Mobile terminal apparatus

The present invention relates to mobile terminal apparatuses such as mobile communication apparatuses having batteries.

Current mobile phones can remove a battery from the casing thereof and replaced it with an auxiliary battery, if the amount of electricity charged in a battery becomes insufficient.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary known mobile terminal apparatus. A mobile phone includes a rear case 1 constituting a casing, a battery 3 to be accommodated in a recess 2 on the back face of the rear case 1 , and a lid 4 that covers the battery 3 from the side opposite the recess 2 and that is engaged with the rear case 1 .

The known mobile terminal apparatus can reduce the thickness of the casing as a result of omitting a partition of the recess 2 for separating an internal space of a front case to be engaged with the rear case 1 from an accommodation space for the battery 3 .

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, if the partition of the recess 2 of the rear case 1 of the mobile phone is omitted, the battery 3 faces the back face of a circuit board, which is disposed on a side facing toward the rear case 1 , of an operation key member accompanying the front case. Thus, the battery 3 cannot be held in a stable manner.

If there is a gap between the back face of the circuit board and the battery, the circuit board is distorted when a person using the phone presses the operation key member. When this is repeated, soldered connections on the circuit board may become loose or circuit patterns on the circuit board may be damaged.

In view of the foregoing circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile terminal apparatus for preventing damage to a circuit board due to pressing of an operation key member and for reducing the thickness of a casing.

Means for Solving the Problems

According to the present invention, a mobile terminal apparatus includes a casing, an operation key member disposed on an external face of the casing, a circuit board facing the operation key member inside the casing and a battery facing the circuit board on a side opposite the operation key member inside the casing. The battery includes a board supporting part for supporting the circuit board. The board supporting part has a tip portion in abutting contact with the circuit board at a position facing the circuit board.

FIG. 1 illustrates an appearance of a mobile terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a casing and a supporting part shown in FIG. 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a battery shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a casing and a supporting part in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a casing and a supporting part in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a battery shown in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a known mobile terminal apparatus.

5 electrical connection part

8 casing

10 operation key member

11 circuit board

12 battery

13 electronic components

14 resin molded part

15 rib part

16 battery supporting part

17 battery supporting part

Embodiments of the present invention will now herein be described on the basis of the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate an embodiment of a mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates an appearance of a mobile phone 100 serving as a mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention. In the mobile phone 100 , a display-unit-side casing 102 including a display unit 101 and an operation-unit-side casing 106 including operation keys 105 including a numeric key 103 and a selection key 104 are connected by a hinge 107 so as to be rotatable. The mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the configuration in which two casings are connected to each other.

A casing 8 constituting the operation-unit-side casing 106 includes a front case 9 and a rear case 1 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the casing 8 contains an operation key member 10 , a circuit board 11 and a battery 12 . The operation key member 10 includes the operation keys 105 disposed on an external face 9 a of the front case 9 (bottom side in FIG. 2 ) and is disposed on the side facing toward the front case 9 inside the casing 8 . The circuit board 11 is facing the operation key member 10 . The battery 12 is disposed on the side facing toward the rear case 1 inside the casing 8 , which is opposite the operation key member 10 , and faces the circuit board 11 .

Electronic components 13 having various shapes are mounted on a surface, facing toward the battery 12 , of the circuit board 11 .

The battery 12 includes a battery cell 12 a formed as a rectangular plate, a battery substrate 12 b electrically connected to + and − terminals provided on a side face of the battery cell 12 a , and an electrical connection part 5 electrically connected to the battery substrate 12 b . These elements are integrally molded as a resin molded part 14 formed by low-pressure molding using polyamide or the like as a material so that a connection end 5 a of the electrical connection part 5 is exposed.

The battery substrate 12 b and the electrical connection part 5 are facing each other on one side face of the battery cell 12 a (proximal side shown in FIG. 3 ). The connection terminal 5 a of the electrical connection part 5 is disposed on a side face of the battery 12 . This configuration reduces the thickness of the battery 12 , thereby reducing the thickness of the casing 8 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , rib parts 15 are provided on a face (first external face) of the battery 12 facing the circuit board 11 . Tip portions 15 a of the rib parts 15 in abutting contact with the circuit board 11 serve as board supporting parts for supporting the circuit board 11 .

