Electronic devices

Abstract

An electronic device is disclosed, comprising a printed board, a plurality of connectors mounted on the printed board, a plurality of communication control circuits mounted on the printed board and controlling communication via corresponding connectors among the plurality of connectors, and a shielding member arranged facing the printed board, wherein an annular grounding pattern is formed on the front surface of the printed board, the annular grounding pattern uninterruptedly surrounds a shielding area including the plurality of communication control circuits, a plurality of connectors are all arranged outside the grounding pattern surrounding the shielding area, and the shielding member covers the shielding area and is fixed to the printed board so that a portion facing the grounding pattern is electrically connected to the grounding pattern.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2020-049721 filed on Mar. 19, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] The present disclosure relates to electronic devices including a plurality of connectors.

[0004] Generally, electronic devices include a printed board on which a plurality of circuit elements are mounted. The circuit elements include those that generate an electromagnetic field that acts as noise that affects the operation of other circuit elements or wireless communication, etc. In order to prevent the propagation of such noise, it is a practice to cover the circuit element that serves as a noise generation source by a shielding member formed of a metal plate, etc. Summary of the invention

[0005] Even when a shielding member is provided to cover a circuit element serving as a noise generating source, if a signal line connecting the circuit element inside the shielding member and an external connector exists on the front surface of the printed board, it is difficult to perfectly cover the circuit element with the shielding member.

[0006] Therefore, the present disclosure has been devised in light of the foregoing, and it is desirable to provide an electronic device capable of effectively suppressing propagation of noise generated by circuit elements on a printed board.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device comprising a printed board, a plurality of connectors mounted on the printed board, a plurality of communication control circuits mounted on the printed board and controlling communications passing through corresponding connectors among the plurality of connectors, and a shielding member arranged facing the printed board, wherein an annular grounding pattern is formed on a front surface of the printed board, the annular grounding pattern uninterruptedly surrounds a shielding area including the plurality of communication control circuits, the plurality of connectors are all arranged outside the grounding pattern surrounding the shielding area, and the shielding member covers the shielding area and is fixed to the printed board so that a portion facing the grounding pattern is electrically connected to the grounding pattern. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a plan view of a printed board included in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0009] Figure 2 is a bottom view of a printed board included in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper shield member;

[0011] Figure 4is a perspective view of the upper shield member as viewed from the bottom surface side of the upper shield member;

[0012] Figure 5 is a bottom view of the lower shielding member;

[0013] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the lower shield member as viewed from the top surface side of the lower shield member;

[0014] Figure 7 is a partially enlarged view depicting an example of a ground pattern formed on the front surface of a printed board;

[0015] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a connection mode between a connector and a communication control circuit; and

[0016] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another example of a connection mode between a connector and a communication control circuit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings.

[0018] The electronic device 1 is, for example, a home game console or the like, and includes a printed board (printed wiring board) 10 , an upper shield member 30 , and a lower shield member 40 . Figure 1 is a schematic plan view depicting a situation on the front surface side of the printed board 10 included in the electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, Figure 2 It is a bottom view depicting the situation on the rear surface side of the printed board 10 .

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown, various circuit elements are mounted on the front surface of the printed board 10. In addition, by omitting illustration, various circuit elements are also mounted on the rear surface of the printed board 10. Note that in the present embodiment, the printed board 10 is a multilayer substrate having a signal layer (inner layer) not only on the front and rear surfaces of the printed board 10 but also inside the printed board 10.

[0020] A plurality of connectors are provided along the periphery of the printed board 10. These connectors are used to connect with devices included in an external communication device or the electronic device 1. Specifically, a video signal connector 11, a local area network (LAN) connector 12, and two universal serial bus (USB) connectors 13 are provided on the front surface side of the printed board 10. In addition, a storage device connection connector 14 is provided on the rear surface side.

[0021] An integrated circuit for controlling data communication via these connectors (hereinafter referred to as a communication control circuit) is provided on the front surface of the printed board 10. Specifically, a system on chip (SoC) 15, a video signal control circuit 16, a LAN communication control circuit 17, and a storage device control circuit 18 are provided on the front surface of the printed board 10 as a communication control circuit. In addition, a LAN pulse transformer 19 is also provided on the front surface of the printed board 10. Note that various circuit elements other than these may be provided on the front and rear surfaces of the printed board 10. In addition, on the front surface of the printed board 10, the LAN pulse transformer 19 is provided. Figure 1 and 2 In FIG. 1 , illustration of signal lines provided on the front surface and the rear surface of the printed board 10 is omitted.

