Waterproof electronic appliance

The present invention relates to a waterproof electronic device having a housing and a cable extending inside and outside the housing.

In recent years, waterproof types have appeared in various electronic devices such as mobile phones.

Here, taking a mobile phone as an example, in the case of a mobile phone provided with a main body unit and a display unit that can be opened and closed with respect to the main body unit, the main body unit and the display unit are connected by a signal line to transmit a signal. Since it is necessary to transmit and receive, this signal line takes a wiring route of going out from the housing of the main unit and then entering the housing of the display unit again. Therefore, when trying to impart waterproofness to this type of mobile phone, the problem is what kind of waterproof structure should be provided in the portion where the signal line overlaps the wall of the housing.

As the conventional waterproof structure of this part, a flexible cable integrally molded with rubber or the like is adopted, or a structure in which the flexible cable is sandwiched between rubber or double-sided tape is adopted, or the signal line of the housing is used. A structure is adopted in which the through holes are sealed with a sealing agent.

However, although the use of rubber can be applied to a flexible cable having a thin thickness, in the case of a plurality of disjointed signal lines, a gap is formed between the signal lines and water stoppage is not reliable. In addition, in the structure where the holes through which the signal lines pass are sealed with a sealant, in the case of a plurality of bundled signal lines, it is necessary to ensure that the sealant flows between the signal lines. It is not easy to confirm whether or not the sealant has flowed reliably between the signal lines and the seal is sealed, and it is difficult to improve the reliability of waterproofing.

Patent Document 1 discloses a waterproof structure in which a flexible cable and a sealant are combined, but a highly reliable waterproof structure can be realized only by adopting the flexible cable, and a plurality of disjointed waterproof structures can be realized. It does not solve the problem of adopting the signal line.

In the case of a flexible cable, for example, it is convenient to connect a plurality of adjacent points in the main body unit of a mobile phone and a plurality of adjacent points in the display unit, but in the main body unit, When connecting multiple points that are separated from each other and multiple points that are also separated from each other in the display unit, use multiple independent signal lines and use only between the main unit and the display unit. A structure in which wiring is performed almost integrally is advantageous except for waterproofness.<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-93510</text></patcit>

<p> In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof electronic device using a plurality of independent signal lines and having a waterproof structure.</p>

