U.S. patent application number 11/594107 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-08 for portable terminal device.
This patent application is currently assigned to FUJITSU LIMITED. Invention is credited to Toshiyuki Itoh, Kazuhiro Kakuguchi, Yoshiaki Kato, Atsuko Yamamoto.
Application Number | 20070054707 11/594107 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33403372 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070054707 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kakuguchi; Kazuhiro ; et
al. |
March 8, 2007 |
Portable terminal device
Abstract
The present invention relates to a portable terminal device,
such as a cellular phone, which has a screen display section, such
as an LCD module, in its upper part and a key manipulation section
having an array of plural keys in its lower part. The portable
terminal device has a removable battery and is highly protected
from water especially in a battery area. There is provided a pair
of inner housings, that are a backside inner housing and a front
side inner housing, which form a battery compartment having an
opening for battery insertion/removal. A key manipulation sheet is
disposed on the front side inner housing, and the whole components
are covered with a pair of outer housings.
Inventors: |
Kakuguchi; Kazuhiro;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Kato; Yoshiaki;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Yamamoto; Atsuko;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Itoh; Toshiyuki;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WESTERMAN, HATTORI, DANIELS & ADRIAN, LLP
1250 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, NW
SUITE 700
WASHINGTON
DC
20036
US
|
Assignee: |
FUJITSU LIMITED
Kawasaki-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
33403372 |
Appl. No.: |
11/594107 |
Filed: |
November 8, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10765221 |
Jan 28, 2004 |
7149558 |
|
|
11594107 |
Nov 8, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/575.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 1/3883 20130101;
H04M 1/0262 20130101; H04M 1/18 20130101; H04M 1/725 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/575.1 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/00 20060101
H04M001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 28, 2003 |
JP |
JP 2003-089553 |
Claims
1. A portable terminal device driven with power supplied from a
battery, the device comprising: an outer housing that forms the
outer surface of the portable terminal device and has a first
opening in a bottom thereof; and an inner housing that is disposed
in the inner space formed by the outer housing and forms a battery
compartment into which the battery is to be removably inserted;
wherein the inner housing has a second opening in such a position
that corresponds to the first opening, and the portable terminal
device is so configured as to allow the battery to be removably
inserted into the battery compartment in a slidable manner through
the first and second openings.
2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the
inner housing is formed by combining a first inner housing that
forms a first inner wall of the battery compartment with a second
inner housing that forms a second inner wall of the battery
compartment.
3. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further
comprising a key manipulation section having an array of a
plurality of keys, the key manipulation section being disposed on
the inner housing.
4. The portable terminal device according to claim 2, further
comprising a key manipulation section having an array of a
plurality of keys, the key manipulation section being disposed on
the inner housing.
5. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further
comprising a lid attached to the outer housing and capable of
closing the first opening in an openable manner.
6. The portable terminal device according to claim 2, further
comprising a lid attached to the outer housing and capable of
closing the first opening in an openable manner.
7. The portable terminal device according to claim 3, further
comprising a lid attached to the outer housing and capable of
closing the first opening in an openable manner.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.
10/765,221 filed Jan. 28, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a portable terminal device,
such as a cellular phone, which has a block-like screen display
section, such as an LCD module, in its upper part and a sheet-like
key manipulation section having an array of plural keys in its
lower part.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In recent years, portable terminal devices including
cellular phones have become widely used. Some of these portable
terminal devices have various additional capabilities, for example,
are made waterproof.
[0006] In conventional waterproof portable terminal devices, a
battery pack is located externally, and a cover is placed over the
battery that is once mounted. Such a configuration requires a
large-area and large-scale mechanism to hold the battery pack,
protect it from water and hermetically seal in it, resulting in
larger portable terminal devices.
[0007] Various techniques have been proposed to protect
conventional portable terminal devices from water.
[0008] For example, in the patent reference 1, there is proposed an
arrangement in which two housings surround an object and a packing
is fitted into the gap between the housings engaged with each
other.
[0009] In the patent reference 2, there is disclosed a case having
an outer part made of a soft resin and an inner part made of a hard
resin.
[0010] In these patent references, however, there is no description
of a small-sized arrangement which has a removable battery pack and
is highly waterproof.
[0011] Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
10-70375
[0012] Patent reference 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
6-268548
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present
invention is to provide a portable terminal device which has a
removable battery and is highly protected from water especially in
a battery housing compartment.
