Patent Publication Number: US-2009241138-A1

Title: Optical disc drive

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of China application serial no. 200610001420.7, filed on Jan. 17, 2006. All disclosure of the China application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to an optical disc drive. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical disc drive capable of electrostatic discharge protection. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Electrostatic is ubiquitous in nature, and it forms due to friction. For example, two insulated surfaces rub each other and may cause electrostatic discharge (ESD) after they are separated; or, ESD may incur when human body is in contact with objects. However, ESD may impact or damage the sensitive electronic components. Particularly, in recent years, because the requirement of the precision of electronic components becomes higher and higher, even small amount of ESD may cause serious damage to the electronic components. Therefore, in the electronic industry, the requirement of the capability of the ESD protection for the electronic devices is very important. The following will take the optical disc drive as an example for demonstration. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram of a conventional optical disc drive, wherein part of the housing is not shown. The conventional optical disc drive  100  includes a housing  110 , a flexible flat cable  120 , a button  130 , an indicator light emitting diode (LED)  140 , a circuit board  150 , an optical disc tray  160 , and a panel  180 . The flexible flat cable  120  is connected with the circuit board  150 , and the flexible flat cable  120  and the circuit board  150  are disposed in the housing  110 , respectively. The optical disc tray  160  is also disposed in the housing  110 , and the switch  130   a  within the button  130  and the indicator LED  140  are disposed upon the flexible flat cable  120  (as shown in the enlarged area) and at one side surface of the optical disc tray  160 . Moreover, the panel  180  is also disposed at one side surface of the optical disc tray  160  and exposes the button  130  and the indicator LED  140 . 
     For the conventional optical disc drive  100 , when ESD occurs, the electrostatic may not only damage the switch  130   a  within the button  130  and the indicator LED  140 , but also conduct through the shortest path, so that the ESD may be conducted to the housing  110  through the flexible flat cable  120 . Therefore, the electronic components and the circuit board  150  in the housing  110  may be impacted; further, the operation of the conventional optical disc drive  100  may fail. 
     Therefore, in order to prevent the internal electronic components from being impacted by the ESD, the ESD current is usually guided into the ground by shielding. For example, the shielding method can be achieved by the following: first, covering a plastic layer  170   a  upon the switch  130   a  and the indicator LED  140 ; then, covering a metal layer  170   b , wherein the metal layer  170   b  is electrically connected with the housing  110 . Therefore, when ESD occurs, the current may be connected to the ground through the metal layer  170   b  and the housing  110  in sequence. Although the ESD protection method can protect the switch  130   a , the indicator LED  140  and the circuit board  150 , the ESD protection method needs many parts and the assemble thereof is time-consuming. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to provide an optical disc drive with the capability of ESD protection. 
     According to the above and other aspects, the present invention provides an optical disc drive, including a housing, a fixing part, a flexible flat cable and an electronic component. Wherein, the fixing part is disposed in the housing. The flexible flat cable is disposed in the housing and includes a first and a second portions. The first portion has a component-disposed region whose backside is in contact with the fixing part. The second portion is connected and opposite to the first portion. The second portion has a conductive surface. Wherein, the component-disposed region is located between the fixing part and the conductive surface. The electronic component is disposed on the component-disposed region. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the second portion further has an insulated surface, and the insulated surface is opposite to the component-disposed region. And, the insulated surface and the conductive surface are respectively the two opposite surfaces of the second portion. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is a distance between the conductive surface and the component-disposed region. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc drive further includes a spacer column disposed between the second portion and the component-disposed region. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the flexible flat cable further has a pivoting portion disposed between the second portion and the first portion, and the second portion covers at least a part of the first portion by pivoting along the pivoting portion. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the second portion has an opening, and the electronic component is disposed in the opening. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first portion has a grounding hole, and the conductive surface is electrically connected with the grounding hole. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc drive further includes a circuit board disposed in the housing, and the circuit board is electrically connected with the first portion of the flexible flat cable. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc drive further includes an optical disc tray disposed in the housing. The component-disposed region of the flexible flat cable is disposed in one side surface of the optical disc tray, and the fixing part is disposed in the optical disc tray. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc drive further includes a panel fixed in one side surface of the optical disc tray and covering the conductive surface. 
     According to the above, the optical disc drive of the present invention additionally adds a second portion in the original flexible flat cable, and the second portion can be folded, so that the conductive surface can cover the component-disposed region to achieve the capability of ESD protection. Therefore, it is more convenient to assemble the optical disc drive of the present invention. 
