WO2006120627A2

WO2006120627A2 - An electronic device, a housing part, an assembly and a method for manufacturing an electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2006120627A2
Application number: PCT/IB2006/051424
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Ouwerkerk; Lambertus W. L. M. Foolen; Bartholomeus P. H. Van Nunen
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Current assignee: Koninklijke Philips NV
Priority date: 2005-05-13
Filing date: 2006-05-05
Publication date: 2006-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 2007-11-13
Also published as: WO2006120627A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic device (20) comprising at least one electronic component (28,29), such as a printed circuit board, and a housing, the housing comprising contact parts to provide electrical contact and at least two housing parts (23,24), adapted to receive an electronic component, each housing part comprising connection means for connecting the housing parts, the housing having a bottom side, a top side and sides that connect the top and bottom side, wherein the connection means comprises a member, which extends along the sides connecting the top and bottom side and has a closed perimeter for sealing the housing, and wherein the contact parts are provided at the inside of the member. Furthermore the present invention also relates to a housing part for use in an electronic device, comprising connection means for connection with other housing parts, the connection means comprising a member, which has a closed perimeter and extends along the sides of the housing part. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a housing part and a method for manufacturing an electronic device.

Description

An electronic device, a housing part, an assembly and a method for manufacturing an electronic device

The present invention relates to an electronic device comprising at least one electronic component, such as a printed circuit board, and a housing, the housing comprising contact parts to provide electrical contact and at least two housing parts, adapted to receive an electronic component, each housing part comprising connection means for connecting the housing parts, the housing having a bottom side, a top side and sides that connect the top and bottom side.

The present invention also relates to a housing part that is used in an electronic device.

The present invention also relates to an assembly comprising a docking bay and an electronic device.

Furthermore the present invention relates to a method for manufacture a housing part and a method for manufacturing a portable electronic device.

An electronic device as described in the first paragraph is known for example from the British patent application GB 2371674A. This document discloses an electronic device comprising a lower housing part or substrate in which a micro-electronic component can be embedded and an upper housing part or substrate, the connection means of both substrates comprising pillars and recesses respectively that co-operate to form snap-fit connections that hold the housing parts releasable together. In-between the substrates a gasket is arranged, which is meant to seal the sides connecting the topside and the bottom side of the housing. This is required when the electronic component is a fluidic sensor for example in order to ensure a flow path of the fluid in the active area of the sensor chip, the fluid entering the housing through ports in the upper housing part. The gasket comprises an O-ring to improve the sealing function of the housing. Electrical contacts within the housing are preferably established by providing a conductive via through the center of the pillar and the recess. British patent application GB 2371674A furthermore discloses the use of more than two housing parts that are stacked in order to create a modular housing for an electronic device containing more than one electronic component.

A problem with this known electronic device described in the previous paragraph is that the mechanical connection between the housing parts is not very reliable. This connection will be strong at locations nearby the pillars and recesses, but considerably weaker at locations in-between these connection points, especially when the distance between two pairs of pillars/recesses is large and release forces are being exerted at locations between such pairs. Another problem is that in order to seal the sides connecting the topside and the bottom side at least two additional components, in this case a gasket and an O-ring, are required beside the housing parts themselves. Another problem is that the contact parts within the housing cannot be properly sealed since they are disposed outside the O-ring.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device, wherein the housing parts are connected in a reliable way without the use of additional components.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic device, wherein the contact parts are properly sealed from the environment.

According to the present invention a portable electronic device according to the preamble of claim 1 is provided, wherein the connection means comprises a member, which extends along the sides connecting the top and bottom side and has a closed perimeter for sealing the housing, and wherein the contact parts are provided at the inside of the member. The member ensures that the housing is sealed, at least along the sides connecting the top and bottom side, additional sealing means such as the gasket and the O- ring as described in GB 2371674A being superfluous. Sealing from top and bottom sides is not necessary, or actually obtained automatically, by using special top and bottom housing parts, which comprise a closed outer surface (defining a top and bottom surface respectively). With the terms 'has a closed perimeter' it is meant that the member defines a closed loop, the orientation of which is defined by the sides connecting the top and bottom side. This does not necessarily mean that the member runs parallel to these sides. By providing the contacts parts at the inside of the member it is obtained that the contact parts are sealed from the environment regarding its sealing function. The contact parts are meant to provide the required electrical contacts between both the individual housing parts and the individual electronic components. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention the member comprises a first protrusion and each housing part comprises a second protrusion, both the first and second protrusion having a closed perimeter and extending along the sides connecting the top and bottom side, wherein the first and second protrusions are disposed at opposite sides of a housing part and respectively co-operate with second and first protrusions of adjacent housing parts to form snap-fit connections. This is advantageous since the corresponding overlap as defined by a coupled first and second protrusion will improve the sealing function.

