Patent Grant
7973239
This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2008/052170, filed on Feb. 8, 2008, which in turn claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2007-072515, filed on Mar. 20, 2007, the disclosures of which Applications are incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness, a connecting method thereof, a circuit-board-connected body, a circuit-board module, and an electronic apparatus.
A connector has been known that connects a plurality of ultrafine coaxial wires to circuits on a substrate, as disclosed in Patent literature 1, for example.
As shown in FIG. 7, a connector 100 is fitted to a receptacle (not shown) to electrically connect a plurality of ultrafine coaxial wires 101 to a substrate. The connector 100 has (a) a housing 102 made of insulating material, such as a plastic material, (b) a plurality of conducting terminals 103 placed, with a specified pitch, along the width of the housing 102, and (c) a shield plate 104 covering the top surface of the housing 102. The individual conducting terminals 103 are placed in individual wire-housing recessed portions 105 that are formed so as to adjoin to one another, with a specified pitch, along the width of the housing. Thus, the individual conducting terminals 103 are aligned. Each of the ultrafine coaxial wires 101 to be connected to the conducting terminal 103 has a center conductor 107 to be connected to the conducting terminal 103 by using solder or the like, an insulating layer 108 covering the center conductor 107, an outer conductor 109 formed at the outside of the insulating layer 108, and a covering 110 covering the outer conductor 109. The individual ultrafine coaxial wires 101 are treated such that the individual center conductors 107 are individually connected to the corresponding individual conducting terminals 103 and the individual outer conductors 109 are connected to the connector 100 through a swaging member 111 collectively.
Ultrafine coaxial wires used in a mobile telephone and the like are connected to other wires, a substrate, or another member through a connector. In contrast, in the connector 100 in Patent literature 1, the individual outer conductors 109 of a plurality of ultrafine coaxial wires 101 are connected to the connector by swaging using the swaging member 111, which is a single common connecting metal plate, rather than using the soldering. Consequently, because no impregnation of solder to the outer conductor 109 occurs, the flexibility of the ultrafine coaxial wires 101 is not impaired. Patent literature 1 states that the above-described structure improves the workability of the ultrafine coaxial wires in a narrow connecting space.
Nevertheless, as the size of the apparatus is decreased, the space that can be secured as the connecting space is becoming smaller and smaller. To mitigate the connecting difficulty, ultrafine coaxial wires use a fine conductor having a diameter of American Wire Gauge (AWG) 40 to 45, for example. Under these circumstances, it becomes difficult to adopt the connecting structure through the connector as described in Patent literature 1. In view of the foregoing situation, to minimize the space for the connection, researchers and engineers are required to develop connectorless connection such as direct connection of the center conductors of individual ultrafine coaxial wires to circuits of an apparatus without using a connector.
An object of the present invention is to offer an ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness that enables connectorless connection to a substrate in a narrow space while maintaining the reliability and speediness of the operation, a circuit-board-connected body incorporating the harness, and so on.
An ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness of the present invention comprises the following members:
By employing the above structure, the center conductors can be aligned with circuits on a substrate, to which the ultrafine coaxial wires are connected, through the alignment portion speedily and easily. As a result, connectorless connection can be performed in a narrow space.
The above-described ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness may have the following structure:
In particular, as the above-described alignment portion, an alignment hole may be provided at each of the pair of end portions of the insulator frame. The alignment holes improve the workability.
The foregoing grounding member may be provided with an engaging portion that engages with the exposed portions of the individual outer conductors. This structure allows the engaging portion to determine the arranging positions of the individual center conductors. By coupling the grounding member to the insulator frame, the individual center conductors can be connected to the substrate under the condition that the individual ultrafine coaxial wires are stably held.
A connecting method of the present invention for the ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness is a method of connecting the individual center conductors to individual circuit members of a circuit board, which has a plurality of circuit members, by performing alignment using the alignment portion as a reference. This method enables speedy and easy mounting of the ultrafine coaxial wires onto the circuit board.
The foregoing connecting method may perform, before performing the alignment using the alignment portion as a reference, (a) the arranging of the individual center conductors of the ultrafine coaxial wires between a pair of films by using guide holes as a reference to fix the center conductors and (b) the forming of alignment holes in the pair of films as the alignment portion. In this case, at the time the pair of films are bonded together, even if the films produce a slight positional deviation or wrinkles, by forming alignment holes separately and performing the alignment using the alignment holes as a reference, the center conductors can be reliably connected to the circuit members on the substrate.
