electronic devices

Abstract

The electronic device (1) comprises: a card slot (10); a heat-conducting component (20); a printed wiring substrate (30) which can be connected to the heat-conducting component (20) in a heat-conducting manner; and a contact switching unit (40) which switches whether the card slot (10) and the heat-conducting component (20) are in contact or not.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present 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. Excessive heat generation can cause malfunctions or failures, so when designing electronic devices with card slots, 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 Laid-Open 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 inevitably deforms and comes into contact with the heated portion. Therefore, when the heat sink temperature is higher than the card temperature, heat flows back from the heat sink to the card. Heat sinks are typically used to dissipate heat generated by multiple circuits, so this situation where the heat sink temperature is higher than the card temperature can 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-mentioned purpose, the electronic device involved in the present invention comprises: a card slot; a heat-conducting component; a heat dissipation portion, which can be thermally connected to the heat-conducting component; a temperature detection unit, which detects the temperature of the card slot and the temperature of the heat dissipation portion; and a contact switching unit, which switches whether the card slot and the heat-conducting component are in contact or not, and the contact switching unit makes the card slot and the heat-conducting component contact when the temperature of the card slot is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation portion, and does not make the card slot and the heat-conducting component contact when the temperature of the card slot is less than or equal to the temperature of the heat dissipation portion.

[0008] Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent backflow of heat to the card. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 This 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.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] 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.

[0018] (Implementation 1)

[0019] While referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , while describing electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1. Electronic device 1 is an electronic device capable of accessing a memory card 11. Electronic device 1 includes a card slot 10, a heat-conducting component 20, a printed wiring board 30, and a contact switching unit 40. Furthermore, electronic device 1 includes various electronic components not shown. Electronic device 1 is an example of an electronic device according to the present invention.

[0020] 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 member 20 is deformed and the card slot 10 is in contact with the heat conducting member 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 .

[0021] Next, the components of the electronic device 1 will be described. The card slot 10 is used to access 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 according to the present invention.

[0022] The heat conducting component 20 is a heat conducting component connected to the printed wiring board 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, it can dissipate the heat generated by the card slot 10 to the printed wiring board 30. The heat conducting component 20 is, for example, a metal plate having toughness. In this case, Figure 2 As shown, when the heat conducting member 20 is pressed down by the contact switching portion 40, the heat conducting member 20 deforms due to its 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.

[0023] The printed wiring board 30 is used to electrically connect various electronic components (not shown) of the electronic device 1 and the card slot 11. Furthermore, the printed wiring board 30 is connected to the heat-conducting member 20 in a manner that allows heat dissipation. The printed wiring board 30 is connected to the heat-conducting member 20 in a manner that allows heat dissipation, thereby functioning as a heat dissipation unit that dissipates heat transferred from the heat-conducting member 20. Furthermore, the printed wiring board 30 also dissipates heat generated from various electronic components (not shown). The printed wiring board 30 is an example of a heat dissipation unit according to the present invention.

[0024] 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, the contact switch 40 is turned on. When the contact switch 40 is turned off, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, 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 portion of the contact switch 40 presses down the heat conducting member 20. As a result, the heat conducting member 20 contacts the card slot 10. In addition, when the user operates 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.

[0025] Next, the situation of preventing heat from flowing back 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. In other words, 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, there is a possibility that heat will flow back from the printed wiring substrate 30 to the memory card 11.

[0026] When the user is concerned about heat backflow from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11 , the user can open the contact switch 40 to prevent the card slot 10 and the thermally conductive member 20 from contacting each other, thereby preventing heat backflow from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11 .

[0027] For example, if access to memory card 11 is infrequent and the processing load of a processor (not shown) in electronic device 1 is high, memory card 11 is expected to generate less heat while the processor generates more. In this case, the heat generated by the processor is expected to raise the temperature of printed wiring board 30 above that of card slot 10. Therefore, if card slot 10 and heat conductive member 20 are in contact, heat could potentially flow back toward memory card 11. Therefore, the user can prevent this backflow of heat by opening contact switch 40 to prevent contact between card slot 10 and heat conductive member 20.

[0028] Conversely, when there is no concern about heat backflow from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11 , the user turns on the contact switch 40 to bring the card slot 10 and the thermally conductive member 20 into contact, thereby allowing heat generated from the memory card 11 to be dissipated to the printed wiring board 30 .

[0029] The electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1 has been described above. According to Electronic Device 1 according to Embodiment 1, a user can operate Contact Switch 40 to switch whether the card slot 10 and the thermally conductive member 20 are in contact or out of contact. Thus, if there is a concern about heat backflow from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11, the user can open Contact Switch 40 to prevent contact between the card slot 10 and the thermally conductive member 20, thereby preventing heat backflow.

