Printed circuit board device comprising means for absorbing shocks.

Abstract

Title of the invention: Printed circuit board device comprising means for absorbing shocks. The invention relates to a board 16 supporting an electronic component 17, which comprises a zone 20, 30 elastically decoupled from a main 21 of this board. The invention also relates to an electronic card comprising such a card and to an electronic device comprising such a card. Figure for the abstract: figure 5

Description

Title of the invention: Printed circuit board device comprising means for absorbing shocks.

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of portable electronic devices and in particular to printed circuits equipping such devices.

[0002] Portable electronic devices can slip out of a user's hands and fall to the ground, for example from a height of more than one meter. They are then subjected to significant shocks during which the components of the device are subjected to very high accelerations, resulting in total or partial damage to the device. Thus, electronic components of this device can be destroyed by such a shock.

[0003] For example, in some devices, two printed circuit boards may be connected together by components. Upon impact, the boards may experience differential accelerations, damaging the components and / or a connection of a component with one and / or the other of the boards.

[0004] An aim of the invention is to propose means for limiting the risks of damage to an electronic device subjected to shock, in particular when this device is dropped.

[0005] A first object of the invention is a plate for supporting an electronic component which comprises an area elastically decoupled from a main part of the plate. The elastic decoupling is preferably achieved by a cutout isolating the area and by a section of the plate connecting the area with the main part.

[0006] The section can take various forms, for example a swan neck shape or a straight neck shape.

[0007] The area may be an implantation area, on which a component is implanted, or a fixing area comprising a passage for fixing means.

[0008] A second subject of the invention is an electronic card which comprises a plate according to the invention and an electrical circuit printed thereon. This card may comprise an electronic component implanted on the plate in the decoupled zone.

[0009] A second subject of the invention is an electronic device, for example a payment terminal, which comprises an electronic card according to the invention. This device may comprise another electronic card comprising another component, the component of one card and the component of the other card together forming an interconnector functionally connecting the two cards together.

[0010] A device according to the invention may comprise a chassis and / or a housing, the plate comprising a decoupled zone for its attachment to the chassis and / or the housing. Brief description of the figures

[0011] The invention will be better understood on reading the following description given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0012] [Fig-1] is a partial and schematic sectional view, in elevation and in perspective of a payment terminal according to the invention;

[0013] [Fig.2] is an exploded view of the terminal of [Fig.l];

[0014] [Fig.3] is a perspective view of interior elements of the terminal of [Fig.l], assembled together;

[0015] [Fig.4] is a view of a printed circuit board, shown in position on a chassis intended for its positioning in the terminal of [Fig.l]; and,

[0016] [Fig.5] is a plan view of the plate of [Fig.4], shown in isolation. Detailed description

[0017] In the present description, in particular the terms "top", "bottom", "upper" and "lower", "horizontal" and "vertical" and other terms of the same type may be arbitrarily used and generally refer to the positions illustrated in the figures, without having a limiting meaning.

[0018] [Fig.l] illustrates a payment terminal 1. This terminal comprises a base 2 and a cover 3 together forming a housing 2, 3 inside which an assembly 4 is arranged.

[0019] As particularly illustrated in [Fig.2], the assembly 4 comprises: - a 10 chassis; - a first electronic card 11; and, - a second electronic card 12.

[0020] The chassis 10 is made up of a first part 13, integral with the first plate 11 and a second part 14, integral with the second card 12. The chassis 10 is formed by mutual interlocking of its two parts 13, 14.

[0021] The first card 11 is fixed by an upper portion to an upper portion of the base 2 and by a lower portion to the first part 13 of the chassis 10. The second part 14 of the chassis 10 is fixed to a lower portion of the base 2. The second card 14 is fitted and fixed in the second part 14 of the chassis 10.

[0022] The second card 14 comprises a plate 16 which serves as a support for a printed circuit (not shown) and for electronic components 17. The plate is substantially inscribed in a rectangle of length noted L16A and width noted L16B; it is of substantially constant thickness E16, small compared to the length and its width.

[0023] The two cards 11, 12 are functionally and electronically connected to each other by an interconnector 15, formed of a male component 17 fixed to the plate 16 of the second card 12 and a female component 18 fixed on a similar plate of the first card 11.

[0024] The invention aims in particular to protect the connection provided by the interconnector 15, in particular to avoid breakage of the connector 15 in the event of impact or fall of the terminal 1.

