JP2012079468A - Electronic circuit unit and mounting structure for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin electronic circuit unit which facilitates mounting work for connecting and fixing to an external substrate such as a mother board, and a mounting structure for the electronic circuit unit.SOLUTION: An electronic circuit unit 1 has a connector 3, electronic elements 4, etc. mounted on one main surface 2a of a substrate 2, and a box-shaped shield cover 7 covers the electronic elements 4 on the side of the main surface 2a. On a top plate section 7a of the shield cover 7, a protruding portion 8 which protrudes in a direction away from the main surface 2a is integrally formed. By directly coupling the connector 3 to a mating connector 11 which is fixed on a mother board 10, the electronic circuit unit 1 is electrically connected with the mother board 10. Then the protruding portion 8 comes into contact with the mother board 10 to prevent the substrate 2 from tilting, and opposing surfaces of the top plate section 7a and the mother board 10 are bonded together by a press bonding means such as double-faced adhesive tape 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic circuit unit having a shield cover that covers an electronic element, and more particularly, an electronic circuit unit that is connector-connected to an external board such as a mother board in a stacked state, and an attachment structure of the electronic circuit unit to the external board It is about.

  In an electronic circuit unit provided with a high-frequency circuit or the like, an electronic element mounted on a substrate is usually covered with a box-shaped shield cover to be electromagnetically shielded. When such an electronic circuit unit is mounted on an external board such as a mother board and electrically and mechanically connected, a method of interposing a flexible cable is widely adopted, but it is attached when the connectors can be directly connected. Workability and space factor are improved. That is, a so-called BtoB (Board to Board) connector in which a connector mounted on a board of an electronic circuit unit and a connector mounted on an external board such as a mother board can be coupled in a relationship of a male connector and a female connector. For example, not only can the work of connecting both ends of the flexible cable to each connector portion of these two substrates be omitted, but there is no need to secure a space for arranging the flexible cable.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example in which an electronic circuit unit and a motherboard are connected by a BtoB connector (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the figure, an electronic circuit unit 20, which is a high-frequency circuit unit, includes a substrate 21 on which a plurality of electronic elements 22 are mounted on one surface, and a female connector 23 is mounted on the other surface of the substrate 21. A box-shaped shield cover 24 covering the electronic element 22 is attached to the substrate 21, and leg pieces 24 a extending from the shield cover 24 are inserted into attachment holes 26 provided in the mother board 25. A male connector 27 is mounted at a predetermined position of the mother board 25, and the electronic circuit unit 20 is electrically connected to the mother board 25 by inserting the female connector 23 into the male connector 27. Further, since the plurality of leg pieces 24a of the shield cover 24 are soldered to lands (not shown) of the mother board 25 in a state where the leg pieces 24a are inserted into the corresponding mounting holes 26, they are supported by the leg pieces 24a and the connectors 23 and 27. Thus, the electronic circuit unit 20 can be placed and fixed on the mother board 25 in a stable posture.

  Note that this type of electronic circuit unit may be used as a wireless LAN communication module. In that case, an antenna element such as a pattern antenna or a chip antenna is provided in an area that is not covered with a shield cover on the substrate of the electronic circuit unit. Is attached.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-163650

  By the way, in the above-described conventional example, not only the female connector 23 is inserted into the male connector 27 but also the leg pieces 24a of the shield cover 24 are connected to the mother board at the time of attaching and fixing the electronic circuit unit 20 to the mother board 25. Since it is necessary to solder to 25 corresponding lands, this soldering work is a factor which impairs mounting workability.

  Further, in the above-described conventional example, a plurality of electronic elements 22 are mounted on the upper surface of the substrate 21 of the electronic circuit unit 20 (the main surface not facing the mother board 25), and these electronic elements 22 are covered with the shield cover 24. I have to. This is because the distance between the substrate 21 and the mother board 25 defined by the height dimension at the time of connection (coupling) of the BtoB connector is narrow, and thus the electronic element 22 is arranged in this narrow space and covered with a shield cover. This is because it is difficult.

