TW202102107A - Electronic device and cable holder - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device includes a first body, a second body, a pivot mechanism, a flexible printed circuit cable and a cable holder. The pivot mechanism is pivotally connected between the first body and the second body. The flexible printed circuit cable passes through the pivot mechanism and has two sides respectively fixed inside the first body and the second body. The cable holder is fixed in the first body and adjacent to the pivot mechanism. The cable holder has a top surface, a bottom surface and a cable-hold passage extended from the top surface to the bottom surface. The flexible printed circuit cable passes through the cable-hold passage from the bottom surface to the top surface, and is folded reversely on the bottom surface and then bended reversely on the top surface again. A section of the flexible printed circuit cable between the top surface and the end fixed inside the second body remains tight. A cable holder is further provided.

Description

Electronic device and cable management

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a cable management member, in particular to an electronic device including a pivoting mechanism, which is provided with a cable management member to keep the flexible cable passing through the pivoting mechanism in tension.

Open-close electronic devices, such as laptops or mobile phones, often use flexible cables to connect the host and the display.

However, the display is usually pivoted to the host, so the flexible cable must inevitably pass through the pivoting mechanism between the host and the display. Ideally, the flexible cable must be kept in a tensioned state to avoid damage due to excessive deflection when the pivoting mechanism is activated. However, the flexible cable must cross the pivoting mechanism, so When the electronic device is closed and opened, the length of the tension is not the same, resulting in tolerances.

In order to keep the flexible cable tight during the opening, closing, or between the electronic device, a cable pulling mechanism can be provided on the host, the display or both to absorb the tolerance of the flexible cable.

However, in order to maintain the flexible cable in a tensioned state, the cable pulling mechanism must have complex components such as a torsion component and a winding component, thereby increasing the overall manufacturing cost and assembly complexity of the electronic device. In addition, there are often more than one flexible cable in the electronic device, and different flexible cables have different tolerances. Therefore, corresponding cable pulling mechanisms must be provided respectively, which occupy too much space inside the electronic device.

The invention provides an electronic device, which is provided with a cable management member capable of maintaining the tension of a flexible flat cable, and the cable management member has the advantages of low cost and small installation space.

The present invention provides a cable management member arranged in an electronic device, which has the advantages of low cost and small installation space.

The electronic device provided by the present invention includes a first body, a second body, a pivot mechanism, a flexible cable and a cable management member. The pivot mechanism is pivotally connected between the first body and the second body. The flexible flat cable passes through the pivoting mechanism and has two ends respectively fixed inside the first body and the second body. The cable management member is fixed in the first body and is adjacent to the pivoting mechanism. The cable management member has a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a cable management channel extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. The flexible cable is folded back through the cable management channel from the bottom surface of the cable management member, and is folded again on the top surface after passing through the cable management channel to face the pivot mechanism, and the flexible cable is reflexed to the cable management channel The top surface of the piece and the section fixed inside the second body are kept in a tensioned state.

The present invention also proposes the above-mentioned cable management member.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the pivoting mechanism has a wire inlet leading to the inside of the first body, and the wire inlet is provided with an abutting end, and the flexible cable is bent at the abutting end. The pivot mechanism further has a pivot axis, and the abutment end is adjacent to the pivot axis. When the pivot mechanism is activated, the abutment end rotates relative to the pivot axis.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible cable intersects at the pivot axis.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first body has a circuit board adjacent to the pivoting mechanism inside, the cable management member is provided with a limiting portion protruding toward the circuit board on the top surface, and the flexible cable is limited in the limiting position Between the department and the circuit board.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the limiting portion of the cable management member is provided with first positioning portions on both sides of the flexible cable, and the circuit board is provided with a plurality of second positioning portions corresponding to the first positioning portions respectively .

In an embodiment of the present invention, each first positioning portion is a positioning post, and each second positioning portion is a positioning hole.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the section between the bottom surface of the flexible cable management member and the end fixed to the first body is maintained in an untensioned state.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the cable management member extends along an extension direction of a pivot axis of the pivot mechanism, the number of cable management channels is multiple and they are aligned along the extension direction, and the number of flexible cables There are also many.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the cable management member is protrudingly provided with a limiting portion on the top surface, and the circuit board is relatively disposed at the limiting portion.