A circuit-board-connected body of the present invention comprises the following members:
A circuit-board module of the present invention comprises the following members:
By employing an ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness, a connecting method thereof, a circuit-board-connected body, a circuit-board module, or an electronic apparatus all of the present invention, connectorless connection to circuits on a substrate can be performed in a narrow space while maintaining the speediness and easiness of the operation.
To facilitate the understanding,
As shown in
The ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness is also provided with (a) a grounding member 20 that connects in common all the exposed portions of the outer conductors 14 of the multicore ultrafine coaxial wire 10 and (b) an insulator frame 30 that fixes the center conductors 12.
The grounding member 20 has (a) an engaging portion 21 formed by bending, at a nearly right angle, both side portions of a plate material made of metallic conductor to obtain the shape of a channel bar and (b) an interconnecting portion 22 that has an interconnecting strip 22b connected to a part of the engaging portion 21 and grounding strips 22a extending in a direction almost perpendicular to the engaging portion 21 at a position having nearly the same height as that of the center conductors 12. The engaging portion 21 has vertical-wall portions 21a each having the shape of waves and a bottom-wall portion 21b. The vertical-wall portions 21a each have a large number of wave-shaped grooves formed with a fixed pitch to engage with the outer conductors 14. The interconnecting strip 22b of the interconnecting portion 22 is bonded to the vertical-wall portions 21a at both sides by brazing. The individual grooves in the engaging portion 21 are connected to the individual outer conductors 14 by soldering. An adhesive is applied to the outer conductor 14's exposed portion to which no soldering is performed. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 21 maintains the spacing between the ultrafine coaxial wires with a specified pitch, thereby determining the arranging positions of the individual center conductors 12. In the structure shown in
The insulator frame 30 has (a) an underside film 31, which is an underside member that supports connecting surfaces 12a of the center conductors 12, (b) a topside film 32, which is a topside member that holds pressure-receiving surfaces 12b of the center conductors 12, and (c) a pressing plate 33 that is placed between the topside film 32 and the pressure-receiving surfaces 12b of the center conductors 12. The underside film 31 is formed of (a) a pair of long rectangular portions 31x, which extend in a direction nearly perpendicular to the center conductors 12, and (b) a pair of end portions 31y that connect the long rectangular portions 31x at their both ends. A window portion 31a is formed inside a frame formed by the long rectangular portions 31x and the end portions 31y to allow the center conductors to be connected to circuits on a substrate. Each of the end portions 31y is provided with an alignment hole 36 to align the individual center conductors 12 with the individual circuit members on the substrate. The topside film 32 has no window portion but has an outside dimension nearly equal to that of the underside film. The alignment holes 36 also penetrate through both end portions 32y of the topside film 32. The underside film 31, the topside film 32, and the pressing plate 33 are individually fixed to the center conductors 12 with a thermosetting resin (such as an epoxy resin). The grounding strips 22a of the interconnecting portion 22 of the grounding member 20 are also fixed to the underside film 31 and the topside film 32 with a thermosetting resin.
The ultrafine coaxial wire 11 uses a fine conductor having a diameter of American Wire Gauge (AWG) 40 to 46, for example. The center conductor 12 positioned at the center of the ultrafine coaxial wire 11 is usually formed of a copper stranded wire by choice because it is flexible and endures bending. Nevertheless, this embodiment uses a solid wire, which is resistant to deformation. The flattened portion of the center conductor has a thickness of about 75 μm, for example, and the grounding strip 22a of the interconnecting portion 22 also has a comparable thickness.
As the underside film 31 and the topside film 32, a thermosetting resin, such as polyester or polyimide, may be used. The underside film 31 and the topside film 32 are fixed to the center conductors 12 by using an adhesive (a thermosetting resin, such as an epoxy resin, or a thermoplastic resin). In other words, the flattened center conductors 12 are bonded to the topside and underside films through the adhesive applied to the topside and underside of the center conductors 12. Thus, the center conductors 12 are securely held. Because the center portion of the underside film 31 forms the window portion 31a, as shown in
As shown in
Production Method
First, in the step shown in
Next, in the step shown in
Subsequently, in the step shown in
Finally, the center conductors 12, the underside film 31, and the topside film 32 are cut at a cutting line L to remove the tipmost portions 12c of the center conductors 12.