  However, in recent years, electronic devices such as semiconductor chips used in electronic circuit units have been promoted to be small and low in profile. Therefore, electronic devices are concentrated on the lower surface of the substrate 21 (the main surface facing the mother board 25). The structure covered with a shield cover is possible. Adopting such a configuration is preferable because the electronic circuit unit can be significantly reduced in thickness, but on the other hand, it becomes a cause for the fixing means that can easily fix the shield cover to the motherboard without using the leg pieces, and the connection failure of the BtoB connector. Posture holding means that can prevent the electronic circuit unit from tilting and wobbling are newly required. In other words, in a configuration in which the shield cover of the electronic circuit unit is disposed on the side facing the motherboard, there is a high possibility that a slight clearance will be generated between the shield cover and the facing surface of the motherboard, so the BtoB connector is connected. If it is only done, the electronic circuit unit is easy to tilt, and the electronic circuit unit with the BtoB connector as a fulcrum is likely to wobble. In the case of an electronic circuit unit in which an antenna element is attached to the substrate, the distance between the antenna element and the nearby ground changes due to the wobbling of the electronic circuit unit, which adversely affects antenna characteristics.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and a first object of the invention is to provide a thin electronic circuit unit that can be easily connected and fixed to an external substrate such as a mother board. There is. A second object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure for such an electronic circuit unit to an external substrate.

  In order to achieve the first object, an electronic circuit unit of the present invention includes a connector and an electronic element mounted on one side of a board, a box-shaped shield cover attached to the board and covering the electronic element, And a protrusion projecting in a direction away from one side of the board is integrally formed on the top surface of the shield cover, and the connector is coupled to a mating connector fixed on the external board. Thus, the protrusion is configured to come into contact with the external substrate.

  In the electronic circuit unit configured in this manner, the connector and the electronic element are mounted on one side of the board (the main surface facing the external board), and the shield cover that covers the electronic element is also arranged on the same side of the board. Therefore, a thin electronic circuit unit in which no electronic element or shield cover exists on the other surface side of the substrate can be obtained. Further, since the connector of the electronic circuit unit is a BtoB connector that can be coupled to a mating connector fixed on the external board, the connection work with the external board can be easily performed. In addition, when the two connectors are coupled (connected) in this way, the protruding portion projecting from the top surface of the shield cover comes into contact with the external board, so that the electronic circuit unit moves in a direction close to the external board. Therefore, it becomes easy to hold the substrate of the electronic circuit unit substantially parallel to the external substrate. In addition, since the projecting portion protrudes from the shield cover, a clearance is always generated between the opposing surfaces of the shield cover and the external substrate in a state where both connectors are coupled. Therefore, a fixing operation for joining the shield cover and the opposing surfaces of the external substrate to each other can be easily performed by interposing a double-sided adhesive tape or an adhesive in the clearance.

  In the above configuration, when the protrusions are provided at two locations on the shield cover, the electronic circuit unit can be supported on the external substrate by these two protrusions and one connector, so that the It is preferable because the posture of the circuit unit is easily stabilized.

  Further, in the above-described configuration, if a part of the shield cover is drawn to form a protrusion, the protrusion can be formed without generating a new opening in the shield cover, so that there is no possibility of impairing the electromagnetic shielding effect. However, a part of the shield cover may be cut and raised to form a protrusion. In this case, although the electromagnetic shield effect is slightly reduced, elasticity is imparted to the protrusion, so the variation in clearance between the shield cover and the external substrate Becomes easy to absorb.

  In the above configuration, when an antenna element is attached to at least a region of the substrate that is not covered by the shield cover, the electronic circuit unit that can be used as a communication module for wireless LAN is prevented from being tilted or wobbled. Therefore, the distance between the antenna element and the nearby ground does not vary, and good antenna characteristics can always be expected.