[0030] (Implementation Method 2)

[0031] While referring to 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 differs from the case of the embodiment 1 in that a type determination unit 50 is further provided, and a contact switching unit 40A is provided instead of the contact switching unit 40 .

[0032] Type determination unit 50 is communicatively connected to card slot 10 and contact switch unit 40A. Type determination unit 50 communicates with card slot 10 to determine the type of memory card 11 inserted into card slot 10. Type determination unit 50 transmits a signal indicating the determined type of memory card 11 to contact switch unit 40A. Type determination unit 50 is implemented, for example, by an electronic circuit. Type determination unit 50 is an example of a type determination unit according to the present invention.

[0033] The "type of memory card 11" indicates, for example, the type of transfer speed corresponding to the memory card 11. For example, if the memory card 11 is an SD memory card, the "type of memory card 11" may be a type related to the maximum transfer speed of the SD memory card, such as DS (Default Speed), HS (High Speed), UHS (Ultra High Speed)-I, UHS-II, or UHS-III.

[0034] The contact switching unit 40A is substantially similar to the contact switching unit 40 of Embodiment 1, but differs in that it is not a switch operated by the user, but rather a switch that switches between on and off by a signal. The contact switching unit 40A switches between on and off based on a 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 thermally conductive member 20 are in contact or non-contact based on the type of the memory card 11. The contact switching unit 40A is implemented using electronic components, such as electronic circuits and mechanical relays. The contact switching unit 40A is an example of a contact switching unit according to the present invention.

[0035] For example, contact switch 40A is turned on when the transfer speed of memory card 11, as determined based on the type of memory card 11, is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, placing the card slot 10 and thermally conductive member 20 in contact. Otherwise, contact switch 40A is turned off, preventing contact between the card slot 10 and thermally conductive member 20. Generally speaking, the faster the transfer speed of memory card 11, the greater the amount of heat generated by the memory card 11. Therefore, when the transfer speed of memory card 11 is greater than or equal to the threshold, it is expected that the temperature of card slot 10, which receives heat from the memory card 11, will be higher than the temperature of printed wiring board 30. In this case, since there is no concern about heat flowing back from printed wiring board 30 to memory card 11, contact switch 40A is turned on, allowing heat generated by memory card 11 to be dissipated to printed wiring board 30 via card slot 11 and thermally conductive member 20.

[0036] Conversely, when the transfer speed of the memory card 11 is lower than the threshold, the temperature of the card slot 10, which receives heat from the memory card 11, may fall below the temperature of the printed wiring board 30. In this case, there is a concern that heat may flow back from the printed wiring board 30 to the memory card 11. Therefore, the contact switching portion 40A is opened to prevent the backflow of heat to the memory card 11.

[0037] The electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment has been described above. In the electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment, the contact switch 40A automatically switches between on and off based on the type of memory card 11 inserted into the card slot 10. Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, heat can be prevented from flowing back to the memory card 11 without requiring any user operation.

[0038] (Implementation 3)

[0039] While referring to 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 differs 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 .

[0040] 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 dashed arrows indicate that the temperature detection unit 60 detects the temperature of the card slot 10 and the printed wiring board 30. The temperature detection unit 60 is communicatively connected to the contact switching unit 40B. The temperature detection unit 60 transmits a signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and a signal indicating the temperature of the printed wiring board 30 to the contact switching unit 40B. The temperature detection unit 60 is an example of a temperature detection unit according to the present invention.

[0041] The contact switching unit 40B is substantially the same as the contact switching unit 40 according to the first embodiment, but differs in that it is not a switch operated by the user, but a switch that switches between on and off by a signal. The contact switching unit 40B switches between on and off based on a signal indicating the temperature of the card slot 10 and a 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 according to the present invention.

[0042] As described above, when the temperature of the card slot 10 is equal to or lower than the temperature of the printed wiring board 30, the contact switch 40B is turned off, thereby preventing backflow of heat from the printed wiring board 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 board 30, the contact switch 40B is turned on, thereby dissipating heat generated by the memory card 11 to the printed wiring board 30.

[0043] The electronic device 1 according to the third embodiment has been described above. According to the third embodiment, the electronic device 1 switches the contact switching portion 40B on and off in accordance with the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring board 30. Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, heat can be prevented from flowing back to the memory card 11 independently of user operation. Furthermore, since the contact switching portion 40B is switched on and off in accordance with the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring board 30, heat can be more reliably prevented from flowing back to the memory card 11 compared to the second embodiment.

