 as the position gets farther in the horizontal direction from the engagement member 63 toward the socket 23. The protrusion 64 serves as a first restriction member according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. The engagement member 63 serves as a second restriction member according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. Like reference numerals are attached to the structure or components equivalent to those of the aforementioned motherboard 21.
The socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a have beforehand been fixed to the surface of the printed wiring board 22 in the same manner as described above for the production of the motherboard 21a. The module substrate 26 of the expansion card 25 is inserted into the slot 24 of the socket 23. The module substrate 26 is kept in an inclined attitude during the insertion. As illustrated in
As is apparent from
The inclined surfaces 64a of the protrusions 64 then receive the module substrate 26 at the edges defining the contours of the through holes 42, respectively. Since the inclined surfaces 64 get farther from the surface of the movable member 62 as the position gets farther in the horizontal direction from the engagement member 63 toward the socket 23, the urging force to pivotally move the module substrate 26 thus allows the movable member 62 to horizontally move with the assistance of the inclined surfaces 64a. In this manner, as illustrated in
The first end of the module substrate 26 is supported on the socket 23 when the expansion card 25 is to be set on the motherboard 21a. The second end of the module substrate 26 is supported on the fixation mechanism 28a. Specifically, the module substrate 26 is supported on the movable member 62 and the engagement member 63. The movable member 62 is connected to the base 61 for relative horizontal movement in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22. Accordingly, even if the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a shifts from the designed relative position, the horizontal movement of the movable member 62 enables a reliable rigid fixation of the module substrate 26 to the movable member 62. A shift can be acceptable in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a.
As illustrated in
The socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a have beforehand been fixed to the surface of the printed wiring board 22 in the same manner as described above for the production of the motherboard 21a. The module substrate 26 of the expansion card 25 is inserted into the slot 24 of the socket 23. The module substrate 26 is kept in an inclined attitude during the insertion. As illustrated in
The screwed amounts of the screws 71 and the screws 72 into the base 61 is determined in accordance with the position of the module substrate 26. The axial movement of the screws 71, 72 enables a horizontal movement of the movable member 62 along the surface of the bottom plate 61c of the base 61. In this manner, the position of the movable member 62 can finely be adjusted relative to the base 61. The adjustment serves to align the protrusions 64 with the through holes 42 of the module substrate 26, respectively. As illustrated in
The first end of the module substrate 26 is supported on the socket 23 when the expansion card 25 is to be set on the motherboard 21a. The second end of the module substrate 26 is supported on the fixation mechanism 28a. Specifically, the module substrate 26 is supported on the movable member 62 and the engagement member 63. The movable member 62 is connected to the base 61 for relative horizontal movement in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22. The screws 71, 72 are related to the movable member 62. The screws 71, 72 are utilized to finely adjust the position of the movable member 62 in the horizontal direction. Consequently, even if the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a shifts from the designed relative position, the horizontal movement of the movable member 62 enables a reliable rigid fixation of the module substrate 26 to the movable member 62. A shift can be acceptable in the relative position between the socket 23 and the fixation mechanism 28a.
A claw member 83 is formed in the tip end of the individual leaf spring 82. The module substrate 26 is placed in a space between the claw members 83 and the base 81. In this case, the claw members 83 are set at reference positions. When the claw members 83 take the reference positions, respectively, the module substrate 26 is held between the base 81 and the claw members 83. The leaf springs 82 allow the claw members 83 to horizontally move outward from the space right on the module substrate 26. The claw members 83 are thus allowed to reach withdrawing positions outside the contour of the module substrate 26, respectively. When the claw members 83 reach the withdrawing positions, the module substrate 26 can be removed from the base 81. The through holes 42 of the module substrate 26 respectively receive protrusions 84 standing upright from the bottom plate 81.
The socket 23a and the fixation mechanism 28b have beforehand been fixed on the surface of the printed wiring board 22 for the production of the motherboard 21b. The module substrate 26 of the expansion card 25 is inserted into the slot 24 of the socket 23a in the same manner as described above. The module substrate 26 is kept in an inclined attitude during the insertion. The first end of the module substrate 26 is urged against the inner wall surface 85, as illustrated in
In this case, the operator aligns the through holes 42 of the module substrate 26 with the protrusions 84 by pivotally moving the module substrate 26. Since the predetermined gap is defined between the inner wall surface 85 and the first end of the module substrate 26 in the set position, the contact of the first end of the module substrate 26 against the inner wall surface 85 allows the module substrate 26 to shift from the set position toward the fixation mechanism 28b. The operator can thus horizontally move the module substrate 26 in parallel with the surface of the printed wiring board 22 so as to position the module substrate 26. The horizontal movement of the module substrate 26 enables alignment of the through holes 42 of the module substrate 26 with the protrusions 84.
When the second end of the module substrate 26 is urged toward the base 81, the module substrate 26 is brought in contact with the claw members 83 so that the claw members 83 are positioned at the withdrawing positions. The protrusions 84 are inserted in the through holes 42 of the module substrate 26, respectively. In this manner, the module substrate 26 is received on the surface of the base 81. Since the module substrate 26 is released from the contact with the claw members 83, the elastic forces of the leaf springs 82 allow the claw members 83 to return to the reference positions. The claw members 83 thus hold the module substrate 26 on the base 81.
The inner wall surface 85 is defined outside the outer periphery of the module substrate 26 in the motherboard 21b. The module substrate 26 can thus be inserted deeper in the socket 23a. In the case where a smaller interval is established between the socket 23a and the fixation mechanism 28b as compared with the designed interval, for example, the module substrate 26 is allowed to horizontally move in accordance with the position of the fixation mechanism 28b so that the module substrate 26 is set on the printed wiring board 22. In this manner, the position of the module substrate 26 is finely adjusted relative to the fixation mechanism 28b. The expansion card 25 is thus reliably set on the printed wiring board 22.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concept contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is a continuing application, filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a), of International Application PCT/JP2007/070109, filed on Oct. 15, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2007/070109 | Oct 2007 | US |
Child | 12759240 | US |