Electronic device

Abstract

An electronic device (1) is provided with: a card slot (10); a heat transfer member (20); a printed wiring board (30) that is connected to the heat-conducting member (20) so as to be heat-conductively connected to the heat-conducting member (20); and a contact switching part (40) for switching whether the card slot (10) and the heat conduction component (20) are in contact or not.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] When a memory card is inserted into a card slot and accessed, the memory card generates heat. If the memory card generates excessive heat, malfunction or failure may occur. Therefore, when designing an electronic device having a card slot, it is necessary to consider the heat dissipation generated by the memory card.

[0003] As a technique related to the above situation, the following electronic device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the electronic device described in Patent Document 1, a heat conducting member provided on a card deforms and contacts a heat receiving portion of a heat sink provided on the electronic device, thereby preventing excessive heating of the card.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-258392 Summary of the invention

[0005] The electronic device described in Patent Document 1 has the following problem: when power is supplied, the heat conducting member is deformed and contacts the heated portion, so when the temperature of the heat sink is higher than the temperature of the card, heat flows back from the heat sink to the card. Heat sinks are generally used to dissipate heat generated from a plurality of circuits, so the situation where the temperature of the heat sink is higher than the temperature of the card may often occur.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of preventing heat from flowing back to a card.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the electronic device involved in the present invention has:

[0008] Card slot;

[0009] Heat conducting components;

[0010] a heat dissipation portion capable of being thermally connected to the heat conducting component; and

[0011] A contact switching unit switches whether the card slot and the heat conducting component are in contact or not.

[0012] Effects of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the backflow of heat to the card. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the structure of an electronic device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2This is a diagram showing a state in which a contact switch is turned on in the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing the structure of an electronic device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing the structure of an electronic device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Hereinafter, an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0022] (Implementation Method 1)

[0023] One side reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 , while explaining the electronic device 1 involved in embodiment 1. The electronic device 1 is an electronic device that can access the memory card 11. The electronic device 1 has a card slot 10, a heat conductive component 20, a printed wiring substrate 30, and a contact switching unit 40. In addition, the electronic device 1 has various electronic components that are not shown. The electronic device 1 is an example of the electronic device involved in the present invention.

[0024] exist Figure 1 In the state shown, the card slot 10 and the heat conducting member 20 are not in contact. The details will be described later. The user operates the contact switching unit 40, thereby Figure 2 As shown, the heat conducting component 20 is deformed and the card slot 10 is in contact with the heat conducting component 20. Figure 2 The dashed line shown indicates the heat conducting member 20 before deformation. Thus, the heat generated in the card slot 10 can be dissipated to the printed wiring board 30 via the heat conducting member 20 .

[0025] Next, each structure of the electronic device 1 will be described. The card slot 10 is a card slot for accessing the memory card 11. When the memory card 11 is inserted into the card slot 10, the card slot 10 can access the memory card 11. The card slot 10 is an example of the card slot involved in the present invention.

[0026] The heat-conducting component 20 is a heat-conducting component connected to the printed wiring substrate 30 so as to dissipate heat. When the heat-conducting component 20 contacts the card slot 10 through the contact switching unit 40 described later, the heat generated by the card slot 10 can be dissipated to the printed wiring substrate 30. The heat-conducting component 20 is, for example, a metal plate having toughness. Figure 2 As shown, when the heat conducting member 20 is pressed down by the contact switching portion 40, the heat conducting member 20 is deformed by toughness and comes into contact with the card slot 10. The heat conducting member 20 is an example of the heat conducting member according to the present invention.

[0027] The printed wiring substrate 30 is a printed wiring substrate for electrically connecting various electronic components (not shown) of the electronic device 1 and the card slot 11. In addition, the printed wiring substrate 30 is connected to the heat-conducting component 20 so as to dissipate heat. The printed wiring substrate 30 is connected to the heat-conducting component 20 so as to dissipate heat, and thus the printed wiring substrate 30 functions as a heat dissipation unit that dissipates heat transferred from the heat-conducting component 20. In addition, the printed wiring substrate 30 also dissipates heat generated from various electronic components (not shown). The printed wiring substrate 30 is an example of a heat dissipation unit involved in the present invention.

[0028] The contact switch 40 is a switch that switches on and off by a user's operation. Figure 1 In the state shown, the contact switch 40 is disconnected. Figure 2 In the state shown in FIG. 1 , the contact switch 40 is turned on. When the contact switch 40 is turned off, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the card slot 10 and the heat conducting member 20 are not in contact. When the user operates to turn the contact switch 40 from off to on, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the front end of the contact switch 40 presses down the heat conductive member 20. As a result, the heat conductive member 20 contacts the card slot 10. In addition, when the user performs an operation to turn the contact switch 40 from on to off, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the card slot 10 and the thermally conductive member 20 are no longer in contact with each other. The contact switching portion 40 is an example of a contact switching unit according to the present invention.

