Abstract:
An electrical connection device for a slide type portable terminal including a main body and a slide body performing an opening and closing operation with respect to the main body electrically connects a main board of the main body to a sub-board of the slide body, and has one end extendingly connected to a side of the main board and the other end extendingly connected to a side of the sub-board so as to extend and contract at one side or both sides of the terminal according to the opening/closing operation of the slide body.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to an application entitled “Electric Connecting Device for Slide Type Portable Terminal” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 9, 2005 and assigned Serial No. 2005-120340, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to an electrical connection device between bodies of a slide type portable terminal including a main body and a slide body which slides on the main body to convert its mode into a voice communication mode or other modes, and in particular, to an electrical connection device of a slide type portable terminal configured to maintain excellent reliability of the terminal even when the slide body is operated for a long period of time.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     With the development of electronics and communication technologies, portable wireless terminals are getting slimmer and lighter, and now provide a greater variety of functions. For example, a portable terminal is now being equipped with a speaker unit that can implement melodies with various chords, and/or with a color display device that has tens or hundreds of thousands of pixels. Also, the terminal may serve as an MP3 player that plays music, or may provide game contents using the display device, together with basic voice-communication functions. Many efforts are being made to further develop those functions.  
         [0006]     Also, a portable wireless terminal is being released which provides various functions related to the high-quality color display device. For example, the terminal may be provided with an optical shooting system, such as a small lens assembly, for image communication, digital camera functions, or camcorder functions.  
         [0007]     In general, the terminal having the aforementioned functions is a foldable type terminal that includes a main body and a folder. The folder serves as a sub body that is opened with respect to the main body at a predetermined angle.  
         [0008]     In addition to the folder type terminal, a slide type terminal is continuously being released. The slide type terminal is opened by sliding a slide body over a predetermined distance on the main body in a lengthwise direction of the terminal. When closed (i.e., slid down), the slide body overlaps the main body and thus the terminal can be carried while having an overall size of the main body. Also, during voice communication (when the slide body is slid up), the terminal is opened to have a similar size to the opened folder type terminal, thereby allowing operations to be performed under advantageous communication environments.  
         [0009]     In the aforementioned slide type terminal, a main board (RF board) with a controller and a battery pack serving as a power supply unit are generally mounted on the main body. Also, the slide body is equipped with a display device and various key buttons. For this reason, an electrical connection device is used to electrically connect the main body to the slide body. In general, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) is used as the electrical connection device and is installed on a surface where the main body surface-contacts with the slide body. The FPC is installed with an extra portion long enough to move the slide body, and therefore, is generally formed in the shape of ‘S’ on a surface where the main body surface-contacts with the slide body. The ‘S’-shaped FPC extends and contracts according to the operation of the slide body.  
         [0010]     However, because the FPC is installed in the form of ‘S’ on a surface where a the main body surface-contacts with the slide body, the terminal increases in volume, and frequent opening/closing operation of the slide body can cause an open circuit of the FPC, and consequently, malfunction of the terminal occurs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     An object of the present invention is to substantially solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages below. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection device for a slide type portable terminal configured to secure reliability even though the terminal is operated over a long period of time.  
         [0012]     Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection device for a slide type portable terminal configured to prevent malfunction of a terminal due to an open circuit or twist caused by fatigue, even though opening/closing operations of the terminal are performed over a long period of time.  
         [0013]     A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection device for a slide type portable terminal configured to prevent an increase in volume of the terminal as much as possible.  
         [0014]     According to an aspect of the present invention, an electrical connection device for a slide type portable terminal, which includes a main body and a slide body which slides on the main body to open or close the terminal, electrically connects a main board of the main body to a sub board of the slide body. Here, one end of the electrical connection unit is connected to a side of the main board and the other end thereof is connected to a side of the sub-board, so that the electrical connection unit extends and contracts at one side or both sides of the terminal according to the opening/closing operation of the slide body. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable terminal employing an electrical connection device according to the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a main body of the portable terminal employing an electrical connection device according to the present invention; and  
         [0018]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are sectional views illustrating operations of the electrical connection device according to a movement of a sub board according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail because they would obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable terminal using an electrical connection device according to the present invention, illustrating a slide-type portable terminal  1  including a main body  10  and a slide body  20  which slides over a predetermined distance in the lengthwise direction of the terminal  1 , (i.e., in the direction of the arrow in  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0021]     A keypad assembly  11  having a plurality of key buttons is installed on a surface of the main body  10  viewed when the slide body  20  slides up to open the terminal  1 . The key buttons of the keypad assembly  11  are preferably formed in a 3×4 array configuration. A microphone  13  is installed under the keypad assembly  11 .  
