Portable device

• US 20050201693A1
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Korenaga, Tsuguhiro, Tomita, Yoshihiro, Karashima, Seiji, Nakagiri, Yasushi, Tomekawa, Satoru, Hibino, Kunio, Shimada, Mikihiro, Itoh, Nobuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,184,617 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/89
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1221 made from organic materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3608 Fibre wiring boards, i.e. where fibres are embedded or attached in a pattern on or to a substrate, e.g. flexible sheets optical ribbon cables in support members G02B6/4401
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4214 the intermediate optical element having redirecting reflective means, e.g. mirrors, prisms for deflecting the radiation from horizontal to down- or upward direction toward a device G02B6/4246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4224 using visual alignment markings, e.g. index methods
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235

Abstract

Provided is a portable device having such a configuration that a plurality of housings are connected functionally, wherein the thickness of a connection section between the housings is reduced so that the portability is improved. The portable device comprising: a first housing; a first board provided in the first housing; a second housing; a second board provided in the second housing; a connection section for connecting the first housing with the second housing in such a manner that the irrelative position can be changed; and an optical waveguide film having at least one optical waveguide for connecting the first board with the second board through optical wiring.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

a first housing;

a first board provided in the first housing;

a second housing;

a second board provided in the second housing;

a connection section for connecting the first housing with the second housing in such a manner that a relative position thereof can be changed; and

an optical waveguide film having at least one optical waveguide for connecting the first board with the second board through optical wiring.

2. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection section includes a hinge for connecting the first housing with the second housing in a foldable manner.

3. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical waveguide film is arranged oblique relative to a pivot axis of the hinge.

4. A portable device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical waveguide film has a helix angle causing a helix pitch corresponding to a value obtained by dividing a maximum opening and closing angle between the first housing and the second housing by 360°

to be smaller than or equal to the width of the hinge in the direction of a pivot axis.

5. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical waveguide film has a shape having been bent in advance in the connection section.

6. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, the optical waveguide film comprising:

a first sub-board connected to the first board;

a light receiving device mounted on the first sub-board;

a second sub-board connected to the second board; and

a light emitting device mounted on the second sub-board,

wherein optical wiring is constructed between the light emitting device and the light receiving device.

7. A portable device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first sub-board is provided thereon with both the light emitting device and the light receiving device, while the second sub-board is provided thereon with both the light emitting device and the light receiving device.

8. A portable device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of the optical waveguides are provided, and wherein the first and the second sub-boards are provided thereon with an array type light emitting diode and/or array type surface emitting laser as the light emitting device and an array type surface light-receiving device as the light receiving device, respectively.

9. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, the optical waveguide film comprising:

at least one core corresponding to the optical waveguide; and

a clad arranged so as to surround the core.

10. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, the clad comprising:

a first clad layer having a groove pattern provided with a shape corresponding to the core; and

a second clad layer for covering the core,

wherein the core is composed of resin filling the groove pattern in the first clad layer.

11. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, wherein a relative index difference between the core and the clad is 5% or higher, while a total thickness thereof is 100 μ

m or less.

12. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the core is composed of ultraviolet curing resin.

13. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the clad is composed of cycloolefin polymer.

14. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, further comprising

electric wiring arranged along with the core,

wherein a part of the electric wiring contacts with the core and thereby prevents the leakage of an optical signal from the core.

15. A portable device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the electric wiring contacts with the core in a portion where the optical waveguide film is bent in use.

16. A portable device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first clad layer has either a recess or a marker serving as a positional reference.

17. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the core includes at an end a reflective surface for bending an optical path of an optical signal by approximately 90°

.

18. A portable device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the core is provided, at an entrance end and/or an exit end, with an optical element for converging an optical signal.

19. A portable device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the optical element is either a diffractive optical element or a lens element.