  In order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides an electronic circuit unit in which a connector and an electronic element are mounted on a substrate, and the electronic element is covered with a box-shaped shield cover, and the connector In the mounting structure of the electronic circuit unit, the electronic circuit unit is mounted on the external board, and the connector and the counterpart connector are coupled to each other. The connector and the electronic element are mounted on the main surface of the substrate facing the external substrate, and a protrusion protruding in a direction away from the main surface of the substrate is integrally formed on the top surface of the shield cover. In addition, while the mating connector and the connector are coupled, the protrusion is brought into contact with the external board, and the And so as to crimp the crimping means allowed interposed therebetween and Rudokaba facing surfaces each other of the external substrate.

  In this way, if the connector and the electronic element are mounted on one side of the board of the electronic circuit unit (the main surface facing the external board), and the shield cover that covers the electronic element is also arranged on the same side of the board, A thin electronic circuit unit having no electronic element or shield cover on the other side of the substrate can be obtained. Further, since the connector of the electronic circuit unit is a BtoB connector that can be coupled to a mating connector on the external board, the connection work with the external board can be easily performed. In addition, when the connectors are coupled to each other in this manner, the protruding portion protruding from the top surface of the shield cover comes into contact with the external board, so that the electronic circuit unit is restricted from moving in the direction close to the external board. Therefore, it becomes easy to hold the substrate of the electronic circuit unit substantially parallel to the external substrate. Moreover, since the shield cover is bonded to the external substrate through the pressure bonding means, the surface facing the external substrate is bonded to the external substrate, and therefore the electronic circuit unit is also restricted from moving away from the external substrate. Eliminates the risk of wobbling after installation.

  In the above configuration, when the pressure-bonding means is a double-sided adhesive tape, the opposing surfaces of the shield cover and the external substrate can be easily joined to each other, so that the mounting workability of the electronic circuit unit can be further improved. However, it is also possible to use an adhesive or the like as the crimping means.

  In the above configuration, if the region of the shield cover to be crimped to the crimping means is set between the projection and the connector in plan view, the projection and the connector are not affected even if an impact is applied to the electronic circuit unit. Since excessive stress is less likely to act, the effect of preventing tilting and wobbling of the electronic circuit unit is enhanced.

  In the above configuration, when the protrusions of the electronic circuit unit are provided at two locations on the shield cover, the electronic circuit unit can be supported at three points on the external substrate by the two protrusions and one connector. For this reason, the posture of the electronic circuit unit with respect to the external substrate is preferably stabilized.

  Further, in the above-described configuration, if a part of the shield cover is drawn to form a protrusion, the protrusion can be formed without generating a new opening in the shield cover, so that there is no possibility of impairing the electromagnetic shielding effect. However, a part of the shield cover may be cut and raised to form a protrusion. In this case, although the electromagnetic shield effect is slightly reduced, elasticity is imparted to the protrusion, so the variation in clearance between the shield cover and the external substrate Becomes easy to absorb.

  According to the electronic circuit unit of the present invention, since the connector, the electronic element, and the shield cover are arranged on one side of the board, it is easy to reduce the thickness, and the connector is directly coupled to the mating connector on the external board. Therefore, the connection work with the external substrate can be easily performed. In addition, when the connectors are coupled to each other in this way, the protruding portion projecting from the top surface of the shield cover comes into contact with the external substrate, so that the substrate of this electronic circuit unit is substantially parallel to the external substrate. It becomes easy to hold. In addition, since there is always a clearance between the opposing surfaces of the shield cover and the external board with both connectors coupled, the shield cover and the external board can be removed by interposing a double-sided adhesive tape or adhesive in the clearance. It is possible to easily perform a fixing operation for joining the opposing surfaces of each other. That is, the electronic circuit unit of the present invention is not only suitable for thinning, but also can be easily connected and fixed to an external substrate such as a mother board, and can easily prevent tilting and wobbling after mounting. It is easy to maintain the connection reliability.