[0022] The video signal connector 11 is used to transmit a video signal to an external video display device. The video signal connector 11 may be a connector for transmitting a video signal according to, for example, the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) (registered trademark) standard. The video signal control circuit 16 is a communication control circuit for controlling data communication with an external video display device via the video signal connector 11. Specifically, the video signal control circuit 16 generates a video signal according to a standard such as HDMI, and outputs the video signal to the video signal connector 11.

[0023] The LAN connector 12 is used to connect the electronic device 1 to a LAN. The LAN connector 12 sends and receives data according to, for example, the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard. The LAN communication control circuit 17 is a communication control circuit for controlling data communication via the LAN connector 12. Specifically, the LAN communication control circuit 17 encodes data to be transmitted via the LAN connector 12 and decodes signals received via the LAN connector 12. The LAN pulse transformer 19 is a passive element that is provided in a communication path between the LAN connector 12 and the LAN communication control circuit 17 and relays communication.

[0024] The two USB connectors 13 are each used to connect a USB device. The SoC 15 is an integrated circuit for performing various information processing for controlling the operation of the entire electronic device 1. In particular, in the present embodiment, the SoC 15 also functions as a communication control circuit for controlling serial communication via the USB connector 13. Specifically, the SoC 15 outputs a signal to be transmitted to the USB device via the USB connector 13, or processes a signal received from the USB device via the USB connector 13.

[0025] The storage device connection connector 14 is used to connect a storage device (not shown), such as a solid state drive (SSD) included in the electronic device 1. The storage device control circuit 18 is a communication control circuit for controlling access to the storage device. The storage device control circuit 18 performs access control, such as writing and reading of data, on the storage device via the storage device connection connector 14.

[0026] Ground patterns serving as a reference potential for electronic circuits mounted on the printed board 10 are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the printed board 10. Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the ground pattern is indicated by hatching. In the present embodiment, the shielding area is defined by the corresponding ground patterns on the front and rear surfaces of the printed board 10. Specifically, the shielding area A1 is formed on the front surface of the printed board 10, and its periphery is surrounded by the ground pattern G1. In addition, the shielding area A2 is formed on the rear surface of the printed board 10, and its periphery is surrounded by the ground pattern G2.

[0027] In the present embodiment, for each shielding area on the front surface and the rear surface, a countermeasure for controlling noise is implemented to prevent the noise generated in the shielding area from propagating to the outside of the shielding area. This countermeasure for noise is implemented by the upper shielding member 30 and the lower shielding member 40. The upper shielding member 30 and the lower shielding member 40 are both made by molding a conductive metal sheet and have a recessed portion. Each of these shielding members can be manufactured by forming a single metal plate such as drawing.

[0028] The upper shield member 30 is disposed to face the front surface of the printed board 10 . Figure 3 1 is a plan view showing an upper surface (a surface opposite to a surface facing the front surface of the printed board 10 ) of the upper shield member 30 . Figure 4 1 and 2 are perspective views of the upper shield member 30 viewed from the bottom surface side (the surface facing the front surface of the printed board 10). As depicted in these figures, the upper shield member 30 has a shielding portion 31 having a surface facing the printed board 10 formed in a concave shape in the center portion of the upper shield member 30. The upper shield member 30 is fixed to the printed board 10 so that the shielding portion 31 overlaps with the shielding area A1 in a plan view. Note that the rectangular opening near the center of the shielding portion 31 is closed by the heat sink attached to the SoC 15.

[0029] A flat annular portion 32 on the rear surface side is formed to surround the periphery of the shield portion 31. In a state where the upper shield member 30 is fixed to the printed board 10, the annular portion 32 is electrically connected to the ground pattern G1. Figure 3 In FIG. 1 , the annular portion 32 is indicated by hatching.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, various connectors (video signal connector 11, LAN connector 12, and two USB connectors 13) mounted on the printed circuit board 10 are all provided outside the ground pattern G1 surrounding the shielding area A1. At the same time, communication control circuits (SoC 15, video signal control circuit 16, LAN communication control circuit 17, and storage device control circuit 18) that control communication via these connectors are all provided inside the shielding area A1. By using the upper shielding member 30 configured such that the shielding area A1 is covered by the shielding portion 31, shielding can be achieved so that noise radiated by the communication control circuits in the shielding area A1 does not propagate to the outside. Note that in this embodiment, the LAN pulse transformer 19, which is a passive component, is provided outside the shielding area A1.