         [0022]     A display unit  21  having a predetermined size is installed on the slide body  20 . The display unit  21  may be a high-quality color wide TFT (thin film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) module. Function key buttons including navigation key buttons are configured into one keypad assembly  24  under the display unit  21 . Speaker units  22  and  23  are provided above and below the display unit  21 , and two speaker units may be installed to produce stereo sounds.  
         [0023]     Because the main body  10  and the slide body  20  slide relative to each other, an electrical connection device that connects the main body  10  to the slide body  20  is used for data transmission, power supply, and the like. Preferably, the electrical connection device has an extra portion long enough to cope with the sliding of the slide body  20 , and is able to prevent an open circuit due to abrasion or fatigue even though the sliding body  20  is frequently slid over a long period of time.  
         [0024]     Therefore, according to the present invention, the electrical connection device is installed at a side of the terminal, not at a portion where the main body and the slide body make surface-contact. That is, the electrical connection device is installed at a part ‘A’ indicated by the dotted line of  FIG. 1 , thereby preventing abrasion occurring when the electrical connection device is installed at a portion where surface contact therebetween is made. If necessary, the electrical connection device may be installed at a part B illustrated as the dotted line in  FIG. 1 , or may be installed at both parts A and B. Also, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) is used as the electrical connection device in the present invention, and it may be formed in a mono-layered or multi-layered structure.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a main body of the portable terminal using the electrical connection device according to the present invention. A main board  15  is mounted in the main body  10 . Although not shown in the drawing, an electronic function group including a control chip may be mounted according to the use of the terminal. Also, a printed circuit board (PCB) or an FPC is installed as a sub-board  25  on the slide body  20 . An LCD module (not shown) is mounted as a display unit on the sub-board  25 . Accordingly, an electrical connection device is required for power supply from a battery pack installed on the main body  10  and overall control on the slide body  20  through a control chip installed on the main board  15  of the main body  10 .  
         [0026]     According to the present invention, an FPC  30  having a certain width is used as the electrical connection device. Furthermore, the FPC  30  is installed to protrude at a side, not at a portion where the main board  15  and the sub-board  25  make surface-contact. One end  34  of the FPC  30  is electrically connected to a side surface of the main board  15 , and the other end  31  is electrically connected to a side surface of the sub-board  25 . Preferably, a central connection portion  33  of the FPC  30  is disposed at a side surface of each board  15  and  25  in the shape of a ‘U’ when viewed from the front of the terminal. Thus, the FPC has an extra portion long enough to allow sliding of the slide body  20 . More preferably, both ends  31  and  34  of the FPC  30  may be electrically connected with the boards  15  and  25  by predetermined connectors. For example, male connectors  32  and  35  are installed at both ends of the FPC  30 , and female connectors  26  and  16  are installed on the boards  15  and  25 , so that the FPC  30  can be electrically connected or disconnected. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a well-know electrical connection method or device may be used. For example, a soldering process may be performed between both ends of the FPC and corresponding circuit patterns of the main and sub boards, thereby preventing an increase in the thickness and volume of the terminal.  
         [0027]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are sectional views illustrating an operation of the electrical connection device in accordance with the movement of the sub board. For the purpose of simplicity in description, the movement between the main board  15  mounted in the main body and the sub-board  25  mounted in the slide body is illustrated in those drawings. It is apparent that the slide body is moved as much as the sub-board  25  is moved.  
         [0028]     In  FIG. 3 , the slide body  20  overlaps the main body  10 , that is, the terminal is in a closed state, and the FPC  30  is disposed in the form of ‘U’ at the side of each board  15  and  25 . Here, if a user slides up the slide body  20  to open and use the terminal for voice communication or other functions, the FPC  30  may be lengthened to a predetermined length as illustrated in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0029]     Unlike the conventional terminals in which an electrical connection device is operated, undergoing friction between exteriors of the bodies, in the present invention, the FPC  30  used as a connection unit is operated in the slide body or the main body of the terminal so that friction of peripheral components does not occur even during the long-time operation of the terminal.  
         [0030]     According to the present invention, an inter-board electrical connection device is installed at a side space of the terminal. Thus, even if the terminal is operated for a long period of time, an open circuit or the like due to fatigue or friction does not occur. Accordingly, mal-function of the terminal may be prevented, and the thickness and volume of the terminal may be reduced.  
         [0031]     While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.