     In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, a preferred embodiment accompanied with figures is described in detail below. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram of a conventional optical disc drive. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram of the optical disc drive according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram of the optical disc drive according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein part of the housing, panel, and button are not shown. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5A  is a partial expansion diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 5B  is a full expansion diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram of an optical disc drive according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the optical disc drive  200  according to the embodiment is, for example, an optical disc drive of a notebook computer. The optical disc drive  200  includes a housing  210 , a panel  270 , and a button  290 , wherein the panel  270  and the button  290  are both disposed in one side surface of the housing  210 . In general, a manufacturer may make different kind of identifiers in the panel  270 , so the panel  270  and the button  290  are usually the final parts in the assembly of the optical disc drive  200 . The following will describe the internal structure of the optical disc drive  200 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram of an optical disc drive according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein part of the housing, panel, and button are not shown. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the optical disc drive  200  includes a fixing part  220 , a flexible flat cable  230  and a first electronic component  240   a . The fixing part  220  is disposed in the housing  210 . Moreover, the flexible flat cable  230  is disposed in the housing  210  and includes a first portion  232  and a second portion  234 . The second portion  234  is connected with and opposite to the first portion  232 . In detail, the first portion  232  has a component-disposed region  232   a  whose backside is in contact with the fixing part  220 , and the first electronic component  240   a  is disposed in the component-disposed region  232   a . Moreover, the second portion  234  has a conductive surface  234   a , and the conductive surface  234   a  may be the exposed copper region of the second portion  234 . In brief, the component-disposed region  232   a  is disposed between the fixing part  220  and the conductive surface  234   a . In addition, the panel  270  in  FIG. 2  covers the conductive surface  234   a.    
     In the embodiment, the first electronic component  240   a  is, for example, a switch, and the second portion  234  may have a first opening  234   c  to expose part of the first electronic component  240   a . However, if the second portion  234  does not have the first opening  234   c , the user can also activate the first electronic component  240   a  by pressing the second portion  234 . Moreover, in the embodiment, the optical disc drive  200  may further include a second electronic component  240   b  disposed in the component-disposed region  232   a . Also, the second portion  234  may also have a second opening  234   d , and the second opening  234   d  exposes the second electronic component  240   b . If the second electronic component  240   b  is an indicator LED, the light beam emitted from the second electronic component  240   b  can be transmitted to the outside through the second opening  234   d.    
     In the embodiment, the optical disc drive  200  further includes a circuit board  250  and an optical disc tray  260 , wherein the circuit board  250  is disposed in the housing  210  and connected with the first portion  232  of the flexible flat cable  230 . The circuit board  250  is suitable for controlling the operation of other elements in the optical disc drive  200 . Moreover, the optical disc tray  260  is disposed in the housing  210 , and the component-disposed region  232   a  of the flexible flat cable  230  is disposed at one side surface of the optical disc tray  260 , and the fixing part  220  is disposed on the optical disc tray  260 . 
     When ESD occurs, the electrostatic can be grounded through the second portion  234 , the flexible flat cable  230  and the circuit board  250 . Therefore, compared with the conventional technologies, the flexible flat cable  230 , the first electronic component  240   a  and other electronic components are unlikely to be damaged due to ESD. In other words, compared with the conventional technologies, the optical disc drive  200  of the preferred embodiment can pass the reliability test of the related ESD testing more easily. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in order to reduce the possibility that the optical disc drive  200  is damaged by ESD, the first portion  232  of the flexible flat cable  230  may also have a grounding hole  232   b , so that the ESD current can be guided to the ground through the second portion  234  and the grounding hole  232   b . Moreover, in order to avoid the electrostatic from bouncing into the component-disposed region  232   a , a distance between the conductive surface  234   a  and the component-disposed region  232   a  is usually maintained. The longer the distance is, the less the possibility of the electrostatic bounce is. Therefore, the optical disc drive  200  of the embodiment further includes a spacer column  280  disposed between the second portion  234  and the component-disposed region  232   a.    
     Referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5A , and  FIG. 5B , in order to reduce the possibility of the electrostatic bouncing, the second portion  234  may also have an insulated surface  234   b , and the insulated surface  234   b  is opposite to the component-disposed region  232   a . The insulated surface  234   b  and the conductive surface  234   a  are respectively the two opposite surfaces of the second portion  234 . In other words, the insulated surface  234   b  is disposed in one surface of the second portion  234  which faces the component-disposed region  232   a , and the conductive surface  234   a  is disposed in another surface of the second portion  234 . In addition, the insulated surface  234   b  is the insulated surface of the flexible flat cable  230 . The following will describe the assembly of the flexible flat cable  230 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 5A  is a partial expansion diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 5B  is a full expansion diagram of the flexible flat cable in  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , first, the flexible flat cable  230  is assembled in the housing  210  as shown in  FIG. 5A . Then, the pivoting portion AA′ of the flexible flat cable  230  is folded, so that the second portion  234  covers the component-disposed region  232   a  as shown in  FIG. 5B . The pivoting portion AA′ is disposed between the second portion  234  and the first portion  232 , so the second portion  234  can be folded along the pivoting portion AA′ to cover at least a part of the first portion  232 . Till now, the assembly of the flexible flat cable  230  is substantially completed. Finally, the panel  270  and the button  290  are assembled on the side surface of the optical disc tray  260 , so that the assembly of the optical disc drive  200  is completed. It needs to be noticed that, although the embodiment is described by the example of the optical disc drive of a notebook computer, the flexible flat cable  230  of the embodiment can also be applied in an optical disc drive of a desktop computer. 
     In summary, the preferred embodiment of the present invention additionally designs a second portion in the flexible flat cable, and the second portion is folded so that the conductive surface covers the component-disposed region, so as to provide the capability of ESD protection. Compared with the conventional technologies, it is easier to assemble the optical disc drive of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In other words, compared with the conventional technologies, the preferred embodiment of the present invention can provide the capability of ESD protection by only changing the design of the flexible flat cable, and no additional electronic components are needed. Therefore, the fabricating cost of the optical disc drive with flexible flat cable can be reduced. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.