[0031] Here, of course, the connectors provided outside the shielding area A1 and the communication control circuits provided inside the shielding area A1 and controlling communication via the connectors should be connected to each other by signal lines. If the signal lines simply include printed lines formed on the front surface of the printed circuit board 10, the ground pattern G1 will be interrupted at the portions where the printed lines pass through. When there are portions where the ground pattern G1 is thus interrupted, noise may leak to the outside of the shielding area via these portions. In view of this, in this embodiment, prevention of the ground pattern G1 from being interrupted by the signal lines connecting the connectors and the communication control circuits is achieved through the configuration described later, and the ground pattern G1 is formed in a ring shape so as to continuously surround the periphery of the shielding area A1.

[0032] In addition, the upper shielding member 30 has a peripheral portion 33 located outside the ground pattern G1 and facing the front surface of the printed circuit board 10. In the peripheral portion 33, similarly to the shielding portion 31, the surface on the printed circuit board 10 side is formed in a concave shape. Some portions of the peripheral portion 33 overlap with the video signal connector 11, LAN connector 12, and two USB connectors 13 in a plan view, and are electrically connected to the housings of these connectors at the overlapping portions. Specifically, the peripheral portion 33 is configured to contact the housing of each connector through a conductive member such as a washer or a metal spring. As a result, the upper shielding member 30 as a single member can shield the inside of the shielding area A1 and can ground the housing of each connector.

[0033] The lower shielding member 40 is provided to face the rear surface of the printed circuit board 10. Figure 5 is a bottom view depicting the bottom surface of the lower shielding member 40 (the surface opposite to the surface facing the rear surface of the printed circuit board 10). Figure 6 is a perspective view of the lower shielding member 40 as viewed from the top surface side (the surface facing the rear surface of the printed circuit board 10).

[0034] Similar to the upper shielding member 30, the lower shielding member 40 also includes a shielding portion 41 facing the shielding area A2 of the rear surface of the printed board 10, an annular portion 42 facing the ground pattern G2 surrounding the shielding area A2, and a peripheral portion 43 facing the area outside the ground pattern G2. In addition, also on the rear surface of the printed board 10, the ground pattern G2 is formed in a ring shape so as to surround the shielding area A2 without interruption. The annular portion 42 of the lower shielding member 40 is formed flat on the upper surface side and is electrically connected to the ground pattern G2. As a result, the noise generated in the shielding area A2 is shielded by the lower shielding member 40 and is prevented from propagating to the outside. Note that in Figure 5 In addition, similar to the peripheral portion 33 of the upper shield member 30, the peripheral portion 43 can also be electrically connected to the housings of the video signal connector 11 and the USB connector 13 via a gasket or the like provided in the cutout portion of the printed board 10.

[0035] The annular portion 32 of the upper shield member 30 and the annular portion 42 of the lower shield member 40 are formed to overlap each other in a plan view except for some portions, which have threaded holes H provided at intervals. In addition, threaded holes H are also formed in positions overlapping with these annular portions in a plan view in the ground pattern of the printed board 10. By tightening the upper shield member 30, the printed board 10, and the lower shield member 40 through these threaded holes H, each shield member can be fixed to the printed board 10, and the annular portion 32 and the annular portion 42 can be electrically connected to the corresponding ground patterns G1 and G2.

[0036] In addition, a plurality of protrusions P protruding toward the facing shield member are provided at the annular portion 32 and the annular portion 42. The protrusions P are formed, for example, by adhering a conductive material such as solder to the ground patterns G1 and G2. With such protrusions P provided at positions facing the annular portion 32 or 42, the tips of the protrusions P come into contact with the annular portion 32 or 42, whereby the shield member can be firmly electrically connected to the ground pattern G1 or G2.

[0037] The threaded hole H and the protrusion P are arranged to be adjacent to each other at intervals within a predetermined value along an annular ground pattern extending along the periphery of the shielding area. In other words, the threaded hole H and the protrusion P are arranged so that the distance from the adjacent threaded hole H or protrusion P is within a predetermined value. The predetermined value is determined to be equal to or less than an electrical length corresponding to 1 / 4 times the wavelength of the noise frequency radiated in the shielding area. As a result, the propagation of noise to the outside of the shielding area can be effectively suppressed. In addition, the number of protrusions P arranged between adjacent threaded holes H is ideally one or two. As a result, it can be ensured that the protrusions P are not aligned on both sides of each protrusion P, and each protrusion P is adjacent to the threaded hole H on either side of the two sides of the protrusion P. With this configuration, when tightening the threaded hole H, the protrusion P can also be firmly contacted with the facing shielding member by the tightening force.