The step shown in
Although the illustration is omitted in the steps shown in
Next, the pressing plate 33 is placed on the center conductors 12 and the grounding strips 22a of the interconnecting portion 22. Then, an adhesive such as an epoxy resin is applied onto these members. Subsequently, the topside film 32 is placed on them.
Next, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
According to the ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness in this embodiment, the alignment holes 36 to align the center conductors 12 to the signal circuits 52 are provided in the underside film 31 and the topside film 32 of the insulator frame 30 for supporting the center conductors 12 of the ultrafine coaxial wires 11. The alignment holes 36 enable a correct and speedy operation of placing the multicore ultrafine coaxial wire 10 on the members such as the rigid printed-circuit board 50. Furthermore, the operation does not require a connector, and the space needed to the coupling can be a narrow space confined in the window portion 31a of the underside film 31.
The basic effect of the present invention can be exercised even when the center conductors 12 are fixed with an adhesive to the insulator frame 30 in this embodiment only by using the topside film 32, without using the underside film 31. However, because the insulator frame 30 is provided with the topside film 32 (the topside member) and the underside film 31 (the underside member) both for holding the center conductors from both above and under, the center conductors 12 can be held reliably. The presence of the films 31 and 32 enables the tip portion of the ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness to function in such a manner as an FPC does, so that the harness can be directly connected to or disconnected from a ZIF connector mounted on the substrate. In this case, because the underside film 31 has a pair of long rectangular portions 31x and a pair of end portions 31y that are connected to the long rectangular portions 31x at their both ends and the window portion 31a is formed inside a frame formed by the long rectangular portions 31x and the end portions 31y to allow the center conductors 12 to be exposed, the center conductors 12 can be securely brought into contact with the signal circuits 52 within the window portion 31a.
In addition, even when the window portion 31a is not formed in the insulator frame 30 in this embodiment, more specifically, even when the insulator frame 30 has a structure in which the underside film 31 is provided with only one member of the long rectangular portions 31x, the center conductors 12 can be held with the insulator frame 30. Nevertheless, when the underside film 31 has a pair of long rectangular portions 31x, the movement of the individual center conductors 12 can be prevented. As a result, the pitch between the center conductors 12 can be maintained at a fixed value more reliably.
The alignment of the center conductors 12 is not necessarily required to be carried out by using the engaging portion 21 of the grounding member 20. The center conductors 12 can be aligned by using a member of the insulator frame 30. Even in that case, the basic effect of the present invention can be exercised. Nevertheless, when the center conductors 12 are aligned by not only engaging the individual outer conductors 14, which have a relatively large size, of the individual ultrafine coaxial wires 11 with the engaging portion 21 of the grounding member 20 but also coupling the engaging portion 21 to the insulator frame 30 through the interconnecting portion 22 of the grounding member 20, the pitch between the center conductors 12 can be maintained stably.
In addition, because the grounding strips 22a of the interconnecting portion 22 of the grounding member 20 are connected to the grounding circuits 53 on the rigid substrate 51, the grounding line can be connected smoothly. However, the method of connecting the grounding line is not limited to the structure of this embodiment; various structures can be employed. For example, in a structure in which the grounding member 20 is not provided with the grounding strips 22a of the interconnecting portion 22, a grounding circuit is formed at a position corresponding to that of the interconnecting strip 22b of the interconnecting portion 22. A solder layer is formed on the grounding circuit. Finally, the interconnecting strip 22b is connected to the grounding circuit by thermocompression bonding. This method can further decrease the space needed for the connection.
Furthermore, as shown in
In other words, the bonding-together-use alignment portion (the guide holes 38) is used to align the center conductors 12 with the insulator frame 30 in the step of fixing, using an adhesive, the center conductors 12 and the insulator frame 30 having the underside film 31 and the topside film 32. On the other hand, the mounting-use alignment portion (the alignment holes 36) is used to align the center conductors 12 with the circuits (the signal circuits 52) on the substrate in the step of connecting the multicore ultrafine coaxial wire 10 to the circuit member on the substrate. The above-described method enables the secure connection of the multicore ultrafine coaxial wire 10 to the circuit member on the substrate.
