1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cellular terminal apparatus such as a collapsible cellular telephone and in particular, to a water-proof cellular terminal apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, various water-proof countermeasures have been tried for the respective components of the apparatus such as a cellular telephone.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application 2000-151772 discloses a cellular terminal apparatus having a water-proof structure against entrance of water from the peripheral portion of the key sheet as the operation unit. Moreover, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application 10-169780 discloses a seal packing and its manufacturing method. The seal packing can preferably be used as a water-proof countermeasure against the water entrance from the engagement portion of the upper and the lower cases of the cellular terminal apparatus.
Moreover, there is a completely water-proof cellular telephone (unitary block type) having a countermeasure against water coming through a hole (sound hole, etc.) and other clearances. However, a collapsible cellular telephone, i.e., a collapsible type cellular telephone in which an upper apparatus and a lower apparatus can be folded via a hinge portion, has become more popular and there are a lot of market claims (complaint, indication, etc.) for the water entrance from the clearance at the hinge portion.
More specifically, water enters from the clearance at the hinge portion into the FPC (flexible printed circuit) arranged in the hinge portion and along the FPC reaches the printed circuit board in the upper and lower apparatuses, causing electrical problems. Here, the FPC has flexibility and is used to connect the printed circuit boards arranged in the upper and the lower apparatuses.
In the configuration shown in
However, among the collapsible cellular telephones, there are those having a structure that a coaxial cable and the like are arranged in the hinge portion 4. The FPC 7 connecting the upper and the lower printed circuit boards 5 and 6.
As shown in
a) and
In the water-proof structure shown in
In the aforementioned configuration, a space S is present around the cable 8 covered by the seal packing P. Through this space S, a water drop 11 (see
Moreover, especially in the configuration of 12(b) where the cable 8 passes through a portion where the seal packing P is pressed contact with the FPC 7, an excessive load is applied to the FPC 7 and the cable 8 (especially onto the FPC 7). This causes a problem that the signal line in the FPC 7 is broken.
As has been described above, in the conventional configuration, no consideration has been taken on an appropriate water-proof structure for the configuration of the hinge portion passing the FPC and the connection cable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cellular terminal apparatus such as a collapsible cellular telephone having an effective water-proof structure in the hinge portion passing the FPC and the connection cable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a water-proof cellular terminal apparatus in which an excessive external load is not applied to the FPC or the cable.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides a collapsible cellular terminal apparatus comprising: an upper apparatus and a lower apparatus which are connected so as to be folded via a hinge portion, printed circuit boards arranged in the upper apparatus and the lower apparatus, a flexible printed circuit board and a connection cable for connecting the printed circuit boards, and a water-proof structure for sealing the boundary between the hinge portion and the upper and the lower apparatus, wherein the flexible printed circuit board and the connection cable arranged between the upper apparatus and the lower apparatus pass through the water-proof structure at different positions and the water-proof structure closely seals the space between the flexible printed circuit board and the connection cable.
Moreover, the water-proof structure be preferably realized by a seal packing consisting of an upper packing piece and a lower packing piece to be combined with each other, a hole for passing the connection cable is formed in one of the upper packing piece and the lower packing piece, and the space around the flexible printed circuit board is closely sealed by matching surfaces of the upper packing piece and the lower packing piece.
Moreover, the upper packing piece preferably has a cut off portion leading to the hole.
Moreover, at least one of the upper packing piece and the lower packing piece preferably has a concave portion for pushing the flexible printed circuit board therein.
Moreover, the apparatus may comprise a plurality of connection cables passing through the water-proof structure. Moreover, the connection cable may be guided through the hole of the seal packing into the upper apparatus and the lower apparatus.
a) is a front view of a cellular terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
a) and
a) and
a) is a front view of a cellular telephone having an FPC and coaxial cable (connection cable) in the hinge portion.
Description will now be directed to embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.
As shown in
The upper apparatus 2 is connected to the lower apparatus 3 via the hinge portion 4. The present invention relates to a collapsible type cellular terminal apparatus 1 in which the upper apparatus 2 and the lower apparatus 3 can be folded via the hinge portion 4 and which has water-proof structure for preventing entrance of water from a clearance 41 of the hinge portion 4.
The boundary spaces between the hinge portion 4 of the cellular terminal apparatus 1 and the upper and lower apparatuses 2, 3 are filled by a seal packing 9 so as to prevent entrance of water drop from the hinge portion 4 to the upper and lower apparatuses 2, 3.
Hereinafter, in the embodiment, like components as in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference symbols.
The upper apparatus 2 includes a display and the lower apparatus 3 includes operation input keys. In cases of the upper and lower apparatuses, printed circuit boards 5, 6 having predetermined circuits are arranged. The printed circuit boards 5, 6 are electrically connected by the FPC 7 and the connection cable 8.