[0029] Next, the situation of preventing the backflow of heat from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11 will be described. As described above, the electronic device 1 has various electronic components that are not shown in the figure. In addition, the various electronic components generate heat. The generated heat is conducted to the printed wiring substrate 30. Here, when the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting component 20 are in contact, and the temperature of the card slot 10 is lower than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the heat of the printed wiring substrate 30 is conducted to the memory card 11 via the heat-conducting component 20 and the card slot 10. That is, heat flows back from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11. Therefore, when the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting component 20 are in contact, it is possible that heat flows back from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11.

[0030] When the user is concerned about heat backflow from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11 , the user can turn off the contact switch 40 to prevent the card slot 10 and the heat conduction member 20 from contacting each other, thereby preventing heat backflow from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11 .

[0031] For example, when there are not many accesses to the memory card 11 and the processing load of the processor (not shown) provided in the electronic device 1 is large, it is expected that the memory card 11 generates less heat and the processor generates more heat. At this time, it is expected that the temperature of the printed wiring board 30 will be higher than the temperature of the card slot 10 due to the heat generated from the processor. Therefore, if the card slot 10 and the heat conductive member 20 are in contact at this time, heat may flow back to the memory card 11. Therefore, the user sets the contact switch 40 to be disconnected so that the card slot 10 and the heat conductive member 20 do not contact each other, thereby preventing the backflow of heat.

[0032] Conversely, when there is no concern about heat backflow from printed wiring board 30 to memory card 11 , the user turns on contact switch 40 to bring card slot 10 and thermally conductive member 20 into contact, thereby allowing heat generated from memory card 11 to be dissipated to printed wiring board 30 .

[0033] The electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1 has been described above. According to the electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the user can operate the contact switching unit 40 to switch whether the card slot 10 and the heat conductive member 20 are in contact or not. Thus, when there is a concern about heat backflow from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11, the user can disconnect the contact switching unit 40 so as not to make the card slot 10 and the heat conductive member 20 in contact, thereby preventing heat backflow.

[0034] (Implementation Method 2)

[0035] One side reference Figure 3 , while explaining the electronic device 1 involved in the second embodiment. The electronic device 1 involved in the second embodiment and Figure 1The case of the illustrated embodiment 1 is substantially the same, but is different from the case of the embodiment 1 in that a type determination unit 50 is further provided, and a contact switch unit 40A is provided instead of the contact switch unit 40 .

[0036] The type determination unit 50 is connected to the card slot 10 and the contact switching unit 40A in a communicable manner. The type determination unit 50 communicates with the card slot 10 and determines the type of the memory card 11 inserted into the card slot 10. The type determination unit 50 sends a signal indicating the determined type of the memory card 11 to the contact switching unit 40A. The type determination unit 50 is implemented, for example, by an electronic circuit. The type determination unit 50 is an example of a type determination unit involved in the present invention.

[0037] The “type of the memory card 11” is, for example, a type of transmission speed corresponding to which standard of the memory card 11. For example, when the memory card 11 is an SD memory card, the “type of the memory card 11” is a type related to the maximum transmission speed of the SD memory card, such as DS (Default Speed), HS (High Speed), UHS (Ultra High Speed)-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

[0038] The contact switching unit 40A is substantially the same as the contact switching unit 40 involved in the first embodiment, but is different in that it is not a switch operated by a user, but a switch that is switched on and off by a signal. The contact switching unit 40A switches on and off based on the signal indicating the type of the memory card 11 received from the type determination unit 50. Therefore, the contact switching unit 40A switches whether the card slot 10 and the heat conductive component 20 are in contact or not in contact based on the type of the memory card 11. The contact switching unit 40A is implemented, for example, by electronic components including an electronic circuit and a mechanical relay. The contact switching unit 40A is an example of a contact switching unit involved in the present invention.

[0039] For example, the contact switch 40A is turned on when the transmission speed of the memory card 11 determined according to the type of the memory card 11 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, so that the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting member 20 are in contact, and is turned off when it is not the case, so that the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting member 20 are not in contact. Generally speaking, the faster the transmission speed of the memory card 11, the more heat the memory card 11 generates. Therefore, it is expected that when the transmission speed of the memory card 11 is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the temperature of the card slot 10 that receives heat from the memory card 11 will be higher than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30. At this time, since there is no concern that heat will flow back from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11, the contact switch 40A is turned on, thereby allowing the heat generated from the memory card 11 to be dissipated to the printed wiring substrate 30 via the card slot 11 and the heat-conducting member 20.

