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EP-4546088-B1 - MODULE MOUNTING STRUCTURE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

EP4546088B1EP 4546088 B1EP4546088 B1EP 4546088B1EP-4546088-B1

Inventors

  • KOSUGA, TADASHI
  • HASHIKURA, MAKOTO

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240820

Claims (13)

  1. A module mounting structure (12), comprising: a cover (36) arranged to cover a front surface (30a) of a module (26) on which at least one chip (32) is mounted; a relay connector board (42) locatable between a rear side of a part of the module where the at least one chip is mounted and a substrate (28), the relay connector board arranged to bring contact portions (28b) of the module and contact portions (30h) of the substrate into contact with each other by elastic pins (42e); and a fastening member (46) arranged to fasten together the cover, a module board (30) of the module, the relay connector board, and the substrate in a stacked state, characterized in that the cover includes a board support protruding portion (48a) arranged to protrude toward the substrate and abut the module board at a position along the at least one chip.
  2. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover includes a wall portion (48b) that is located outward of the board support protruding portion and is arranged to protrude to an edge of the module board.
  3. The module mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the cover is positionable by the wall portion abutting on the edge of the module board.
  4. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member comprises a plurality of fastening members, and wherein the at least one chip is interposable between the plurality of fastening members.
  5. The module mounting structure according to claim 4, wherein the board support protruding portion is provided along an entire length of a line segment connecting two fastening members of the plurality of fastening members.
  6. The module mounting structure according to claim 4, wherein the board support protruding portion is provided at least at a position including a perpendicular bisector of a line segment connecting two fastening members of the plurality of fastening members.
  7. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one chip comprises a plurality of chips that are arranged linearly, and wherein the board support protruding portion is provided over a total length of the plurality of chips in an arrangement direction, at least on one side of an arrangement of the plurality of chips.
  8. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member comprises at least one captive screw, at least one captive screw being insertable in a corresponding at least one screw hole (36c) of the cover.
  9. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a module check notch (50) arranged to expose a corner of the module board.
  10. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a metal material.
  11. The module mounting structure according to claim 10, comprising a thermal interface material (40), TIM, arrangeable between the cover and the at least one chip.
  12. The module mounting structure according to claim 1, comprising an insulating material (38) arrangeable between the board support protruding portion and the module board.
  13. An electronic apparatus (10) comprising a module mounting structure (12) according to any preceding claim.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a module mounting structure in which a module including a module board and chips on the module board is mounted on a substrate, and an electronic apparatus in which a module including a module board and chips on the module board is mounted on a substrate. Description of the Related Art In some electronic apparatuses, a module including a module board and chips on the module board is mounted on a substrate. An example of the module is a memory module. The module is preferably replaceable in order to improve performance or in the event of a failure. In the structure described in the specification of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/309227, a relay connector board including a plurality of elastic pins is provided between a memory module and a substrate, and a large number of contact portions on the rear surface of the memory module and a large number of contact portions on the front surface of the substrate are connected to each other by the elastic pins. In this structure, a large number of contact portions can be provided over a relatively wide area on the rear surface of the module. In this example, the memory module, the relay connector board, and the substrate are stacked and fastened with a plurality of screws and nuts, and the memory module can be removed from the substrate and replaced by removing these screws and nuts. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2022272880A1 discloses using a cover for fastening a memory module. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The memory module in the specification of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/309227 has poor area efficiency because the memory chips and the relay connector board differ in attachment position. Area efficiency can be improved if the relay connector board is located on the rear side of the part of the memory module where the memory chips are mounted. However, since the relay connector board has a large number of elastic pins, for example, fastening both ends of the relay connector board with screws may cause the center part to be pushed up by these elastic pins and cause the module board to bend so as to warp. This is likely to impose stress on the chips on the front surface of the module board. In view of the foregoing problem, the present invention has an object of providing a module mounting structure and electronic apparatus that have good area efficiency and do not impose stress on chips. In order to solve the foregoing problem and achieve the stated object, a module mounting structure according to a first aspect of the present invention is a module mounting structure in which a module including a module board and a chip on the module board is mounted on a substrate, the module mounting structure including: a cover that covers a front surface of the module on which the chip is mounted; a relay connector board that is located between a rear side of a part of the module where the chip is mounted and the substrate, and brings a large number of contact portions of the module and a large number of contact portions of the substrate into contact with each other by a large number of elastic pins; and a fastening member that fastens the cover, the module board, the relay connector board, and the substrate that are in a stacked state, in a stacking direction, wherein the cover includes a board support protruding portion that protrudes toward the substrate and abuts on the module board at a position along the chip. An electronic apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is an electronic apparatus in which a module including a module board and a chip on the module board is mounted on a substrate, the electronic apparatus including: a cover that covers a front surface of the module on which the chip is mounted; a relay connector board that is located between a rear side of a part of the module where the chip is mounted and the substrate, and brings a large number of contact portions of the module and a large number of contact portions of the substrate into contact with each other by a large number of elastic pins; and a fastening member that fastens the cover, the module board, the relay connector board, and the substrate that are in a stacked state, in a stacking direction, wherein the cover includes a board support protruding portion that protrudes toward the substrate and abuts on the module board along a periphery of the chip. The above-described aspects of the present invention achieve good area efficiency and do not impose stress on chips. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laptop PC which is an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a memory module.FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a module mounting structure.FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the module mounting structure.FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional perspective vi