The hinge portion consists of some parts. Typically, the external part (part exposed to the outer surface) is formed as a unitary block with the upper and the lower apparatuses 2, 3 and the external part is combined with a shaft part so as to be rotated. Since the hinge portion 4 is configured to be rotated, it has a clearance 41. From this clearance, materials causing operation trouble such as water and dust (especially water) can enter.
In the hinge portion 4, there passes a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) 7 connecting the printed circuit boards 5, 6 in the upper and the lower apparatuses 2, 3. Moreover, there passes a connection cable (coaxial cable) 8 connecting the printed circuit boards 5, 6. It should be noted that in this embodiment, two FPC 7 are stacked on each other but the present invention is not limited to this.
A water drop 11 through the clearance 41 of the hinge portion 4 may attach to the FPC 7 or the connection cable 8 and go along the FPC 7 or the connection cable 8. The seal packing 9 filling the spaces between the hinge portion 4 and the upper and the lower apparatuses 2, 3 prevents further entrance of the water drop 11 and especially prevents entrance of the water drop 11 to the printed circuit boards 5, 6 of the upper and the lower apparatuses 2, 3.
In
The seal packing 9 is in pressed contact with a case (not limited to an outermost case) containing the FPC 7 and the connection cable 8. By the seal packing 9, the FPC 7, the connection cable 8, and the case are brought into pressed contact with each other and the aforementioned space is filled by the packing, the water drop 11 cannot enter the upper and the lower apparatus 2, 3.
a) and
As shown in
In
In order to realize the seal packing 9 (and the arrangement of the FPC 7 and the connection cable 8) shown in this embodiment, firstly, there is a method to mold the seal packing 9 together with the connection cable 8 as a unitary block. Moreover, there is a method of producing a seal packing 9 having the aforementioned hole 9c and the connection cable 8 is passed through the hole 9c of the seal packing 9 before attaching the connection piece 81 of the connection cable 8. Then, the connection piece 81 is attached to the connection cable 8.
At the boundary between the hinge portion 4 and the upper and lower apparatuses 2, 3, spaces between the FPC 7, the cable 8, and the case containing them is filled by the seal packing 9 in such a manner that the FPC 7 and the cable 8 are at separate positions. Accordingly, no excessive external force is applied by the seal packing 9 to the FPC 7 and the connection cable 8. Since no excessive external force is applied to the FPC 7, it is possible to prevent damage of the FPC 7.
As shown in
Description will now be directed to another embodiment of the present invention. There may be a plurality of connection cables 8 connecting the upper and the lower printed circuit boards 5, 6.
As shown in
It should be noted that the embodiments have been explained with an example of the cellular telephone as the cellular terminal apparatus 1. However, the present invention relates to the water-proof structure not limited to the cellular telephone and can be widely applied to a collapsible apparatus having a hinge portion.
The embodiments of the present invention have been explained above. The embodiments show only examples of the preferable embodiments of the present invention. The present invention is not to be limited to these embodiments but can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.
As is clear from the above-given explanation, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent entrance of water or dust which may enter through the clearance of the hinge portion into printed circuit boards of the upper and lower apparatuses even when the water or the dust adheres to the FPC or the connection (coaxial) cable. Moreover, since the water-proof structure for the FPC (pressed contact by the seal packing) and the water-proof structure for the connection cable (passing through the hole of the seal packing) are provided separately, it is possible to obtain pressed contact between the components without applying an excessive outer force to the FPC or the connection cable. Thus, it is possible to prevent damage of the plurality of signal lines in the FPC by the external force.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristic thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-137735 (Filed on May 13, 2002) including specification, claims, drawings and summary are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2002-137735 | May 2002 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5027394 | Ono et al. | Jun 1991 | A |
5141446 | Ozouf et al. | Aug 1992 | A |
5432676 | Satoh et al. | Jul 1995 | A |
6203348 | Fukuda | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6301468 | Slayton et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6484016 | Cheon | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6616467 | Ibaraki et al. | Sep 2003 | B2 |
6872088 | Watanabe | Mar 2005 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 313 358 | May 2003 | EP |
2 295 850 | Jun 1996 | GB |
57-38952 | Aug 1982 | JP |
60-225920 | Nov 1985 | JP |
05-165784 | Jul 1993 | JP |
6-30263 | Apr 1994 | JP |
06-268724 | Sep 1994 | JP |
07-212051 | Aug 1995 | JP |
10-169780 | Jun 1998 | JP |
2000-151772 | May 2000 | JP |
2001-044877 | Feb 2001 | JP |
2001-045123 | Feb 2001 | JP |
2001-144837 | May 2001 | JP |
2002-027066 | Jan 2002 | JP |
2002-050997 | Feb 2002 | JP |
2002-051131 | Feb 2002 | JP |
2002-124779 | Apr 2002 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20030211873 A1 | Nov 2003 | US |