Nevertheless, the alignment portion of the present invention is not limited to the alignment holes 36 and the guide holes 38 in this embodiment. Any form may be used providing that it engages with the engaging member of the working jig.
In the above-described embodiment, as an adhesive for fixing the underside film 31 and the topside film 32 to the center conductors 12, an epoxy resin, which is a thermosetting resin, is used to heat and harden it. However, a thermoplastic resin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, may be used to fuse it by heating and melting.
Structure of Circuit Board Module and Electronic Apparatus
The circuit-board module of this embodiment contained in an electronic apparatus constitutes a part of an integrated module that has the following components connected by using FPCs: (a) main display 61 that displays the screen of a mobile telephone provided with an LED 90, (b) a first sub-PCB 62 and a main PCB 63, both of which carry out the principal control in the electronic apparatus, (c) a subdisplay 64 that displays additional information of the mobile telephone, (d) an antenna 65, (e) an incamera-controlling PCB 66 for controlling an incamera 91, and (f) an attached-circuit-use PCB 67. A self-contained memory, a baseband LSI (Large-Scale Integration), a power control IC (Integrated Circuit), a sound generator IC, an RF-receiving LSI, an RF-transmitting LSI, a power amplifier, a switching IC, and so on are divided and placed in the first sub-PCB 62 and the main PCB 63.
Although not included in the integrated module, an outcamera 93 and a control circuit 94 for controlling the outcamera 93 are placed in the electronic apparatus.
The first sub-PCB 62 is connected to the main PCB 63 through an ultrafine coaxial wire 83 or an FPC. The connecting portion between the ultrafine coaxial wire 83 and the first sub-PCB 62 is provided with an ultrafine-coaxial-wire-use connector 73. As shown in a state in which the ultrafine coaxial wire 83 and the main PCB 63 are disassembled at the connecting portion, the ultrafine-coaxial-wire-use connector 73 is composed of (a) an ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness 77a that includes (a1) a grounding member and (a2) an insulator frame fixing the center conductors of the ultrafine coaxial wire and (b) a coaxial-wire-connecting portion 77b at the substrate side.
The main display 61 is electrically connected to the first sub-PCB 62 through two FPCs 81a and 81b. The two FPCs 81a and 81b are (a) divided into a liquid-crystal-panel side and an LED-90 side at the main display 61 and (b) connected to a common connector 71 at the first sub-PCB 62.
The first sub-PCB 62 is connected to the subdisplay 64 through an FPC 82 and a connector 72. The first sub-PCB 62 is also connected to the incamera-controlling PCB 66 through an FPC 84 and a connector 74. The first sub-PCB 62 is also connected to the attached-circuit-use PCB 67 through an FPC 85 and connectors 75 and 76. The main PCB 63 is connected to the antenna 65 through an FPC 86 and a connector 78.
As the rigid substrate for the PCBs, not only a glass-reinforced epoxy board but also a paper-reinforced phenol board, a paper-reinforced epoxy board, a fluororesin board, an alumina board, and so on are used. As the material for the wiring, a copper alloy is usually used. However, the material is not limited to this material. As the flexible substrate, not only a polyimide board but also a polyester board (for low temperatures), a glass-reinforced epoxy board (a thin plate), and so on are used.
As described above, when the ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness of this embodiment is incorporated into a circuit-board module, which is a part of an integrated module, or an electronic apparatus having a circuit-board module, the ultrafine-coaxial-wire harness can be mounted on a circuit board correctly and speedily on a connectorless basis.
The above-described electronic apparatus includes, in addition to a mobile telephone, a camera, such as a digital camera and a camcorder, a portable audio player, a portable DVD player, and a portable laptop.
It is to be considered that the above-disclosed structure of an embodiments of the present invention is strictly illustrative and that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope of the above description. The scope of the present invention is shown by the description of the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to cover all revisions and modifications included within the meaning and scope equivalent to the description of the scope of the claims.
The present invention can be employed not only for a mobile telephone but also for electronic apparatuses such as a camera, including a digital camera and a camcorder, a portable audio player, a portable DVD player, and a portable laptop.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-072515 | Mar 2007 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2008/052170 | 2/8/2008 | WO | 00 | 9/9/2008 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2008/082018 | 7/10/2008 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 11-509030 | Aug 1999 | JP |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090101408 A1 | Apr 2009 | US |