[0025] Figures 4 and 5 mainly illustrate the plate 16. The size of the male component 17, arranged on the non-visible opposite face of the plate 16, is represented by a dotted line, as if by transparency. The component 17 is implanted on an area 20 of the plate.

[0026] The implantation zone 20 has a width denoted L20A. The implantation zone is isolated from the main part 21 of the plate 16 by a lateral cutout 22; it is connected to the main part 21 by a section 23 of plate with a width denoted L23A and a length L23B; the neck connects the width L20A of the implantation zone to the main part 21 of the plate 16. The section 23 forms a neck 23, that is to say that the width L20A of the implantation zone 20 is greater than the width L23A of the section 23. The neck is straight, that is to say that it extends in a rectilinear manner between the zone 20 and the main part 21.

[0027] By its slenderness, that is to say the ratio L32B / L23A of its length to its width, the section 23 makes it possible to elastically decouple the implantation zone 20 of the main 23 from the plate 16. In the event of an impact, only a part of its energy is transmitted into the zone thus decoupled. As a result, in the event of strong acceleration experienced by the terminal 1, and in particular if the second card 12 undergoes a different acceleration from the first plate 11, the male component 17 thus decoupled can remain engaged with the female component 18 of the first card 11, without suffering damage.

[0028] The section 23 serves as a support for portions of circuit electrically connecting the male component 17 with other components or other portions of printed circuit arranged on the main 21 of the plate 16.

[0029] A second decoupled zone 30 is formed in the lower part of the plate 16, at each corner. This zone comprises a passage 31 for means 32 for fixing the plate 16 to the chassis 10, as particularly illustrated in [Fig.4]. It will be noted that the means 32 may, for example, comprise a screw or a pin. This fixing zone 30 is isolated from the main part 21 of the plate 16 by another lateral cutout 22, here in the shape of a swan's neck; it is connected to the main part 21 by another section 23 to which the cutout also gives a swan's neck shape, the width of the neck narrowing from the fixing zone towards the main part.

[0030] Such an arrangement makes it possible to elastically decouple the main 21 from the fixing zone. Thus, the electronic components arranged on the main 21 are protected from an impact suffered by the base 2, to which the second card 12 is fixed, at least indirectly.

[0031] Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described. On the contrary, the invention is defined by the claims which follow.

[0032] It will indeed appear to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above, in light of the teaching which has just been disclosed to them.

[0033] Thus, the invention is not limited to a payment terminal, but can be extended to any type of portable electronic device, such devices being by nature liable to fall. It can also be extended to any type of device comprising an electronic card. Indeed, all these devices are liable to be subjected to strong accelerations, for example during their transport, their delivery or during earthquakes.

[0034] Furthermore, the connecting section may have a width substantially equal to or greater than that of the isolated zone.

[0035] The provisions of the invention are particularly advantageous. In particular, making a simple cutout in the plate avoids, for example, the use of costly or complex damping elements to implement.

Claims

Claims

1. Plate (16) supporting an electronic component (17), characterized in that it comprises a zone (20, 30) elastically decoupled from a main part (21) of said plate.

2. Plate (16) according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic decoupling is achieved by a cutout (22) isolating the zone (20, 30) and by a section (23) of the plate connecting said zone with the main (21).

3. Plate according to claim 2, characterized in that the section has a swan neck shape.

4. Plate according to claim 2, characterized in that the section has the shape of a straight neck.

5. Plate according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the zone is an implantation zone (20) on which a component (17) is implanted.

6. Plate according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the zone is a fixing zone (30) comprising a passage for fixing means.

7. Electronic card (12), characterized in that it comprises a plate according to one of claims 1 to 6 and an electrical circuit printed on said plate.

8. Card according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises an electronic component (17) implanted on the plate (16) in the decoupled zone (20).

9. Electronic device (1), characterized in that it comprises an electronic card according to one of claims 7 and 8.

10. Device according to claim 9 characterized in that it comprises an electronic card according to claim 8 and another electronic card (11) comprising another component (18), the components (17, 18) together forming an interconnector (15) functionally connecting the two cards (11, 12) together.

11. Device according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that it comprises a chassis and / or a housing, the plate (16) comprising a decoupled zone (30) for its fixing on said chassis (10) and / or said housing.

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