[0038] Furthermore, in the case of bringing the protrusion P into contact with the shield member, it is not necessary to expose all of the ground pattern facing the annular portion 32 or 42, and it is sufficient to expose only the area where the protrusion P is formed and the area around the screw hole H to the front surface. Figure 7 : is a partially enlarged view depicting the condition of the front surface of the printed board 10 in this case. In the figure, the area where the ground pattern G1 is formed is indicated by a dotted line. Although the ground pattern G1 is formed in a strip shape, only the area around the screw hole H and two circular areas C where the protrusions P are formed between adjacent screw holes H are exposed to the front surface of the printed board 10. The area around the circular area C where the protrusions P are formed is covered by the dielectric layer of the front surface of the printed board 10, and the conductive layer is not exposed there. By soldering the circular area C, the protrusions P can be easily formed in the circular area C by surface tension.

[0039] Note that the ground patterns G1 and G2 may be formed not only in the periphery of the shielding area but also in other areas, such as an area surrounding one of the connectors. Figure 1, the ground pattern G1 is formed in a C-shape around the video signal connector 11, whereby the video signal connector 11 is surrounded by the ground pattern G1 on three sides except for the periphery of the printed board 10. The upper shield member 30 is formed so that the annular portion 32 is also in contact with the ground pattern G1 surrounding the video signal connector 11. In addition, the threaded holes H are provided on both sides of the video signal connector 11 along the periphery of the printed board 10, and by screwing the upper shield member 30 through the threaded holes H, the upper shield member 30 is fixed so that the area overlapping with the video signal connector 11 in a plan view is pressed against the video signal connector 11. As a result, it is possible to ensure that the peripheral portion 33 of the upper shield member 30 is firmly in contact with the housing of the video signal connector 11, and the noise radiated from the video signal connector 11 and the video signal cable connected to the video signal connector 11 does not easily affect other connectors and the like.

[0040] An example of a layout of a signal line connecting a connector and a corresponding communication control circuit will be described below. As an example, the connector and the communication control circuit may be connected by a signal line formed in an inner layer within the printed board 10 . Figure 8 An example of the layout of the signal line in this case is schematically depicted. In the example of this figure, an example of the layout of the signal line 21 connecting the video signal connector 11 and the video signal control circuit 16 is schematically shown.

[0041] The signal line 21 includes a signal line 21a disposed on the front surface of the printed board 10 in the shielding area A1, a signal line 21b disposed in the inner layer of the printed board 10, and a signal line 21c disposed on the front surface of the printed board outside the shielding area A1. The signal line 21a and the signal line 21b are connected through the through hole 22a in the shielding area A1, and the signal line 21b and the signal line 21c are connected through the through hole 22b outside the shielding area A1. The signal line 21b intersects with the ground pattern G1 in a plan view. With this layout, the inside and outside of the shielding area A1 can be connected without interrupting the ground pattern G1.

[0042] Note that, in the example of the figure, the housing of the video signal connector 11 is connected to the upper shield member 30 via the gasket 23a. Further, the housing is connected to the lower shield member 40 via the gasket 23b provided in the cutout formed in the printed board 10. Further, in the example of the figure, each of the annular portion 32 of the upper shield member 30 and the annular portion 42 of the lower shield member 40 is connected to the facing ground pattern via the protruding portion P.

[0043] However, depending on the specifications required for the connector or the communication control circuit, etc., there may be a case where it is difficult to arrange the signal line in the inner layer of the printed board 10. In this case, by moving each position of the ground pattern G1 on the front surface side of the printed board 10 and the ground pattern G2 on the rear surface side, it is possible to ensure that the signal line is arranged on the front and rear surfaces of the printed board 10, and to prevent the ground pattern from being interrupted on the front or rear surface. In this example, an overlapping area X in which the area inside the shielding area A1 and the area outside the shielding area A2 overlap each other in a plan view is ensured. Then, the signal line on the front surface of the printed board 10 and the signal line on the rear surface of the printed board 10 are connected by through holes provided in the overlapping area X and passing through the printed board 10. As a result, a signal line connected from the inside of the shielding area to the outside of the shielding area can be arranged without interrupting the ground pattern G.