[0014] To attain the object described above, the present invention
provides a portable terminal device having, in the upper part, a
screen display section and, in the lower part, a key manipulation
section having an array of a plurality of keys, including:
[0015] a first outer housing that covers the back side of contents
including the screen display section and the key manipulation
section;
[0016] a second outer housing that covers the front side of
contents including the screen display section and the key
manipulation section, the first and second outer housings having an
outer opening formed at the bottom end thereof;
[0017] a first inner housing that is disposed in the space formed
by the first and second outer housings and forms an inner wall of a
battery compartment close to the first outer housing, a battery
being slided into the battery compartment through the bottom end of
the battery compartment;
[0018] a second inner housing that is disposed in the space formed
by the first and second outer housings and forms an inner wall of
the battery compartment close to the second outer housing, the
first and second inner housings having an inner opening for battery
insertion/removal formed at the bottom end thereof; and
[0019] a third outer housing serving as a lid for closing the outer
and inner openings in an openable manner,
[0020] in which the key manipulation section is disposed on the
second inner housing.
[0021] According to the present invention, a strongly-built battery
compartment is provided in the portable terminal device, since the
inner housings are disposed in the outer housings. The battery is
slided into the battery compartment through the bottom end of the
compartment. Thus, the passage connecting the battery compartment
to the outside has the minimum possible cross-section and can be
readily blocked. Thus, the waterproofing property is improved.
[0022] The key manipulation section is disposed on the second inner
housing, and therefore, keys can be easily manipulated with the
inner housing serving as a support.
[0023] Preferably, the portable terminal device according to the
present invention further includes a circuit board disposed in the
first outer housing, the screen display section is disposed on the
circuit board at the upper part thereof, and the first inner
housing covers the circuit board in cooperation with the first
outer housing and surrounds the side faces of the screen display
section.
[0024] With such a structure, the circuit board and the screen
display section are covered with the housings, and thus, the
waterproofing property is further improved.
[0025] Furthermore, in the portable terminal device according to
the present invention, a joint between the housings is preferably
filled with a filler, or the circuit board is preferably coated
with a filler.
[0026] This can further improve the waterproofing property.
[0027] Furthermore, in the portable terminal device according to
the present invention, a label may be affixed to or printed on a
wall of the third outer housing which constitutes an inner wall of
the battery compartment.
[0028] In conventional devices, the label is affixed to the wall of
the space accommodating the battery. However, according to the
present invention, the battery compartment is opened only at the
bottom, so that the label cannot be affixed to or printed on the
inside walls of the battery compartment.
[0029] According to the present invention, there is provided the
third outer housing serving as a lid for blocking the opening of
the battery compartment, and thus, the label can be affixed to or
printed on the inside wall of the third outer housing which
constitutes an inside wall of the battery compartment.
[0030] As described above, according to the present invention,
there is provided a portable terminal device which has a removable
battery and is highly waterproof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of components of a cellular
phone, which is an embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cellular phone
in an assembly step following the step shown in FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 2;
[0034] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 3;
[0035] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 4;
[0036] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 5;
[0037] FIG. 7 shows a mounting hardware member of a lid viewed from
a direction different from that in FIG. 6;
[0038] FIG. 8 shows the lid viewed from another direction;
[0039] FIG. 9 illustrates a process of attaching the lid to a main
unit;
[0040] FIG. 10 shows a label affixed to an inner wall of the lid
which constitutes an inner wall of a battery compartment; and
[0041] FIG. 11 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the
cellular phone taken along the arrow X-X in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0042] Now, an embodiment of the present invention will be
described. In the following, a cellular phone, which is an
embodiment of a portable terminal device according to the present
invention, will be described.
[0043] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of components of the cellular
phone, which is an embodiment of the present invention.
[0044] FIG. 1 shows a circuit board 10. The circuit board 10 has a
small speaker 11 mounted at the uppermost part thereof and a
connector 12 fixed thereto and located toward the upper end from
the middle thereof. To the connector 12, a connector part 22, which
is constituted by a flexible circuit board, of an image display
module 20 having an LCD display screen (liquid crystal display
screen) 21 is inserted. The image display module 20 is placed on
the circuit board 10 at an upper section 10a.
[0045] In this drawing, the circuit board 10 has, in its lower
section 10b, a connector 13 for a key manipulation section for
entry of a telephone number or the like, a battery armature module
14 to be brought into contact with a battery (not shown) for
receiving power, and some other circuit components 15. Although not
shown in this drawing, at the middle area of the lower section 10b
of the circuit board 10 which is surrounded by these circuit
components, there are many other circuit components mounted.
[0046] Among these circuit components mounted at the lower section
10b of the circuit board 10, to the connector 13, a connector part
31 of a flexible substrate 30 for constituting the key manipulation
section is inserted and, thus, the flexible substrate is supplied
with electric power.