<p> The waterproof electronic device of the present invention It has a bottom plate, a top plate, and a side wall that surrounds the bottom plate and the top plate to form an internal space in cooperation with the bottom plate and the top plate, and at least a part of the side plate is a standing wall on the bottom plate side and a side wall on the top plate side. A housing formed by including a plurality of members divided into a hanging wall, and The first double-sided tape, which is attached to the upper end surface of the standing wall and extends along the standing wall, A second double-sided tape that sticks to the lower end of the hanging wall and extends along the hanging wall, It is equipped with a cable that passes between the vertical wall and the hanging wall and extends inside and outside the housing. The above cable With multiple signal lines, It has at least a flat tube that surrounds a plurality of signal lines and is arranged in a portion sandwiched between the standing wall and the hanging wall in the direction in which the standing wall and the hanging wall extend. The first double-sided tape and the second double-sided tape adhere to the outer surface of the tube at the portion where the cable is sandwiched between the vertical wall and the hanging wall, and adhere to each other at the portion adjacent to the tube to keep the outer circumference of the tube watertight. It is characterized by being a thing.</p><p> The waterproof electronic device of the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of signal lines are passed through a tube, and the tube is formed into a flat shape on the wall portion of the housing and adhered with first and second double-sided tapes. Therefore, even if there are multiple signal lines, it can be handled like a flexible cable by passing it through the tube and making it flat, and by flattening it so that it has sufficient flatness and sandwiching it with double-sided tape. It can be a waterproof structure.</p><p> Here, in the waterproof electronic device of the present invention, the cable further surrounds a plurality of signal lines arranged inside the tube at least in the portion where the cable is sandwiched between the standing wall and the hanging wall. It is preferable to have a restraining component that restrains the entire signal line of the book into a flat shape.</p><p> In the case of a structure via the above-mentioned restraint part, the flatness of the cable can be maintained at the specified flatness by the restraint part, and the tube surrounding the restraint part is also prevented from wrinkling and has a specified shape. It can be maintained, and therefore the variation in the shape of the cable is suppressed and the reliability of the waterproof performance is improved.</p><p> Further, in the waterproof electronic device of the present invention, it is preferable that the portion of the vertical wall and the hanging wall through which the cable passes has a recessed shape in which the height of the wall is reduced as compared with the portions on both sides of the portion.</p><p> Even if the cable is kept flat, the cable has some thickness. Therefore, a more stable waterproof structure can be maintained by forming a recessed shape in the portion of the standing wall and the hanging wall through which the cable passes.</p><p> Here, it is preferable that the tube is made of a waterproof soft material.</p><p> When the tube is made of a soft material, a sufficiently flat shape can be easily formed.</p><p> Further, it is preferable that the double-sided tape base material is made of a material whose thickness is reduced by pressurization.</p><p> When the double-sided tape base material is made of a material whose thickness is reduced by pressurization, the double-sided tape easily fits around the flat tube, which helps to improve the waterproof performance.</p><p> Further, the waterproof electronic device of the present invention is suitable for an electronic device having two housings.</p><p> The waterproof electronic device of the present invention having such a structure A first bottom plate, a first top plate, a first bottom plate, and a first top plate that surrounds the first top plate and jointly forms an internal space with the first bottom plate and the first top plate. It has a side wall, and is formed by including a plurality of members having at least a part of the first side plate divided into a first standing wall on the first bottom plate side and a first hanging wall on the first top plate side. The first housing and A first double-sided tape that is attached to the upper end surface of the first standing wall and extends along the first standing wall, A second double-sided tape that is adhered to the lower end surface of the first hanging wall and extends along the first hanging wall, A second bottom plate, a second top plate, a second bottom plate, and a second top plate that surrounds the second top plate and jointly forms an internal space with the second bottom plate and the second top plate. It has a side wall, and is formed by including a plurality of members having at least a part of the second side plate divided into a second standing wall on the second bottom plate side and a second hanging wall on the second top plate side. The second housing and A third double-sided tape that is attached to the upper end surface of the second standing wall and extends along the second standing wall, A fourth double-sided tape that is adhered to the lower end surface of the second hanging wall and extends along the second hanging wall, It passes between the first standing wall and the first hanging wall, extends from the inside to the outside of the first housing, and further passes between the second standing wall and the second hanging wall. With a cable that extends to the inside of the second housing, The above cable With multiple signal lines, Surrounding these multiple signal lines, at least in both the part sandwiched between the first standing wall and the first hanging wall and the part sandwiched between the second standing wall and the second hanging wall, flattened. Has a formed tube and The first double-sided tape and the second double-sided tape stick to the outer surface of the tube at the part where the cable is sandwiched between the first standing wall and the first hanging wall, and stick to each other at the part adjacent to the tube. To keep the water tight The third double-sided tape and the fourth double-sided tape stick to the outer surface of the tube at the part where the cable is sandwiched between the second standing wall and the second hanging wall, and stick to each other at the part adjacent to the tube. It is characterized in that it keeps watertight.</p>

<p> According to the above invention, it is possible to impart sufficient waterproof performance to an electronic device having a plurality of signal lines extending inside and outside the housing.</p>

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the waterproof electronic device of the present invention.

The mobile phone 10 has a main body unit 20 and a display unit 30 attached to the main body unit 20 so as to be openable and closable via a hinge 11.

The main unit 20 is provided with a plurality of arranged keys 21, and the display unit 30 is provided with a display screen 31 for displaying an image.

The main body unit 20 includes a housing 200 of the main body unit 20, and the housing 200 contains an electronic circuit (not shown) for executing various functions. The display unit 30 also includes a housing 300 of the display unit, and the housing 300 also has an electronic circuit (shown) for displaying an image on the display screen 31 and executing various other functions. Is built-in. The electronic circuit in the housing 200 of the main unit 20 and the electronic circuit in the housing 300 of the display unit 30 are connected to each other by a cable 400 (see FIG. 2) having a plurality of signal lines.

The mobile phone 10 has a function of making a telephone call, sending and receiving an e-mail, and the like using wireless communication. It should be noted that the functions of the mobile phone are not the subject here, and the basic functions are widely known, so further description thereof will be omitted here.

2 and 3 are exploded perspective views showing the housing of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 divided into an upper case and a lower case.