  According to the electronic circuit unit mounting structure of the present invention, since the connector of the electronic circuit unit suitable for thinning can be directly coupled to the mating connector on the external board, the connection work of the electronic circuit unit to the external board can be performed. Easy to do. In addition, when the connectors are coupled to each other in this manner, the protruding portion protruding from the top surface of the shield cover comes into contact with the external substrate, so that the substrate of the electronic circuit unit can be easily held substantially parallel to the external substrate. It becomes. In addition, when both connectors are coupled in this manner, the shield cover is bonded to the external substrate through the crimping means, so that the electronic circuit unit can be easily fixed to the external substrate. That is, according to the mounting structure of the present invention, a thin electronic circuit unit can be easily connected and fixed to an external substrate such as a mother board, and tilting and wobbling after mounting can be easily prevented. Circuit unit mounting workability is good and connection reliability is easy to maintain.

1 is an external perspective view of an electronic circuit unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the state which attached the electronic circuit unit shown in FIG. 1 to the motherboard. It is an external appearance perspective view of the electronic circuit unit which concerns on the example of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which attached the electronic circuit unit which concerns on a prior art example to the motherboard.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. An electronic circuit unit 1 shown in these drawings is a high-frequency circuit unit designed as a communication module for a wireless LAN. Used by connecting to and fixing to.

  The electronic circuit unit 1 includes a rectangular substrate 2 on which a wiring pattern (not shown) is formed, a female connector 3 mounted on one main surface 2a of the substrate 2, an electronic element 4, an antenna connector 6, an antenna A pattern antenna 5 formed on the main surfaces 2a and 2b of the substrate 2 as an element and a box-shaped shield cover 7 fixed to the substrate 2 by soldering or the like and covering the electronic element 4 are schematically configured. Since there is no electronic element 4, shield cover 7, connector or the like on the other main surface 2b side of the substrate 2, the electronic circuit unit 1 is greatly reduced in thickness.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 3 of the electronic circuit unit 1 is a BtoB connector that can be coupled by being inserted into a male connector (mating connector) 11 on the motherboard 10. The female connector 3 is disposed at one end of the substrate 2 in the longitudinal direction, and the pattern antenna 5 is disposed at the other end of the substrate 2 in the longitudinal direction. Since the pattern antenna 5 is not covered with the shield cover 7 and does not overlap with the mother board 10, radio waves can be radiated efficiently. The antenna connector 6 is used at the time of characteristic inspection of the pattern antenna 5 or when an external antenna is connected.

  The shield cover 7 is formed by bending a metal plate. The shield cover 7 is electrically connected to a ground (not shown) in a state of covering the plurality of electronic elements 4 and functions to electromagnetically shield the electronic elements 4. In FIG. 1, protrusions 8 having a shape bulging upward in the figure and spaced apart from the main surface 2 a of the substrate 2 are integrally formed at two locations on the top plate portion 7 a of the shield cover 7. Since these projecting portions 8 are provided on the top plate portion 7a by drawing, there is no opening (hole) formed by the projecting portions 8 in the top plate portion 7a. The two protrusions 8 are in a substantially line-symmetrical positional relationship with the center line of the shield cover 7 along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2 as the symmetry axis, and the distances from the female connector 3 to the protrusions 8 are the same. A double-sided adhesive tape 12 is attached to the surface of the top plate portion 7a in a substantially half region on the female connector 3 side. The double-sided adhesive tape 12 is located between the two protrusions 8 and the female connector 3 in plan view.