The rib parts 15 are integrally molded at the same time using the same resin material as that used to form the resin molded part 14 . While the strength of the rib parts 15 and the resin molded part 14 are improved, the battery 12 can be made compact.

The rib parts 15 correspond to, of the electronic components 13 , electronic components with the greatest thickness. The tip portions 15 a of the rib parts 15 directly touch the battery 12 . That is, the rib parts 15 have substantially the same or greater height than the electronic components 13 mounted on the surface of the circuit board 11 facing toward the battery 12 . The planar shapes of the rib parts 15 are designed to avoid interference with the electronic components 13 .

Accordingly, the circuit board 11 can be brought as close to the battery 12 as possible. Since the electronic components 13 engage with the rib parts 15 , the positioning of the circuit board 11 and the battery 12 can be performed.

Furthermore, some of the rib parts 15 are formed as boxes with openings facing toward the circuit board 11 so as to enclose the electronic components 13 . The electronic components 13 covered with the rib parts 15 and the resin molded part 14 of the battery 12 acquires a secondary shielding effect.

That is, as has been described above, the rib parts 15 abutting against and supporting the circuit board 11 are disposed on a counter face of the battery 12 (which is the first external face or the top side shown in FIG. 3 ). The back face of the battery 12 where there are no rib parts 15 , that is, an external face opposite the external face where the rib parts 15 are disposed, which is the back face facing the internal face of the rear case 1 (which is a second external face or the bottom side shown in FIG. 3 ), is supported by the rear case 1 . Even when stress is applied to the circuit board 11 by pressing the operation key member 10 , distortion of the circuit board 11 supported by the rib parts 15 is suppressed, and damages and deformation of the circuit board 11 can be avoided. Furthermore, there is an advantage that an operational feeling is not deteriorated.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention. In the view, portions given the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 represent the same parts.

In this embodiment, the rear case 1 contains a battery supporting part 16 disposed on the internal face thereof. The battery supporting part 16 is formed as a frame in abutting contact with a peripheral portion which is the periphery of the back face of the battery 12 where no rib parts 15 are disposed.

The battery supporting part 16 is integrally molded at the same time using the same resin material as that used to form the rear case 1 . While the strength of the battery supporting part 16 and the rear case 1 are improved, the rear case 1 can be made compact.

That is, even when the battery 12 swells out in the thickness direction of the casing due to a temperature increase, the deformation of the battery 12 is tolerated by a space enclosed by the battery supporting part 16 . As a result, no needless force is applied to the electronic components 13 and the circuit board 11 . The battery 12 is supported by the rear case 1 via the battery supporting part 16 . As a result, the circuit board 11 can be effectively supported by the battery 12 via the rib parts 15 .

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of the mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention. In the view, portions given the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 4 represent the same parts.

In this embodiment, the battery 12 has a battery supporting part 17 on the back face of the battery 12 where no rib parts 15 are disposed (the top side shown in FIG. 5 ). The battery supporting part 17 in abutting contact with the internal face of the rear case 1 extends so as to have a frame shape along a peripheral portion which is the periphery of the back face of the battery 12 where no rib parts 15 are disposed.

The battery supporting part 17 is integrally molded at the same time using the same resin material as that used to form the resin molded part 14 . While the strength of the battery supporting part 17 and the resin molded part 14 are improved, the battery 12 can be made compact.

The mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, the battery supporting parts 16 and 17 are integrally disposed on one of the battery 12 and the rear case 1 . Alternatively, the battery supporting parts 16 and 17 may be disposed on both the battery 12 and the rear case 1 . Alternatively, the battery supporting parts 16 and 17 may include members different from the battery 12 and the rear case 1 , and the battery supporting parts 16 and 17 may be disposed so as to be sandwiched between the battery 12 and the rear case 1 and to support the battery 12 . Alternatively, the battery supporting parts 16 and 17 may be elastically deformable to support the battery 12 in a manner involving elastic deformation.

Although the battery 12 is configured as the resin molded part by integrally molding the battery cell, the battery substrate, and the electrical connection, the battery 12 may be configured without involving molding. Although the rib parts 15 provided on the face of the battery 12 facing the circuit board 11 are integrally molded with the resin molded part 14 , the rib parts 15 may include members different from the resin molded part 14 and may be provided on the face facing the circuit board 11 .

The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-284435) filed on Sep. 29, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

A mobile terminal apparatus of the present invention is applicable to various mobile terminals.