In another preferred embodiment the housing parts have a substantially circular shape. This allows obtaining a cylindrically shaped housing, the housing parts having bodies or protrusions with a circular shape, which are easier to connect (in comparison for example with rectangular shaped bodies or protrusions). Especially in combination with the preferred embodiment as described in the previous paragraph, first and second circular protrusions that form snap-fit connections, this is advantageous. This embodiment is also advantageous with respect to the possible application of a battery as one of the electronic components, since batteries generally have a circular or cylindrical shape.

In yet another preferred embodiment each housing part comprises a notch and a projection, the notch and projection of adjacent housing parts co-operating to obtain a fixed position. A fixed mutual position of the housing parts is amongst other advantageous for reproducibly placing an electronic component therein. According to the invention it is advantageous when the contact parts are arranged in the housing parts and extend in two opposite directions for mutual electrical contact between adjacent housing parts. This allows providing electrical contact between two adjacent housing parts even when both parts do not carry an electronic component, the electrical contact being established upon connecting the housing parts mechanically. Furthermore it allows to let the connection means carry any disruptive load on the housing parts, preferably by the member or the protrusions thereof, thereby protecting the contact parts from loosing their electrical contact.

According to the invention it is furthermore advantageous when the electronic components comprise apertures, which are adapted to co-operate with the contact parts to provide electrical contact, the contact parts being adapted to extend both in the apertures and towards the contact parts of adjacent housing parts. In this way the contact parts can provide electrical contact between two electronic components that are accommodated in adjacent housing parts. The apertures are made for example in printed circuit boards and are internally gold plated, the gold plating being connected to the printed circuit board (PCB) circuitry. The contact parts and apertures function as some sort of new connector.

The present invention also relates to a housing part for use in an electronic device, comprising connection means for connection with other housing parts, the connection means comprising a member, which has a closed perimeter and extends along the sides of the housing part. Such a housing member allows constructing a modular housing that is properly sealed from its environment. Preferably in the housing part contact parts are disposed along the member at the inside thereof. This enables to establish electrical contact between two adjacent housing parts or to establish electrical contact between two electronic components that are accommodated in two individual housing parts.

The present invention also relates to an assembly comprising a docking bay and an electronic device, the docking bay comprising contacts parts that are connected to contact parts of the electronic device. This enables data transfer between the electronic device and other apparatus', as well as a means for recharging the battery. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a housing part comprising: providing a plurality of metallic strips, each metallic strip comprising a plurality of contact parts, which are mutually connected by at least one tie strip disposed at outer ends of the contact parts within a metallic strip; - bending the metallic strips to a shape that corresponds with the interior part of a housing part; placing the metallic strips at the interior part of a housing part to provide contact parts along the interior part of a housing part; injection molding a connection part to connect the metallic strips with a housing part, wherein after the molding step the contact parts extend from the connection part in two opposite directions; removing the tie strips to remove the mutual connection between the individual contact parts.

In a specially preferred embodiment an additional injection molding step is carried out to provide a support part at the center of the metallic strip in order to facilitate the placing of the strip in the housing part. The combination of metallic strip and support part provides an insert, which can be easily placed at the interior of a housing part. These embodiments provide a simple and straightforward method for providing contact parts within a housing part. They are in particular advantageous when circular shaped housing parts are used, for example by applying two metallic strips that are bent to a semicircle. The support part can advantageously be used to carry an electronic component. The contact parts that extend from the support part or the connection part can provide an electrical connection to the outside world or an adjacent housing part. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing an electronic device comprising: providing at least two housing parts; providing at least one electronic component; accommodating the electronic components in the housing parts by connecting the electronic component with the corresponding contact parts; connecting the housing parts for a sealed housing.

In a preferred embodiment a plurality of electronic components is provided, mutual electrical contact between the electronic components being established by contacting the corresponding contact parts, which occurs upon connecting the housing parts mechanically.

With the electronic device and the method according to the invention it is possible to simply change or replace a particular electronic component by just releasing one or more of the housing parts and replacing the corresponding components that are received in these housing parts. The present invention facilitates both the maintenance and the reconfiguration of an electronic device.