  Since the electronic circuit unit 1 is mounted face-down on the motherboard 10, the surface of the top plate portion 7 a of the shield cover 7 is a surface facing the motherboard 10 as shown in FIG. 2. When the female connector 3 of the electronic circuit unit 1 is inserted into the male connector 11 fixed on the mother board 10 and coupled, the protrusions 8 protruding from the top plate 7a come into contact with the mother board 10, so that the protrusion 8 By predefining the protruding height of the board 2, the substrate 2 is arranged substantially parallel to the mother board 10. That is, the protrusion 8 functions as a height adjustment unit that prevents the electronic circuit unit 1 connected to the motherboard 10 with a BtoB connector from tilting. At this time, a clearance corresponding to the protruding height of the protruding portion 8 is defined between the top plate portion 7a and the mother board 10. If the thickness of the double-sided adhesive tape 12 is set to be equal to the clearance in advance, The top plate portion 7a and the mother board 10 can be pressure-bonded to the double-sided adhesive tape 12 without causing the protrusion 8 to float or the shield case 7 to tilt.

  As described above, the electronic circuit unit 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the female connector 3, the electronic element 4, the shield cover 7, and the like are concentrated on one main surface 2 a (facing surface facing the mother board 10) of the substrate 2. Therefore, it is a thin electronic circuit unit that can be easily connected to the motherboard 10 with a BtoB connector. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the electronic circuit unit 1 is connected to the motherboard 10 with a connector (coupled), the protruding portion 8 protruding from the shield cover 7 contacts the motherboard 10 and the electronic circuit unit 1 Since the downward movement in the figure is restricted, the electronic circuit unit 1 can easily hold the substrate 2 substantially parallel to the motherboard 10. Moreover, since the top plate portion 7a of the shield cover 7 is joined to the mother board 10 via the double-sided adhesive tape 12, the electronic circuit unit 1 is also restricted from moving away from the mother board 10, so that the electronic circuit There is no risk of the unit 1 wobbling after installation. That is, in the present embodiment example, the thin electronic circuit unit 1 can be easily connected and fixed to the mother board 10, and it is easy to prevent tilting and wobbling after the attachment. The mounting workability is good and the connection reliability is easy to maintain.

  In particular, in the case of the present embodiment example, the projecting portion 8 projects from the top plate portion 7 a 2 of the shield cover 7, and the electronic circuit unit 1 is mounted on the motherboard 10 by these two projecting portions 8 and the connectors 3 and 11. 3 can be supported in a well-balanced manner, so that the posture of the electronic circuit unit 1 with respect to the mother board 10 can be easily stabilized.

  In addition, in the case of the present embodiment, the area of the shield cover 7 to be crimped to the double-sided adhesive tape 12 is set between the protrusion 8 and the female connector 3 in plan view. Even if an impact is applied, excessive stress is unlikely to act on the protrusion 8 and the female connector 3, so that the effect of preventing the electronic circuit unit 1 from tilting and wobbling is increasing.

  Further, in the present embodiment example, since the protrusion 8 is integrally formed with the shield cover 7 by drawing, the protrusion 8 can be formed without generating a new opening in the shield cover 7. Therefore, even if the protrusion 8 is provided on the shield cover 7, the electromagnetic shielding effect is not impaired.

  In the present embodiment, the pattern antenna 5 is provided in a region of the substrate 2 that is not covered by the shield cover 7 and does not overlap the motherboard 10 in order to use the electronic circuit unit 1 as a communication module for wireless LAN. Is attached. As described above, since the electronic circuit unit 1 can be connected and fixed to the mother board 10 in a state in which tilting and wobbling are prevented, the possibility that the distance between the pattern antenna 5 and the nearby ground will vary is low, which is always good. Antenna characteristics can be expected. The antenna element attached to the substrate 2 is not limited to the pattern antenna and can be arbitrarily selected. For example, a chip antenna may be mounted.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. However, in FIG. 3, since the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part corresponding to FIG. 1, the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the electronic circuit unit 1 according to the second embodiment, protrusions 9 cut and raised in a tongue-like shape are integrally formed at two locations on the top plate portion 7a of the shield cover 7, and the protrusions of the first embodiment are described above. Similar to the portion 8, these protrusions 9 are brought into contact with a mother board (external substrate) to form a height adjusting portion that prevents the electronic circuit unit 1 from tilting. That is, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a tongue-like projection 9 is formed by cutting and raising instead of the bulging projection 8 formed by drawing. Is different. In this way, even if the tongue-like protrusion 9 is cut and raised on the top plate portion 7a of the shield cover 7, if the protrusion height is set to an appropriate dimension, the electronic circuit connected to the motherboard with the BtoB connector The tilt of the unit 1 can be easily prevented.