[0040] On the contrary, when the transfer speed of the memory card 11 is lower than the threshold value, the temperature of the card slot 10 receiving the heat from the memory card 11 may be lower than the temperature of the printed wiring board 30. In this case, since there is a concern that heat may flow back from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11, the contact switching unit 40A is turned off, thereby preventing the backflow of heat to the memory card 11.

[0041] The electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 2 has been described above. According to the electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 2, the contact switch 40A automatically switches between on and off based on the type of the memory card 11 inserted into the card slot 10. Therefore, unlike the case of Embodiment 1, it is possible to prevent the backflow of heat to the memory card 11 without relying on an operation by a user.

[0042] (Implementation 3)

[0043] One side reference Figure 4 , while explaining the electronic device 1 involved in the third embodiment. The electronic device 1 involved in the third embodiment and Figure 1 The case of the illustrated embodiment 1 is substantially the same, but is different from the case of the embodiment 1 in that a temperature detection unit 60 is further provided, and a contact switching unit 40B is provided instead of the contact switching unit 40 .

[0044] The temperature detection unit 60 detects the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring board 30 . Figure 4 The dotted arrows shown indicate that the objects of temperature detection involved in the temperature detection unit 60 are the card slot 10 and the printed wiring substrate 30. The temperature detection unit 60 is connected to the contact switching unit 40B so as to be communicable. The temperature detection unit 60 sends a signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and a signal indicating the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30 to the contact switching unit 40B. The temperature detection unit 60 is an example of a temperature detection unit involved in the present invention.

[0045] The contact switching unit 40B is substantially the same as the contact switching unit 40 involved in Embodiment 1, but the difference is that it is not a switch operated by a user, but a switch that is switched on and off by a signal. The contact switching unit 40B switches on and off based on the signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and the signal indicating the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30 received from the temperature detection unit 60. Specifically, the contact switching unit 40B is turned on when the temperature of the card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, and is turned off when the temperature of the card slot 10 is less than or equal to the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30. The contact switching unit 40B is implemented, for example, by electronic components including an electronic circuit and a mechanical relay. The contact switching unit 40B is an example of a contact switching unit involved in the present invention.

[0046] As described above, when the temperature of the card slot 10 is lower than or equal to the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the contact switching portion 40B is turned off, thereby preventing the backflow of heat from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11. On the other hand, when the temperature of the card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the contact switching portion 40B is turned on, thereby dissipating the heat generated by the memory card 11 to the printed wiring substrate 30.

[0047] The electronic device 1 according to the third embodiment has been described above. According to the electronic device 1 according to the third embodiment, the contact switch portion 40B is switched on and off in accordance with the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30. Therefore, unlike the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the backflow of heat to the memory card 11 without relying on the operation performed by the user. In addition, the contact switch portion 40B is switched on and off in accordance with the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30. Therefore, compared with the case of the second embodiment, it is possible to reliably prevent the backflow of heat to the memory card 11.

[0048] (Implementation 4)

[0049] One side reference Figure 5 , while explaining the electronic device 1 involved in the fourth embodiment. The electronic device 1 involved in the fourth embodiment and Figure 1 The case of the embodiment 1 shown is substantially the same, but the difference from the case of the embodiment 1 is that it further includes a temperature detection unit 60A and a notification unit 70. In addition, unlike the cases of the above-mentioned embodiments 2 and 3, the contact switch unit 40 is completely the same as the case of the embodiment 1. That is, the contact switch unit 40 is a switch that is switched on and off by the user's operation.

[0050] The temperature detection unit 60A is substantially the same as the temperature detection unit 60 in the third embodiment, but is different from the third embodiment in that a signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and a signal indicating the temperature of the printed wiring board 30 are sent to the notification unit 70. The temperature detection unit 60A is an example of a temperature detection unit according to the present invention.

[0051] The notification unit 70 receives a signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and a signal indicating the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30 from the temperature detection unit 60A. When the temperature of the card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the notification unit 70 notifies the user to operate the contact switching unit 40 as a switch to bring the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting component 20 into contact. When the temperature of the card slot 10 is less than or equal to the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the notification unit 70 notifies the user to operate the contact switching unit 40 as a switch without bringing the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting component 20 into contact. The notification unit 70 is, for example, a display capable of displaying information through images. Alternatively, the notification unit 70 may also notify the user of whether to bring the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting component 20 into contact or not through a lamp, a buzzer, etc. The notification unit 70 is an example of a notification unit involved in the present invention.