The housing 200 of the main body unit 20 of the mobile phone 10 is composed of an upper case 210 and a lower case 220, and similarly, the housing 300 of the display unit 30 is also composed of an upper case 310 and a lower case 320. There is. The hinge 11 is configured in the upper cases 211 and 311 of the main body unit 20 and the display unit 30 respectively.

The upper case 210 of the main body unit 20 has a top plate 211 in which a large number of keys 21 are arranged, and a hanging wall 221 that hangs from the periphery of the top plate 211 toward the lower case 220 and surrounds the top plate 211. On the other hand, the lower case 220 has a bottom plate 221 and a standing wall 222 that stands around the bottom plate 221 and surrounds the bottom plate 221.

Similarly to this, the upper case 310 of the display unit 30 hangs down from the top plate 311 provided with the display screen 31 and the periphery of the top plate 311 toward the lower case 320 to surround the top plate 311. The lower case 320 has a bottom plate 321 and a standing wall 322 that erected around the bottom plate 321 and surrounds the bottom plate 321.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the housing 200 of the main unit 20 and the inside of the housing 300 of the display unit 30 are connected by a cable 400.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cable extending between the main body unit and the display unit, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the arrow AA shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the arrow BB shown in FIG. Is. FIG. 5 (B) is an enlarged view of the circle R1 portion shown in FIG. 5 (A).

Here, a part of the lower case 220 on the main body unit side and a part of the lower case 320 on the display unit side are shown, and the upper cases 210 and 310 (see FIG. 2) are not shown.

Double-sided tape 223,323 is attached to the upper end surfaces of the vertical walls 222,322 of the lower case 220,320, and the cable 400 passes over the double-sided tape 223, 323. Further, in FIG. 4, the upper cases 210 and 310 are not shown, but double-sided tape is also attached to the lower end surfaces of the hanging walls 212 and 312 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the upper cases 210 and 310. , The double-sided tape 213,313 attached to the lower end surface of the hanging walls 212,312 of the upper case 210,310 is shown. That is, the cable 400 is a double-sided tape on the lower end surfaces of the hanging walls 212 and 312 of the upper cases 210 and 310 in the portion that goes out from the inside of the housing 200 of the main body unit 20 and the part that enters the inside of the housing 300 of the display unit 30 from the outside. It is sandwiched between 213,313 and the double-sided tape 222,323 on the upper end surface of the standing wall 222,322 of the lower case 220,320.

The cable 400 has a plurality of thin signal lines 401 and a thin film tube 402 surrounding the signal lines 401. The thin film tube 402 is made of a waterproof soft material, and at the portion sandwiched between the hanging wall 212,312 and the standing wall 222,322, as shown in FIG. 5, the hanging wall 212,312 and the standing wall 222,322 are flattened in the extending direction. It is formed. The double-sided tape 213,313; 223,323 sandwiching the tube 400 is made of a material whose thickness is reduced by pressurization (for example, urethane-based material or olefin-based material), and as shown in FIG. 5, the cable 400 has a vertical wall 212,312 and a standing wall. The portion sandwiched between 222 and 322 adheres to the outer surface of the tube 402, and the portion adjacent to the tube 402 adheres to each other to keep the outer circumference of the tube 402 watertight. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the flat end portion 402a of the tube 402 has an arc with a very small radius and is in close contact with the double-sided tapes 213 and 223 to maintain watertightness. Although FIG. 5 is a cross section of the housing 200 on the main body unit 20 side, the same applies to the display unit 30 side.

Next, a modified example of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of the lower case of the main body unit side housing in the first modified example, and FIG. 8 is a cable sandwiched between the hanging wall and the vertical wall of the housing in the first modified example. It is sectional drawing which shows the part.

The vertical wall 222 of the lower case 220 has a recessed shape 222a in a portion through which the cable 400 (see FIG. 8) passes, in which the height of the vertical wall is reduced as compared with the portions on both sides of the portion. As shown in FIG. 8, the same applies to the hanging wall 212 of the upper case 210, and the portion through which the cable 400 passes has a recessed shape 212a in which the height of the hanging wall is reduced. The cable 400 passes through the recessed portions 222a and 212a of the vertical wall 222 and the vertical wall 212, and the double-sided tape 213 attached to the lower end surface of the vertical wall 221 and the double-sided tape attached to the upper end surface of the vertical wall 222. It is sandwiched between 223.