[0047] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cellular phone
in an assembly step following the step shown in FIG. 1.
[0048] In this step, a backside outer housing 40 is fitted to the
back surface of the circuit board 10 with the image display module
20 mounted thereon and the flexible substrate 30 plugged into the
connector 13 as described above. A backside inner housing 50 is
mounted on the front surface of the circuit board 10. The backside
outer housing 40 has channels 41 extending longitudinally along the
both sides.
[0049] The backside inner housing 50 has, in its upper section, an
opening 51 piercing therethrough and surrounding the image display
module 20 and, in its lower section, a recess section 52 to
constitute a battery compartment. The recess section 52 has no wall
at the bottom end 52a, providing an opening for battery insertion.
The back surface of the backside inner housing 50 is recessed so
that a space that accommodates the circuit board 10 is provided
between the backside outer housing 40 and the backside inner
housing 50 placed on the backside outer housing 40. In addition,
the backside inner housing 50 has flanges 53 to be fitted into the
channels 41 at the both sides of the backside outer housing 40.
[0050] Once the backside outer housing 40 is fitted to the back
surface of the circuit board 10, and the backside inner housing 50
is mounted on the front surface of the circuit board 10, the
circuit board 10 is sealed in between the inner surface of the
backside outer housing 40 and the back surface of the backside
inner housing 50, and the image display module 20 mounted on the
circuit board 10 is surrounded by the walls constituting the
opening 51 at the upper section of the backside inner housing
50.
[0051] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 2.
[0052] After the circuit board 10 (see FIG. 2) is sandwiched
between the backside outer housing 40 and the backside inner
housing 50 as described with reference to FIG. 2, a frontside inner
housing 60 is placed over the lower section of the backside inner
housing 50 where the recess section 52 to constitute the battery
compartment is formed. The frontside inner housing 60 has, on its
front side, a recess section 61 in which the key manipulation
section (not shown in this drawing) is to be placed and, on its
back side, a recess section 62 which cooperates with the recess
section 52 of the backside inner housing 50 to define the battery
compartment. The recess section 62 forming the battery compartment
has no wall at the bottom end 62a, and the bottom end 62a and the
bottom end 52a of the backside inner housing 50 cooperatively
provide the opening for inserting/removing a battery to/from the
battery compartment.
[0053] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 3.
[0054] After the frontside inner housing 60 is placed over the
backside inner housing 50 as shown in FIG. 3, the flexible
substrate 30 for constituting the key manipulation section is
mounted in the recess section 61 on the front of the front side
inner housing 60. Then, a key manipulation sheet 70, which also
constitutes the key manipulation section and is to turn on/off
contacts on the flexible substrate 30, is mounted on the flexible
substrate 30.
[0055] In FIG. 4, there is shown an opening 80 at the bottom end
for inserting/removing a battery into/from the battery compartment,
which is formed by the backside inner housing 50 and the frontside
inner housing 60.
[0056] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 4.
[0057] After the key manipulation section consisting of the
flexible substrate 30 and the key manipulation sheet 70 is placed
on the frontside inner housing 60, as shown in FIG. 4, a frontside
outer housing 90 is placed thereon. The frontside outer housing 90
has a display window 91, which is fitted with a transparent plastic
plate, in its upper section of the frontside outer housing 90 over
the image display module 20 (see FIGS. 1 to 4) and an array of
manipulation elements in its lower section over the key
manipulation section (see FIG. 4) consisting of the flexible
substrate 30 and the key manipulation sheet 70, each of the
manipulation elements exerting a pressure on the key manipulation
sheet 70 when it is pressed, thereby causing a contact on the
flexible substrate 30 to conduct electricity.
[0058] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly
step following the step shown in FIG. 5.
[0059] FIG. 6 shows a main unit 100 assembled in the steps shown in
FIGS. 1 to 5 and a lid 110. The main unit 100 has, at the bottom
end thereof, the opening 80 for battery insertion/removal which is
defined by the backside inner housing 50 and the frontside inner
housing 60 and an opening 81 surrounding the opening 80 which is
defined by the backside outer housing 40 and the frontside outer
housing 90. The opening 80 for battery insertion/removal defined by
the backside inner housing 50 and the frontside inner housing 60 is
accommodated in the opening 81 defined by the backside outer
housing 40 and the frontside outer housing 90.
[0060] The lid 110 is to block the opening 80 for battery
insertion/removal formed in the main unit 100 in an openable
manner. The lid 110 has a hook 111 at one end thereof and a
mounting hardware member 112 at the other end thereof.