[0052] As described above, when the temperature of the card slot 10 is lower than or equal to the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the notification unit 70 notifies the user not to bring the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting member 20 into contact, so the user turns off the contact switch unit 40 according to the notification, thereby preventing the backflow of heat from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11. On the other hand, when the temperature of the card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, the notification unit 70 notifies the user to bring the card slot 10 and the heat-conducting member 20 into contact, so the user turns on the contact switch unit 40 according to the notification, thereby dissipating the heat generated from the memory card 11 to the printed wiring substrate 30.

[0053] The electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 4 has been described above. According to the electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 4, the notification unit 70 notifies the user according to the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring substrate 30, so the user can operate the contact switch unit 40 according to the notification, thereby preventing the backflow of heat to the memory card 11. In addition, although the user's operation is required, the structure of the contact switch unit 40 can be simplified compared with the cases of Embodiments 2 and 3.

[0054] (Variation Example)

[0055] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the printed wiring substrate 30 functions as a heat dissipation unit, but a component other than the printed wiring substrate 30 may be used as a heat dissipation unit. For example, the housing of the electronic device 1 may be used as a heat dissipation unit. In this case, the heat conductive component 20 can be connected to the housing in a thermally conductive manner.

[0056] In the second embodiment, the case where the “type of the memory card 11” is a type related to the transfer speed of the memory card 11 is shown. In addition, the “type of the memory card 11” may be, for example, a type related to the capacity of an SD memory card such as SD·SDHC·SDXC, a type related to the shape of an SD memory card such as SD·miniSD·microSD, or a type related to the specification of a memory card such as SD·MMC·SDIO.

[0057] When the "type of the memory card 11" is a type related to the capacity, it is assumed that the larger the capacity of the memory card 11, the greater the heat generated. Therefore, the contact switch unit 40A only needs to be turned on when the capacity determined by the type is greater than or equal to the threshold. In other cases, it is also assumed that the contact switch unit 40A is turned on or off based on when the heat is expected to increase.

[0058] In the first embodiment, the contact switching unit 40 presses down the heat conducting member 20, so that the heat conducting member 20 contacts the card slot 10. For example, the electronic device 1 Figure 6 As shown, when two printed wiring substrates 30 are arranged vertically via substrate connection portions 31, two heat conducting components 20 may be connected by hinges, and a rotatable portion of the heat conducting component 20 contacts the card slot 10. In this case, the rotatable portion of the heat conducting component 20 switches the contact with the card slot 10 by rotating, and thus also functions as a contact switching portion 40.

[0059] In addition, for example, the electronic device 1 Figure 7 As shown, when two printed wiring substrates 30 are arranged in parallel via the substrate connection portion 31, three or more heat-conducting components 20 can be extended and connected in a corrugated shape, and the portion of the heat-conducting component 20 closest to the card slot 10 can be in contact with the card slot 10. In this case, the portion of the heat-conducting component 20 closest to the card slot 10 switches the contact with the card slot 10, and thus also functions as the contact switching portion 40.

[0060] The present invention can be implemented in various embodiments and variations without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is not shown by the embodiments, but by the claims. Moreover, various variations implemented within the scope of the claims and the meaning of the invention equivalent thereto are regarded as being within the scope of the present invention.

[0061] Description of the label

[0062] 1 electronic device, 10 card slot, 11 memory card, 20 heat conducting member, 30 printed wiring board, 31 board connecting portion, 40, 40A, 40B contact switching portion, 50 category determination portion, 60, 60A temperature detection portion, 70 notification portion.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising: Card slot; Heat conducting components; a heat dissipation portion capable of being thermally connected to the heat conducting component; and A contact switching unit switches whether the card slot and the heat conducting component are in contact or not.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The device further comprises a type determination unit for determining the type of the memory card inserted into the card slot. The contact switching unit switches whether the card slot and the thermally conductive member are in contact or out of contact based on the type determined by the type determination unit.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The device further comprises a temperature detection unit, which detects the temperature of the card slot and the temperature of the heat dissipation unit. The contact switching unit brings the card slot into contact with the thermally conductive member when the temperature of the card slot is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation portion, and does not bring the card slot into contact with the thermally conductive member when the temperature of the card slot is lower than or equal to the temperature of the heat dissipation portion.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The contact switching unit is a switch that switches whether the card slot and the heat conductive member are in contact or out of contact through a user's operation.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein: Also features: a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature of the card slot and a temperature of the heat dissipation portion; and A notification unit notifies a user to operate the switch to bring the card slot into contact with the heat-conducting component when the temperature of the card slot is higher than the temperature of the heat-dissipating component, and notifies the user to operate the switch without bringing the card slot into contact with the heat-conducting component when the temperature of the card slot is less than or equal to the temperature of the heat-dissipating component.

Images