The electronic device of the embodiment of the present invention is provided with a cable management member in the first body, and the flexible cable can be kept in a tensioned state by folding twice in the cable management channel of the cable management member, and Do not occupy too much horizontal space in the first body. In addition, even if multiple flexible cables with different tolerances must be provided in the electronic device, the cable management member of the embodiment of the present invention can also have multiple parallel cable management channels. In addition, the cable management member only needs to bend the flexible cable twice, so there is no need to design an overly complicated structure, thereby reducing the cost of installing the flexible cable.

In order to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific examples are given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings to describe in detail as follows.

1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device installed with a cable management element and a flexible flat cable according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 1B is a partial cross-sectional view of the second body of the electronic device closed to the first body of an embodiment of the invention In a schematic view, FIG. 1C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the second body of the electronic device opened to the first body according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A to 1C, the electronic device 10 of this embodiment includes a first body 100, a second body 200, a pivot mechanism 300, a flexible cable 400, and a cable management member 500.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the pivoting mechanism 300 is pivotally connected between the first body 100 and the second body 200 so that the second body 200 is opened and closed to the first body 100. Specifically, the pivot mechanism 300 has a pivot axis R1 such that the second body 200 rotates relative to the first body 100 according to the pivot axis R1. In this embodiment, the first body 100 can be the host of the electronic device 10, the second body 200 can be a screen, and the electronic device 10 can be a notebook computer or a mobile phone, but it is not limited to this. The flexible cable 400 passes through the pivoting mechanism 300 and has two ends respectively fixed inside the first body 100 and the second body 200. The two ends of the flexible flat cable 400 are respectively provided with an electrical connection portion 401 and an electrical connection portion 402 to be electrically connected to the inside of the first body 100 and the inside of the second body 200 respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, in this embodiment, the pivoting mechanism 300 has a wire inlet 301 leading to the inside of the first body 100, and the wire inlet 301 is provided with an abutting end 310, and a flexible cable 400 The abutting end 310 is bent to extend into the first body 100 and the second body 200 respectively. The abutting end 310 is adjacent to the pivot axis R1. When the pivoting mechanism 300 operates, the abutting end 310 will rotate relative to the pivot axis R1. However, since the abutting end 310 is adjacent to the pivot axis R1, the radius of rotation of the abutting end 310 relative to the pivot axis R1 is extremely small. Preferably, if the distance between the abutting end 310 and the pivot axis R1 is zero, when the pivot mechanism 300 rotates, the flexible cable 400 can also rotate with the pivot axis R1 as the center of the circle without being affected by the pivot The length of the connecting mechanism 300 changes due to the rotation. A circuit board 120 is provided in the first body 100 for electrical connection with the electrical connection portion 401 of the flexible flat cable 400.

The cable management member 500 is fixed in the first body 100 and is adjacent to the pivot mechanism 300. The cable management member 500 has a top surface 510, a bottom surface 520 opposite to the top surface 510, and a cable management channel 530 extending from the top surface 510 to the bottom surface 520. The flexible cable 400 is adapted to be reflexed from the bottom surface 520 of the cable management member 500 to pass through the cable management channel 530, and to be reflexed on the top surface 510 after passing through the cable management channel 530 to face the pivot mechanism 300, and is flexible The flat cable 400 is reflexed on the top surface 510 of the cable management member 500 to a section 403 fixed inside the second body 200 and maintained in a tensioned state. Since the abutting end 310 is adjacent to the pivot axis R1 and does not significantly rotate relative to the pivot axis R1, when the second body 200 is opened and closed to the first body 100, the flexible cable 400 will not be abutted. The end 310 is pulled to significantly change the length required to maintain tension.

When the flexible flat cable 400 is installed, the flexible flat cable 400 can be attached to the electrical connection part of the cable management member 500 and fixed to the second body 200 with the second body 200 closed to the first body 100 The section between 402 is pulled to a tensioned state, and the section 404 between the bottom surface 520 of the cable management member 500 and the electrical connection portion 401 of the flexible cable 400 is maintained in a non-tensioned state. Since the flexible flat cable 400 is folded twice in the cable management member 500, the tensioned section 403 and the non-tensioned section 404 of the flexible flat cable 400 can be clearly separated. Even after the second body 200 is opened and closed repeatedly for a long time, the flexible cable 400 will become loose or too tight due to the wear of the pivoting mechanism 300 or other reasons. It can also be adjusted by keeping the section 403 in an untensioned state.