[0061] Although any retainer for retaining the lid 110 is not shown
in FIGS. 1 to 5 described so far, FIG. 6 shows a retainer 102 for
retaining the mounting hardware member 112 of the lid 110.
[0062] FIG. 7 shows the mounting hardware member of the lid viewed
from a direction different from that in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 shows
the lid viewed from another direction. For convenience of mounting
or removing the lid 110 on or from the bottom end of the main unit
100, a part of the lid 110 close to the hook 111 is flexible so
that it is bent as shown in FIG. 8 when a force is applied
thereto.
[0063] FIG. 9 illustrates a process of attaching the lid 110 to the
main unit 100.
[0064] The main unit 100 has a retainer 101 for retaining the hook
111 of the lid 110 on one side surface thereof and the retainer 102
for retaining the mounting hardware member 112 of the lid 110 on
the other side surface thereof.
[0065] When attaching the lid 110 to the bottom end of the main
unit 100, the hook 111 of the lid 110 is engaged with the retainer
101 of the main unit 100 so that the lid 110 covers the bottom end
of the main unit 100, and the mounting hardware member 112 of the
lid 110 is engaged with the retainer 102 of the main unit 100, as
shown in Part (A) of FIG. 9. Then, as shown in Parts (B) and (C) of
FIG. 9, a lever 112a of the mounting hardware member 112 is rotated
to a position where it comes into contact with the main unit
100.
[0066] On the other hand, when removing the lid 110 from the main
unit 100, the lever 112a of the mounting hardware member 112 which
is in the position shown in Part (C) of FIG. 9 is rotated to the
position shown in Part (B) of FIG. 9, and then, to the position
shown in Part (A) of FIG. 9. Thus, the mounting hardware member 112
is detached from the retainer 102. Once the mounting hardware
member 112 is detached from the retainer 102, the opening 80 (see
FIG. 6) can be uncovered and the battery can be inserted to or
removed from the battery compartment without detaching the hook 111
of the lid 100 from the retainer 101, due to the flexibility of the
lid as shown in FIG. 8. If the hook 111 of the lid 110 is detached
from the retainer 101 of the main unit 100, the lid is separated
from the main unit 100.
[0067] FIG. 10 shows a label affixed to the inner wall of the lid
110 which constitutes an inner wall of the battery compartment.
[0068] This label can be seen when the lid 110 is viewed from the
direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8.
[0069] In the case of this cellular phone, only the opening 80 (see
FIG. 6) of the battery compartment can be seen externally only when
the lid 110 is removed. Thus, unlike conventional cellular phones,
the label cannot be affixed to the battery mount in the battery
compartment. Therefore, the label describing the specifications,
the model number or the like is affixed to the inner wall of the
lid 110. This also holds true for the case of directly printing the
specifications, the model number or the like instead of using such
a label.
[0070] FIG. 11 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the
cellular phone taken along the arrow X-X in FIG. 6.
[0071] The flange 53 of the backside inner housing 50 is fitted
into the channel 41 (see FIG. 2) of the backside outer housing 40,
and the circuit board 10 with the circuit component mounted thereon
is disposed between the backside outer housing 40 and the backside
inner housing 50. On the backside outer housing 40, the frontside
outer housing 90 is disposed with their outer surfaces seamlessly
connected.
[0072] In the surface of the outermost edge of the backside outer
housing 40 which is brought into contact with the edge of the
frontside outer housing 90, a groove 43 extending in the direction
perpendicular to the sheet of FIG. 11 is formed. Similarly, in the
surface of the outermost edge of the frontside outer housing 90
which is brought into contact with the edge of the backside outer
housing 40, a groove 93 extending in the direction perpendicular to
the sheet of FIG. 11 is formed. The grooves 43 and 93 are filled
with a waterproof filler 120 when assembling the cellular phone.
Similarly, the channel 41 (see FIG. 2) of the backside outer
housing 40, into which the flange 53 of the backside inner housing
50 is fitted, is filled with the waterproof filler 120 when
assembling the cellular phone.
[0073] In addition, the circuit components on the circuit board 10
are coated with a waterproof filler 121 of a foam material, which
is expandable in consideration of weight reduction.
[0074] Since the joint between the housings and the space over the
circuit board are filled with the fillers in this way, the
waterproofing property is significantly improved.
[0075] Although the cellular phone has been described herein as an
example of the portable terminal device according to the present
invention, the portable terminal device according to the present
invention is not exclusively the cellular phone. The present
invention may be applied to PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA
(Personal Digital Assistants) or the like.
* * * * *