[0044] (Implementation 4)

[0045] While referring to 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 embodiment shown is substantially the same as the embodiment 1, but differs from the embodiment 1 in that it further includes a temperature detection unit 60A and a notification unit 70. Furthermore, unlike the embodiments 2 and 3 described above, the contact switch 40 is identical to the embodiment 1. Specifically, the contact switch 40 is a switch that is switched on and off by a user's operation.

[0046] Temperature detection unit 60A is substantially the same as temperature detection unit 60 in Embodiment 3, but differs from Embodiment 3 in that a signal indicating the temperature of card slot 10 and a signal indicating the temperature of printed wiring board 30 are transmitted to notification unit 70. Temperature detection unit 60A is an example of a temperature detection unit according to the present invention.

[0047] 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 board 30 from the temperature detection unit 60A. When the temperature of the card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of the printed wiring board 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 board 30, the notification unit 70 notifies the user to operate the contact switching unit 40 as a switch so as not to bring 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 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, or the like. The notification unit 70 is an example of a notification unit according to the present invention.

[0048] As described above, when the temperature of card slot 10 is lower than or equal to the temperature of printed wiring board 30, notification unit 70 notifies the user to remove card slot 10 from contact with heat-conducting member 20. Consequently, the user, in accordance with the notification, turns off contact switch 40, thereby preventing backflow of heat from printed wiring board 30 to memory card 11. On the other hand, when the temperature of card slot 10 is higher than the temperature of printed wiring board 30, notification unit 70 notifies the user to remove card slot 10 from contact with heat-conducting member 20. Consequently, the user, in accordance with the notification, turns on contact switch 40, thereby dissipating heat generated from memory card 11 to printed wiring board 30.

[0049] The electronic device 1 according to the fourth embodiment has been described above. According to the electronic device 1 according to the fourth embodiment, the notification unit 70 notifies the user according to the temperature of the card slot 10 and the temperature of the printed wiring board 30. Therefore, the user can operate the contact switch unit 40 in accordance with the notification, thereby preventing the backflow of heat to the memory card 11. Furthermore, although user operation is required, the structure of the contact switch unit 40 can be simplified compared to the cases of the second and third embodiments.

[0050] (Variation)

[0051] In the above embodiments, the printed wiring board 30 functions as a heat sink. However, a component other than the printed wiring board 30 may also function as a heat sink. For example, the housing of the electronic device 1 may function as a heat sink. In this case, the heat conductive member 20 can be connected to the housing in a thermally conductive manner.

[0052] In the second embodiment, the "type of the memory card 11" is shown as a type related to the transfer speed of the memory card 11. Alternatively, the "type of the memory card 11" may be a type related to the capacity of an SD memory card, such as SD, SDHC, or SDXC; a type related to the shape of an SD memory card, such as SD, miniSD, or microSD; or a type related to the standard of a memory card, such as SD, MMC, or SDIO.

[0053] If the "type of memory card 11" is related to capacity, it is assumed that the larger the capacity of the memory card 11, the greater the heat generated. Therefore, the contact switch 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, the contact switch 40A can be turned on or off based on the expected time when heat generation will increase.

[0054] In the first embodiment, the contact switching unit 40 presses down the heat conducting member 20, whereby the heat conducting member 20 contacts the card slot 10. For example, the electronic device 1 Figure 6 As shown, when two printed wiring boards 30 are arranged vertically via a board connection portion 31, the two heat conducting members 20 can be connected by a hinge, and the rotatable portion of the heat conducting member 20 contacts the card slot 10. In this case, the rotatable portion of the heat conducting member 20 switches contact with the card slot 10 by rotating, and thus also functions as the contact switching portion 40.

[0055] In addition, for example, the electronic device 1 Figure 7 As shown, when two printed wiring boards 30 are arranged in parallel via the board connection portion 31, three or more heat conductive members 20 can be extended and connected in a corrugated manner, and the portion of the heat conductive member 20 closest to the card slot 10 can be in contact with the card slot 10. In this case, the portion of the heat conductive member 20 closest to the card slot 10 switches contact with the card slot 10, thereby also functioning as the contact switching portion 40.

[0056] The present invention is capable of various embodiments and variations without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the aforementioned embodiments are intended 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 defined by the embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, any variations implemented within the meaning of the claims and their equivalents are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0057] Description of the label

[0058] 1 Electronic device, 10 Card slot, 11 Memory card, 20 Thermal conductive member, 30 Printed wiring board, 31 Board connection 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; a temperature detection unit configured to detect the temperature of the card slot and the temperature of the heat dissipation portion; as well as a contact switching unit for switching whether the card slot and the heat conducting component are in contact or not; The contact switching unit brings the card slot into contact with the heat conducting member when the temperature of the card slot is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation portion, and prevents the card slot from contacting with the heat conducting member when the temperature of the card slot is lower than or equal to the temperature of the heat dissipation portion.

Images