FIG. 1D is an exploded schematic view of the cable management component and circuit board of FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1E is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the cable management component of FIG. 1B. Please refer to FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E in conjunction with FIG. 1B, the first body 100 is provided with a circuit board 110 adjacent to the pivoting mechanism 300. The cable management component 500 is provided with a limiting portion 511 protruding toward the circuit board 110 on the top surface 510, and the flexible flat cable 400 can be limited between the limiting portion 511 and the circuit board 110. A plurality of first positioning portions 512 may be provided on the limiting portion 511 of the cable management member 500, and the circuit board 110 may be provided with a second positioning portion 112 corresponding to the first positioning portion 512. In this embodiment, the first positioning portion 512 may be a positioning post, and the second positioning portion 112 may be a positioning hole, but it is not limited to this. For example, the form of the first positioning portion 512 and the second positioning portion 112 can also be reversed. .

In this embodiment, the structure in which the first positioning portion 512 is positioned at the second positioning portion 112 can not only position the cable management member 500 but also limit the flexible cable 400. The flexible flat cable 400 can enter the cable management channel 530 between the two first positioning parts 512. Therefore, when the first positioning part 512 is positioned at the second positioning part 112, the flexible flat cable 400 can be limited to two groups. Between the first positioning portion 512 and the second positioning portion 112 positioned to each other.

In this embodiment, the cable management member 500 may extend along the extension direction F, and the extension direction F may be parallel to the pivot axis R1 of the pivot mechanism 300, but it is not limited to this. In the extension direction F, the cable management member 500 may have a plurality of cable management channels 530. In addition to fixing the flexible cable 400, other flexible cables can also be fixed, and the tolerance of these flexible cables may be Different from the flexible cable 400.

In this embodiment, two sides of the cable management member 500 in the extension direction F may respectively extend a fixing piece 540, the fixing piece 540 may have an opening 541, and the first body 100 of the electronic device 10 may further include a fixing piece 60. The fixing member 60 may be, for example, a screw to fix the cable management member 500 in the first body 100.

In this embodiment, a plurality of cushion pads 550 may be arranged on the bottom surface 520 of the cable management member 500 to prevent the bottom plate (not shown) of the first body 100 from covering the cable management member 500 to the flexible row Line 400 causes damage. The cushion 550 is, for example, a sponge, but it is not limited thereto.

The electronic device 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a cable management member 500 in the first body 100, and the flexible cable 400 is folded twice in the cable management channel 530 of the cable management member 500 to be held It is tight and does not occupy too much lateral space of the first body 100. In addition, the cable management member 500 only needs to bend the flexible cable 400 twice, so there is no need to design an overly complicated structure, thereby reducing the cost of installing the flexible cable 400.

FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic view of a first body with a cable management member and a plurality of flexible cables installed in another embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 1B, the difference between this embodiment and the embodiment of FIGS. 1A to 1E is that the cable management member 500 is pierced by the flexible cable 400, and is also pierced by another flexible cable 400a. It is assumed that the flexible cable 400 and the flexible cable 400a have different tolerances. In this embodiment, although the tolerances of the flexible flat cable 400 and the flexible flat cable 400a are different from each other, the adjustment of the cable management member 500 allows the flexible flat cable 400 to have a section 404 in a non-tensioned state. The length of the section 404a in the untensioned state is different from that of the flexible cable 400a. For example, the length L1 of the section 404a is shorter than the length L2 of the section 404, so that the flexible cable 400 and the flexible cable 400a The wire 400a can be kept in tension through the sections of the pivoting mechanism 300.

The electronic device of the embodiment of the present invention is provided with a cable management member in the first body, and the flexible cable can be kept in a tensioned state by folding twice in the cable management channel of the cable management member, and Do not occupy too much horizontal space in the first body. In addition, even if multiple flexible cables with different tolerances must be provided in the electronic device, the cable management member of the embodiment of the present invention can also have multiple parallel cable management channels. In addition, the cable management member only needs to bend the flexible cable twice, so there is no need to design an overly complicated structure, thereby reducing the cost of installing the flexible cable.

In addition, after performing more than 20,000 opening and closing tests of the second body relative to the first body on the electronic device of the embodiment of the present invention, it is found that the flexible flat cable maintains normal signal transmission capability. Therefore, the electronic device of the embodiment of the present invention uses The cable management structure in which the flexible cable is kept tight by the cable management member has a high degree of reliability.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent application scope.