[0044] Fig. 9 An example of the layout of the signal line in this example is depicted. In the example of the figure, the USB connector 13 and the SoC 15 are connected by a signal line 24. The signal line 24 includes a signal line 24a provided in the shielding area A1 on the front surface of the printed board 10, and a signal line 24b provided outside the shielding area A2 on the rear surface of the printed board 10. The signal line 24a and the signal line 24b are connected by a through hole 25 provided in the overlapping area X. In other words, the signal line 24a intersects with the ground pattern G2 on the rear surface side in a plan view, and the signal line 24b intersects with the ground pattern G1 on the front surface side in a plan view. The signal line 25b is connected to the terminal 13a of the USB connector 13 protruding to the rear surface side of the printed board 10. With this layout, the inside and outside of the shielding area can be connected without providing the signal line 24 in the inner layer of the printed board 10.

[0045] Note that Fig. 9 As shown, the ground pattern G1 and the ground pattern G2 defining the overlap region X are offset from each other in a plan view. Therefore, it is configured so that the ground patterns G1 and G2 are in contact with the corresponding shield members through the protruding portion P around the overlap region X, and the threaded hole H is provided at a position where the ground pattern G1 and the ground pattern G2 overlap each other near the overlap region X. In addition, in the example of the figure, the housing of the USB connector 13 is connected to the upper shield member 30 through the gasket 26a. In addition, the housing is connected to the lower shield member 40 through the gasket 26b provided in the cutout formed in the printed board 10.

[0046] Although an example in which the video signal connector 11 and the USB connector 13 are connected to the corresponding communication control circuits has been described in the above description, other connectors are similarly connected to the corresponding communication control circuits without interrupting the ground pattern G1 or G2.

[0047] As described above, according to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, the shielding area A1 is defined without interruption by the ground pattern G1 formed on the front surface of the printed board 10, and the upper shield member 30 is fixed to cover the shielding area A1 and contact the ground pattern G1, thereby effectively suppressing the propagation of noise generated in the shielding area A1. In addition, similarly, also with respect to the rear surface of the printed board 10, the lower shield member 40 can suppress the propagation of noise generated in the shielding area A2.

[0048] Note that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those described above. For example, the layout of the various connectors and communication control circuits on the printed board 10 is merely an example, and any layout may be adopted as long as the communication control circuit is provided within the shielded area and the connectors connected thereto are provided outside the shielded area. In addition, the types of connectors and communication control circuits provided on the printed board 10 may also be different from those described above. For example, the printed board 10 may be provided with a connector for connecting a storage device such as an optical disk drive according to a standard such as the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) standard.

[0049] In addition, although the electronic device 1 is a home game console in the above description, the electronic device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to this; for example, the electronic device 1 can be any of a variety of devices including a connector and a communication control circuit, such as a personal computer, a portable game console, and a smart phone.

[0050] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. An electronic device, include: Printing plates; a plurality of connectors mounted on the printed board; a plurality of communication control circuits mounted on the printed board and controlling communications via corresponding connectors of the plurality of connectors; and a shielding member disposed facing the printed board, wherein an annular ground pattern is formed on the front surface of the printed board, the annular ground pattern uninterruptedly surrounding a shielding area including the plurality of communication control circuits, The plurality of connectors are disposed outside the ground pattern surrounding the shielding area, and The shield member covers the shield area and is fixed to the printed board so that a portion facing the ground pattern is electrically connected to the ground pattern, The ground pattern has a region exposed to the front surface of the printed board, a plurality of protruding portions protruding toward the shield member side are formed in the region, and has a region covered by a dielectric layer at the periphery of the exposed region.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The printed board is a multi-layer substrate, and One of the plurality of connectors is connected to a corresponding communication control circuit through a signal line provided in an inner layer of the printed board.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: include: a first signal line disposed on the front surface of the printed board in the shielding area; and a second signal line, which is disposed on the rear surface of the printed board and is connected to the first signal line through a through hole passing through the printed board, Among them, one of the plurality of connectors is connected to a communication control circuit corresponding to the connector through a first signal line and a second signal line.

4. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in, A plurality of threaded holes for threadably connecting the shield member to the printed board are provided in the area of ​​the ground pattern, and When the threaded hole is tightened, the protruding portion is firmly brought into contact with the shield member by the tightening force.

Images