The invention will be explained further below under reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of a housing according to a preferred embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a housing part;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a housing part;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a metallic strip with a support part;

Fig. 5 is a perspective exploded view of an electronic device.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, which show a preferred embodiment of a housing and the corresponding housing parts, wherein a housing 1 comprising two housing parts 2. The housing in this embodiment only consists of an upper and a lower housing part. By simply connecting additional housing parts to the top or bottom of the housing it is easy to increase the number of housing parts and with that increase the volume of the housing.

The housing parts and housing have a circular shape. The housing has a top side 11 a bottom side 12 and a side connecting the top and bottom side 13. The side 13 defines a cylinder in this preferred embodiment.

Each housing part comprises connection means for mutually connecting the housing parts, the means comprising a member 5, which extends along the sides connecting the top and bottom side 13 and has a closed perimeter. In this embodiment the member 5 comprises a first protrusion 6, which cooperates with a second protrusion 7 of an adjacent housing part, which together form a snap-fit connection. Each protrusion also extends along the sides connecting the top and bottom side 13 and has a closed perimeter Fig. 2 most clearly shows the shape of both protrusions 6,7. It will be clear that the connection means as shown in Figs 1 and 2 will completely seal the housing, or at least seal the sides 13 thereof. Preferably the lowermost and uppermost housing part, respectively defining the top and the bottom side, comprise a closed outer surface that completely seals the housing from its environment. Experiments have proven that such an embodiment can even be applied in sterilization processes without influencing or deteriorating the electronic components in the housing . This makes the device in particular useful for medical or veterinary applications.

Furthermore, as is shown in Fig. 1, each housing part comprises a notch 8 and a protrusion 9, which cooperate to ensure a fixed position of each housing part. This is mainly advantageous when a housing part comprises a plurality of contact parts for electrical contact with an electronic component that is accommodated in the housing part.

Each housing part is adapted to receive an electronic component. Such components are not shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for reasons of clarity. In Figs. 1 and 2 it is shown that between two connected housing parts a crack

10 with a height h is present. This crack facilitates disconnecting two housing part, for example by inserting a finger nail or a tool in the crack and exerting a releasing force on both housing parts. The mechanical connection between two housing parts is such that a diagram illustrating the connection or release force as a function of the mutual displacement of both parts shows just a single maximum followed by a rapid decrease in (dis)connection force. During the release of two housing parts the force rapidly increases with increasing displacement, which results in a more reliable connection. Because the so-called lead in angle (beveled edge deflecting the protrusion during connection) is less steep than the so-called return angle (beveled edge deflecting the protrusion during release), the force increases less rapidly during the connection of two housing parts. This results in a feeling that is safer when one connects the housing parts. Furthermore it leads to an easier positioning of the housing parts, especially when circular parts are used.

Preferably each housing part comprises a ring 14 (see Fig. 2) that supports the contact parts and/or an electronic component.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a housing part 2. In this figure it is illustrated more clearly that the housing part 2 is circular and that respectively the member 5 and the first and second protrusions 6,7 have a closed perimeter. Contact parts, which are not shown in Figs. 1-3, are preferably disposed along member 5 at the inside thereof and preferably at ring 14.

Preferably the housing parts are made from a transparent plastic such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene. (PS), which allows applying solar cells within the housing. Furthermore in this way one can observe all electronic components, which can be advantageous to facilitate the use of status LEDs. Other plastic that are preferably used for manufacturing the housing parts are polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC).

Fig. 4 gives a perspective view showing a metallic strip 15 with a support part 16. The metallic strip 15 comprises a number of contact parts H₁-H_n that function to make a connection with an electronic component in a housing or to mutually connect two adjacent housing parts. This will be explained below in more detail. The support part 16 functions as support with respect to the connection of the contact parts to a housing part and preferably is integrated with ring 14 thereof (see Fig. 2).

It can be seen that the metallic strip 15 comprises two tie strips 18 that function as temporary connection of the individual contact parts during those manufacturing steps in which a metallic strip 15 is not yet connected to a housing part. Once the metallic strip 15 is connected to a housing part the tie strips 18 are removed by cutting or removing all small rods 19, for example by laser cutting or etching.

With metallic strip it is meant any strip that has an appropriate metallic contact area. Thus a plastic or ceramic component that is partially metal coated is also possible. The method of integrating the metallic strip into a housing part is as follows.