10: Electronic device 100: The first body 200: second body 300: pivot mechanism 301: Inlet 310: butt end 400, 400a: Flexible cable 401, 402: electrical connection part 403, 404, 404a: section 110, 120: circuit board 500: cable management 510: top surface 511: Limit 520: Bottom 530: cable management channel 540: fixed piece 541: hole 550: cushion 60: fixed parts F: Extension direction L1, L2: length R1: pivot axis

FIG. 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device installed with a cable management element and a flexible flat cable according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the second body of the electronic device closed to the first body according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the second body of the electronic device opened to the first body according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1D is an exploded schematic diagram of the cable management component and the circuit board of FIG. 1B. Fig. 1E is a perspective schematic view of the cable management member of Fig. 1B. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a first body with a cable management member and a plurality of flexible flat cables installed in another embodiment of the present invention.

10: Electronic device

100: The first body

200: second body

300: pivot mechanism

301: Inlet

310: butt end

400: Flexible cable

401: Electrical connection

403, 404: section

110, 120: circuit board

500: cable management

510: top surface

511: Limit

520: Bottom

530: cable management channel

R1: pivot axis

Claims (13)

An electronic device including: A first body; A second body; A pivot mechanism, pivotally connected between the first body and the second body; A flexible cable passing through the pivot mechanism and having two ends respectively fixed inside the first body and the second body; and A cable management member fixed to the first body and adjacent to the pivoting mechanism, the cable management member having a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a cable management channel extending from the top surface to the bottom surface; Wherein, the flexible cable is reflexed from the bottom surface of the cable management member to pass through the cable management channel, and after passing through the cable management channel, the top surface is reflexed again to face the pivoting mechanism, and the The flexible cable is reflexed on the top surface of the cable management member to a section fixed inside the second body to maintain a tensioned state. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pivoting mechanism has a wire inlet leading to the inside of the first body, and an abutting end is provided at the wire inlet, and the flexible cable is in the abutting The end is bent, the pivot mechanism further has a pivot axis, and the abutment end is adjacent to the pivot axis. When the pivot mechanism is activated, the abutment end rotates relative to the pivot axis. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the flexible cable intersects at the pivot axis. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first body has a circuit board adjacent to the pivot mechanism inside the first body, and the cable management member is provided with a limiting portion protruding toward the circuit board on the top surface, The flexible cable is limited between the limiting portion and the circuit board. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the limiting portion of the cable management component is provided with a first positioning portion on both sides of the flexible flat cable, and the circuit board is provided with corresponding first positioning portions respectively Part of multiple second positioning parts. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein each of the first positioning portions is a positioning pillar, and each of the second positioning portions is a positioning hole. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a section of the flexible flat cable between the bottom surface of the cable management member and an end fixed to the first body is maintained in a non-tensioned state. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the cable management member extends along an extension direction parallel to a pivot axis of the pivot mechanism, and the number of the cable management channels is multiple and they are juxtaposed along the extension direction. A flexible cable management component is suitable for an electronic device. The electronic device includes a first body, a second body, a pivot mechanism and a flexible cable. The pivot mechanism is pivotally connected to Between the first body and the second body, the flexible cable passes through the pivot mechanism and has two ends respectively fixed inside the first body and the second body, wherein: The cable management member is adapted to be fixed in the first body and is adjacent to the pivoting mechanism. The cable management member has a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a cable management member extending from the top surface to the bottom surface aisle; The flexible cable is adapted to be folded back through the cable management channel from the bottom surface of the cable management member, and be folded again on the top surface to face the pivot mechanism after passing through the cable management channel, and The flexible cable is reflexed on the top surface of the cable management member to a section fixed inside the second body to maintain a tensioned state. The flexible cable management component of claim 9, wherein the cable management component is protruded with a limiting portion on the top surface, and the first body includes a circuit board, and the circuit board is relatively disposed on the The limiting part is adjacent to the pivoting mechanism. According to claim 10, the flexible flat cable management member, wherein the limit position of the cable management member is provided with a plurality of first positioning portions, and the circuit board is provided with corresponding first positioning portions Multiple second positioning parts. According to the flexible flat cable management member of claim 11, each of the first positioning portions is a positioning post, and each of the second positioning portions is a positioning hole. The flexible cable management member of claim 9, wherein the cable management member extends along an extension direction parallel to a pivot axis of the pivot mechanism, and the number of the cable management channels is multiple along Along the extension direction.

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