  In the case of the second embodiment, since the opening is formed in the shield cover 7 when the protrusion 9 is cut and raised, the electromagnetic shielding effect is slightly reduced. Since elasticity is imparted to the projecting portion 9, variations in the clearance between the top plate portion 7 a of the shield cover 7 and the mother board (external substrate) are easily absorbed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the top plate portion 7a of the shield cover 7 is pressure-bonded to the mother board (external substrate) using the double-sided adhesive tape 12. However, for example, pressure bonding means other than the double-sided adhesive tape such as an adhesive It is also possible to use.

  In each of the above embodiments, the female connector 3 provided in the electronic circuit unit 1 is described as being coupled to the male connector on the mother board. On the contrary, the female connector 3 is provided in the electronic circuit unit. The male connector may be coupled to the female connector on the motherboard.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where an antenna element such as the pattern antenna 5 is attached to the substrate 2 of the electronic circuit unit 1 has been described. By applying the invention, the mounting workability with respect to the mother board (external board) is improved, and the connection reliability is easily maintained.

1 Electronic circuit unit 2 Substrate 2a Main surface (one side)
3 Female connector (connector)
4 Electronic element 5 Pattern antenna (antenna element)
7 Shield cover 7a Top plate 8, 9 Protrusion 10 Motherboard (external board)
11 Male connector (mating connector)
12 Double-sided adhesive tape

Claims (11)

A connector and an electronic element mounted on one side of the board; and a box-shaped shield cover that is attached to the board and covers the electronic element, and is separated from the one side of the board on the top surface of the shield cover. Protrusions protruding in the direction are integrally formed,
An electronic circuit unit, wherein the protrusion is in contact with the external board in a state where the connector is coupled to a mating connector fixed on the external board.   The electronic circuit unit according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portions are provided to project at two locations of the shield cover.   3. The electronic circuit unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a part of the shield cover is drawn to form the protrusion.   3. The electronic circuit unit according to claim 1, wherein a part of the shield cover is cut and raised to form the protrusion.   5. The electronic circuit unit according to claim 1, wherein an antenna element is attached to at least a region of the substrate that is not covered by the shield cover. An electronic circuit unit in which a connector and an electronic element are mounted on a board, the electronic element is covered by a box-shaped shield cover, and an external board on which a mating connector that can be coupled to the connector is mounted In the mounting structure of the electronic circuit unit for mounting the electronic circuit unit on the external substrate and coupling the connector and the counterpart connector,
The connector and the electronic element are mounted on a main surface of the substrate facing the external substrate, and a protrusion protruding in a direction away from the main surface of the substrate is integrally formed on the top surface of the shield cover. In addition, in the state where the mating connector and the connector are coupled, the protruding portion is brought into contact with the external substrate, and the crimping means in which the opposing surfaces of the shield cover and the external substrate are interposed therebetween. An electronic circuit unit mounting structure characterized in that it is crimped.   7. The electronic circuit unit mounting structure according to claim 6, wherein the crimping means is a double-sided adhesive tape.   8. The electronic circuit unit attachment according to claim 6, wherein a region of the shield cover to be crimped to the crimping means is set between the protrusion and the connector in a plan view. Construction.   9. The electronic circuit unit mounting structure according to claim 6, wherein the protrusion is provided to protrude at two locations of the shield cover. 10.   The electronic circuit unit mounting structure according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein a part of the shield cover is drawn to form the protrusion.   The electronic circuit unit mounting structure according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein a part of the shield cover is cut and raised to form the protrusion.

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