First a metallic strip 15 is created in which the appropriate contact parts are provided. This can be done for example by laser cutting, etching, electric discharge machining such as spark eroding, or punching. Next the strip is bent into an appropriate shape that corresponds with the interior part of a housing part. In case of a circular housing part only two metallic strips that are bent to a semicircle are sufficient. By means of injection molding the support part 16 disposed at the center of the metallic strip 15 is provided. This support part 16 facilitates placing the metallic strip 15 in a housing part. The combination of metallic strip and support part defines an insert, which can be placed within the housing part. By means of injection molding the insert is connected to the housing part, wherein after the molding step the contact parts extend from the connection part in two opposite directions. By means of cutting or removing all small rods 19 the tie strips 18 are finally removed from the contact parts 17. This results in a plurality of individual contact parts divided along the interior part of a housing part. Fig. 5 shows a perspective exploded view of an electronic device 20. This device comprises respectively a top and a bottom housing part 21,22, separated by two regular housing parts 23,24. The top and a bottom housing parts comprise closed outer surfaces 25,26 that function to seal the top and bottom side of the housing from the environment. Preferably the surfaces 25,26 are flat. The bottom housing part 22 accommodates a battery 27, while the top housing part accommodates one or more solar cells 28 that for example can recharge the battery. The regular housing parts each comprise first and second protrusions, while the bottom and top housing part only comprise a first and a second protrusion respectively in order to mutually connect all parts. Similarly the regular housing parts each comprise both a notch and a projection, while the bottom and top housing part only comprise a notch and a protrusion respectively in order to obtain a fixed position of the respective part.

Within the regular housing parts 23,24 two electronic components 29, 30 are provided, comprising a PCB on which various components such as capacitors, chips or inductors are placed. Each PCB comprises a circuitry 31 comprising metallic lines and or vias and apertures that are internally coated, such as Au-coated. The PCB is connected to a housing part by inserting the contact parts 17 in the apertures of the PCB, the apertures and contact parts forming a new connector type. The contact parts hereby extend both in the apertures on the one hand and towards contact parts of an adjacent housing part on the other. In Fig. 5 only the upwards extending contact parts are shown. These upwards extending contact parts cooperate with the downwards extending contact parts, which are not shown in Fig. 5. It will be clear that the electronic device as shown in Fig. 5 functions as stand-alone device. However the electronic device according to the invention is very well suited to cooperate with other devices, which will be explained in more detail below. By means of a mutual elastic displacement of respectively upwards and downwards extending contact parts as disposed in two adjacent housing parts, mutual electrical contact between these housing parts is established. This displacement occurs during the corresponding mechanical connection of the housing parts. Therefore the contact parts are preferably made from material with a high elastic coefficient, such as CuZnI 5 alloy (Rl 53 DESf 2.0240). By applying a slight bend at both tips of the upwards and downwards extending contact parts making of the electrical contact is facilitated. Preferably hereby one tip is bent outwards, while the opposite tip is bent inwards. (In Fig. 5 these tips are straight).

In comparison with similar contacts from the prior art, which for example comprises pins that fit in a corresponding connector shell, the strip-like contact parts as described above make it possible to apply very small electronic components with correspondingly small connectors resulting in a miniature electronic device, which is much smaller than known devices. The device is particularly suited to have an extremely small and unobtrusive design, which can for example be applied in clothing or even be implanted in a human being or an animal.

The electronic device according to the invention is very suitable to be applied in a new standard for such types of devices, since it can accommodate virtually any electronic component, is very easy to adapt and to assemble and can be completely sealed from its environment. Furthermore the electronic device according to the invention is very suitable to be connected to a docking bay, such as for example a PC connection or a data-cable, which can be established by providing such a docking bay with similar contact parts as those disposed within an upper housing part of the electronic device or with appropriate apertures, such as the apertures in the PCB as shown in Fig. 5. Such an assembly of a docking bay and an electronic device can function for example as a gateway device for a wireless network of miniature sensor devices. For connection with a docking bay it can be necessary to remove top housing part 20 to get access to the contact parts in the device. However it is also possible to establish a wireless contact, by means of e.g. an infrared coupling. In the latter case it is necessary that at least part of the housing be made from a transparent plastic, such as PMMA. An additional advantage of using a transparent plastic is that one can apply status LEDs within the housing, which indicate for example the transfer of data, on/off situation or the power level of a battery.

An antenna can be applied along the peripheral edge of a circular PCB, leading for example to a quarter wavelength of the antenna for 2.45GHz. Alternatively the antenna can be disposed in the housing part, for example somewhere at ring 14 thereof (see Fig. 2).

In a preferred embodiment the electronic device subsequently comprises the following electronic components; a battery, a transceiver such as a ZigBee 2,45 GHz transceiver, a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a the Coolflux, a Kionix KXM52 accelerometer sensor, a ST M25P20 2 Mbit flash memory, and a photovoltaic cell. With such embodiments the electronic device can be used as a body worn activity monitor.