In this way, when the recessed shapes 212a and 222a are formed on the hanging wall 212 and the vertical wall 222 and the cable 400 is arranged in the recessed shape 212a and 222a, the compression of the double-sided tape 213 and 223 due to the thickness of the cable 400 is small. A more reliable watertight structure can be realized.

Here, the depth of the recessed shapes 212a and 222a is h, the height of the adhesive part when the upper and lower cases are combined is L, the double-sided tape thickness (uncompressed) is T, and the double-sided tape thickness (compressed) is T._comp, When the diameter of the thin cable is φd, the film thickness of the tube is t, and the number of signal lines in the thickness direction is n, L = 2 × (h + t + T)_comp) + N × φd, where h is the depth at which h &lt;T.

Although the main unit side has been described here, the same applies to the display unit side.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of the second modification in which the cable is sandwiched between the hanging wall and the standing wall of the housing.

Here, the differences from the first modification shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described.

The feature of this second modification is the structure of the cable 400, in which the cable 400 shown in FIG. 9 is constrained in addition to the plurality of signal lines 401 and tube 402 similar to the cable shown in FIG. It has a part 403.

The restraint component 403 is arranged inside the tube 402 at the portion where the cable 400 is sandwiched between the hanging wall 212 and the vertical wall 222, surrounds the plurality of signal lines 401, and forms the plurality of signal lines into a flat shape. It plays a role of restraint. The restraint part 403 is made of a thin metal or resin, and can hold a plurality of signal lines at a specified flatness as a whole, and the restraint part 403 suppresses the occurrence of wrinkles in the tube 402. As a result, the adhesion between the tube 402 and the double-sided tapes 213 and 223 is improved.

As a result, the stability of the shape of the tube can be improved, and the reliability of the waterproof performance can be further improved.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of the mobile phone to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a portion shown by a circle R2 in FIG.

Similar to the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 includes a main body unit 20 and a display unit 30 that opens and closes the main body unit 20 via a hinge 11. In the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1, the housing 200 of the main body unit 20 is composed of the upper case 210 and the lower case 220, the housing 300 of the display unit 30 is also composed of the upper case 310 and the lower case 320, and the cable 400 is the upper case. The structure is sandwiched between 210,310 and the lower cases 220,320. The mobile phone shown in FIG. 10 is a part of the upper case of the main body unit 20 of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 on the hinge 11 side and the upper part of the display unit 30. A part of the case on the hinge 11 side is integrally composed of a separate part called the hinge cover 110, and the cable 400 is sandwiched between the lower cases 210 and 310 of the main body unit 20 and the display unit 30 and the hinge cover 110. It has a structure. Other elements are the same as in the case of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cable is not necessarily sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case, and the present invention surrounds the bottom plate, the top plate, the bottom plate, and the top plate, and the bottom plate and the top plate. It has a side wall shared with the top plate to form an internal space, and has a housing composed of a plurality of members in which at least a part of the side wall is divided into a standing wall on the bottom plate side and a hanging wall on the top plate side. It can be applied to any electronic device.

<figref num="1">It is external perspective view of the mobile phone which is one Embodiment of the waterproof electronic device of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the housing of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 divided into an upper case and a lower case.</figref><figref num="3">FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the housing of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 divided into an upper case and a lower case.</figref><figref num="4">It is a perspective view which showed the cable extending between a main body unit and a display unit.</figref><figref num="5">It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow AA shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="6">It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow BB shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="7">It is a perspective view which shows a part of the lower case of the main body unit side housing in the 1st modification.</figref><figref num="8">FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of a cable sandwiched between a hanging wall and a standing wall of a housing in the first modification.</figref><figref num="9">It is sectional drawing which shows the part where the cable is sandwiched between the hanging wall and the standing wall of the housing in the 2nd modification.</figref><figref num="10">It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the mobile phone to which this invention is applied.</figref><figref num="11">FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by the circle R2.</figref>

Code description

10 mobile phones 11 hinge 20 Body unit 21 key 30 display unit 31 Display screen 110 hinge cover 200,300 housing 210,211,310,311 Upper case 210,310,220 Lower case 211,311 Top plate 212,312 hanging wall 212a, 222a Indented shape 213,313,223,323 Double-sided tape 220,320 lower case 221,321 Bottom plate hanging wall 222,322 Standing wall 400 cable 401 signal line 402 Thin film tube 402a end 403 Restraint parts