The electronic device according to the invention can be applied for example as UV dosage monitor, since the device can be designed very small and thus is easy to carry. Furthermore it is resistant to moist or sunny environments.

Other applications include body sensors for in-home patient monitoring systems. Wireless connected, these intelligent body sensors will monitor vital iunctions such as heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels, allowing collectively to make intelligent decisions about the patient's state of health and pass on relevant data to local medical or emergency services. Since each housing part contains a specific electronic functionality, such as a sensor, a DSP or a low power wireless link, virtually any electronic system can be created simply by stacking the proper housing parts together.

Using the docking bay configuration the electronic device according to the invention can be connected to a PC using for instance a USB port. The first initialization and the downloading of software for the DSP can be done using such a connection. The upgrading of software as well as the uploading of collected data by the sensors from flash memory is possible with the docking bay link. The connector can accommodate SPI, I2C and UART to communicate to the digital electronic components of the device. For testing purposes a JTAG interface may be incorporated to the Coolflux DSP. Upon applying a CMOS90 Coolflux chip the electronic device can function with a clock speed of up to 120 MHz with 8 operations per cycle.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limits the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be capable of designing many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed in parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" and "comprises", and the like, does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim or the specification as a whole. The singular reference of an element does not exclude the plural reference of such elements and vice-versa.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An electronic device (20) comprising at least one electronic component (28,29), such as a printed circuit board, and a housing (1), the housing comprising contact parts (17) to provide electrical contact and at least two housing parts (2,23,24), adapted to receive an electronic component, each housing part comprising connection means for connecting the housing parts, the housing having a bottom side, a top side and sides (13) that connect the top and bottom side, characterized in that the connection means comprises a member (5), which extends along the sides (13) connecting the top and bottom side and has a closed perimeter for sealing the housing (1), and that the contact parts (17) are provided at the inside of the member.

2. An electronic device (20) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the member (5) comprises a first protrusion (6), and that each housing part (2,23,24) comprises a second protrusion (7), both the first and second protrusion having a closed perimeter and extending along the sides connecting the top and bottom side, and that the first and second protrusions are disposed at opposite sides of a housing part and respectively co-operate with second and first protrusions of adjacent housing parts to form snap-fit connections.

3. An electronic device (20) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the housing parts (2,23,24) have a substantially circular shape.

4. An electronic device (20) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that each housing part (2,23,24) comprises a notch (8) and a projection (9), the notch and projection of adjacent housing parts cooperating to obtain a fixed position.

5. An electronic device (20) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the contact parts (17) are arranged in the housing parts and extend in two opposite directions for mutual electrical contact between adjacent housing parts.

6. An electronic device (20) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the electronic components (28,29) comprise apertures, which are adapted to co-operate with the contact parts (17) to provide electrical contact, the contact parts being adapted to extend both in the apertures and towards the contact parts of adjacent housing parts.

7. A housing part (2,23,24) for use in an electronic device according to any of the preceding claims, comprising connection means for connection with other housing parts, the connection means comprising a member (5), which has a closed perimeter and extends along the sides of the housing part.

8. A housing part (2,23,24) according to claim 8, characterized in that contact parts (17) are disposed along the member (5) at the inside thereof for providing electrical contact.

9. An assembly comprising a docking bay and an electronic device (20) according to any of the claims 1-6, the docking bay comprising contacts parts that are connected to contact parts of the electronic device.

10. A method for manufacturing a housing part according to claim 9, the method comprising: providing a plurality of metallic strips, each metallic strip comprising a plurality of contact parts, which are mutually connected by at least one tie strip disposed at outer ends of the contact parts within a metallic strip; bending the metallic strips to a shape that corresponds with the interior part of a housing part; placing the metallic strips at the interior part of a housing part to provide contact parts along the interior part of a housing part; injection molding a connection part to connect the metallic strips with a housing part, wherein after the molding step the contact parts extend from the connection part in two opposite directions; removing the tie strips to remove the mutual connection between the individual contact parts mechanically.

11. A method for manufacturing a housing part according to claim 10, characterized by an additional injection molding step, which provides a support part disposed at the center of the metallic strip in order to facilitate placing the metallic strip in the housing part.

12. A method for manufacturing an electronic device according to any of the claims 1-6, the method comprising: providing at least two housing parts; providing at least one electronic component; - accommodating the electronic components in the housing parts by connecting the electronic component with the corresponding contact parts; connecting the housing parts for a sealed housing.

13. A method for manufacturing an electronic device according to claim 12, characterized in that a plurality of electronic components is provided, mutual electrical contact between the electronic components being established by contacting the corresponding contact parts, which occurs upon connecting the housing parts.